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Bald Brown
get his kicks
as a Husker
During the hot, two-a-day work
outs of August, Kris Brown had
way too much hair.
So a few of Brown’s Nebraska
foootball teammates shaved his
head. In the best interest of his fu
ture ability to stand upright, Brown
has declined to name the barbers—
although rumors have been circu
lating that a band of extremely
short-haired defensive linemen
were involved.
“I objected profusely,” Brown
said. “But they decided I still
needed a haircut”
At first Nebraska’s place-kicker
didn’t like die new ‘do. But soon, it
began to grow on him, and die way
he’s kicked in four games this fall,
Brown may not see his blond hair
until mid-January.
“You don’t have to use very much
shampoo, not very much hairspray,
and you don’t have to comb it.”
Evidently, Brown has been
combing through the Comhusker
record books lately, and rewriting
them in the process. Only a sopho
more, his 132 career points place
him 23rd in NU history, eighth
among kickers.
Last year, ne scored y / points,
breaking the freshman scoring
record and eeking past fellow frosh
Ahman Green to lead the team. This
year, Brown has stepped it up a
notch or two.
He’s (hilled seven of eight field
goals and appears to toy with op
posing return men each time he
sends a kickoff flying into the
stands. Saturday