Sports
Wednesday, October 4, 1995 Page 9
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Tim Pearson
Friendly rivals ^
make Kansas
match special
The NU Coliseum will have a
different look tonight—a look that
comes around once a year.
For the past four years, when
ever Kansas came to Lincoln to
play Nebraska, the signs would go
up at the Coliseum.
Kansas vs. Nebraska. The
Jayhawks’ Jenny Larson vs. the
Comhuskers’ Christy Johnson. The
two high school teammates will go
up against each other, and a carload
of Millard North players and fans
will pack up their signs and make
the trip from west Omaha to Lin
coln for the 7:30 match tonight.
Mire, Kansas against JNeoraska
isn ’t exactly a marquee match, con
sidering that the Jayhawks haven’t
ever defeated the Huskers — 55
matches, 55 Jayhawk losses.
But for both Larson, the
Jayhawks’.starting middle blocker ,
and Johnson, the Huskers’ starting
setter, the match brings back memo
ries of high school—memories of
getting to the state tournament,-but
never quite winning the title.
“I imagine there’ll be banners,”
Johnson said. “Every time Nebraska
and Kansas play, there have been
signs for me and Jen.”
But after this year, the signs will
stay at home because both Larson
and Johnson are seniors. The simi
larities between the two don’t end
there. Both are captains of their
respective teams. Both have be
come major players after a tough
Jirst two years in college.
Larson was overshadowed by
Johnson in high school. Johnson
was the one who received the na
tional honors and along with those,
the big-time college offers.
Once Johnson accepted a schol
arship to Nebraska, Larson became
the star at Millard North for her
senior season, while her former
teammate adjusted to college vol
leyball.
“It is weird because of how things
change,” Johnson said. “I was the
star-player in high school, and I
come here and I’m nobody.
“There was a change where she’s
a great player, and I’m in the back
row playing defense.”
But now the tide has shifted to
where both have become star play
ers for their teams. Johnson is the
All-American, while Larson is the
captain and leader of a young 5-10
Jayhawk team.
Larson ranks fifth on Kansas’
career block assists chart and ninth
in career solo blocks.
Johnson was always one up on
her, though. Husker coach Terry
Pettit offered a scholarship to
Johnson and only a chance to walk
on to Larson.
“She could’ve walked on here. I
kind of hoped she would have,”
Johnson said. “It would have been
good to play with her again.”
But instead Johnson will have to
settle for playing against Larson...
again.
Pearson Is a senior news-editorial
major and the Dally Nebraskan sports
editor.
Wichita star commits to Nebraska
tsy Miicn anerman
Senior Editor
DeAngelo Evans, one of the most
prolific runners in national high school
football history, verbally committed
on Tuesday to play football at Ne
braska.
Evans, from Wichita, (Kan.) Colle
giate High School, is widely regarded as
one of the top five running backs in the
country. He chose the Cornhuskers after
a long battle with Notre Dame, Penn
State, Michigan and Kansas, his coach,
Mike Gehrer, said Tuesday night.
“There have been a lot of demands
on DeAngelo daily,” Gehrer said. “He
has handled all the attention pretty
well. He knew that if he didn’t do this
early, there would be constant pres
sure. He wanted to enjoy his senior
season without the constant hassle of
all the recruiters.”
The 5-foot-9,210-pound senior has
run for 7,555 yards and 114 touch
downs in his three-year career, lead
ing Collegiate to the Class 3 A (fourth
largest class in the state) state title a
year ago. As a junior he ran for 2,687
yards and 38 scores.
witn a season ot 2,220 yards this
year, Evans, who is asthmatic and
wanted to attend a cold-weather
school, would pass former Oklahoma
Heisman Trophy winner Billy Sims
and move into second place on the all
time national rushing charts.
The all-time record, set by Ken
Hall of Sugarland, Tex., more than 40
years ago, is out of Evans’ reach. He
also needs only 30 touchdowns this
season to break the national scoring
record.
“He has been a treat to coach,”
Gehrer said. “He is probably the hard
est working player on the practice
field every day. He’s a great team
player, and he’s got a team personality
and attitude. I guess he could have
turned into a media mogul, but he
hasn’t let any of this get to his head.”
The two-time Kansas player of the
year, who ran a 4.35-second 40-yard
dash at Penn State football camp, was
offered a scholarship by the Husker
coaches at Nebraska football camp
this summer.
Over the past month, the rumor
among nearly all recruiting circles was
that Evans, who bench presses 335
“He has been talking
about Nebraska since he
was in the seventh
grade. ”
MIKE GEHRER
Wichita Collegiate coach
pounds, squats 500 pounds and has a
40-inch vertical jump, was leaning
heavily toward attending Notre Dame
next fall. Gehrer said that simply was
not true.
“He has been talking about Ne
braska since he was in the seventh
grade,” Gehrer said. “He always
thought Nebraska was the place for
him to be. It was a family decision. His
mom and dad wanted him to go to
Nebraska all along. And with the Big
12 coming up next year, that was a bi g
factor in his decision.”
Gehrer said Evans visited Lincoln
on Sept. 16 and watched from the
stands as the Huskers defeated Ari
zona State 77-28.
A four-year starter in football,
Evans is also a basketball star. Play
ing point guard on the Collegiate team,
he led his school to the state title as a
freshman, scoring 37 points in the
state title game. As a sophomore, he
won the 100-meter dash state champi
onship with a time of 10.7 seconds.
At one time, Gehrer said, Evans
had hoped to play both basketball and
football in college. But now he has
decided to concentrate on football.
“To do what is expected of him on
the football field, I think he has come
to the understanding that playing bas
ketball would be too difficult.”
Gehrer said Evans had reminded
many people in Southern Kansas of
another great Wichita running back,
Bairy Sanders, who went on to win a
Heisman Trophy at Oklahoma State
and achieve NFL stardom with the
Detroit Lions. Evans topped Sanders’
high school rushingmarks early in his
junior season.
“We can’t be certain what the fu
ture holds for him,” Gehrer said, “but
DeAngelo has all the tools to be a
great college player. And he has aspi
rations to someday play in the NFL.”
• , Jay Calderon/DN
Sophomore defensive tackle Jason Peter, on right, has played a major role on Nebraska’s defensive line this year, along with Grant
Wistrom and Jared Tomich.
Brother’s shadow challenges performance
By Derek Samson
Senior Reporter ——
Jason Peter plays in a shadow, and right next to
the person who casts it upon him. v
The sophomore defensive tackle lines up .beside
his brother, Christian, a senior defensive tackle,
and said he had a lot to live up to—and he loves it.
Peter, whose younger brother is a sophomore at
Notre Dame, said pressure was greeted with open
arms in his family.
“I don’t like to put a lot of pressure on myself,
but playing next to Christian, there is always the
pressure of living up to what he’s accomplished,”
Peter said. “I don’t want to be known as the slacker
of the family.”
Peter said playing next to his brother, who is one
of the team captains, had plenty of benefits.
“We talk to each other on the sidelines. We tell
each other how the other guy is blocking us,” he
said. “We talk about what kind of technique the guy
uses. He tells me what the best thing is to do to beat
that guy. It really helps having him out there.”
But both Peter brothers cast a pretty large shadow
— literally.
Jason stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 275 pounds,
while Christian is 6-foot-2,290 pounds.
“I hope we’re somewhat intimidating,” Jason
Peter said. “But once the ball is snapped, it doesn’t
matter what the other guy looks like. Then it’s all up
‘7 don't want to be known as the
slacker of the family. ”
JASON PETER
Nebraska defensive tackle
to technique, and who wants it more.”
Even ifthe younger Peter doesn’t feel like he has
lived up to his brother, he has lived up to his own
expectations, he said.
See PETER on 10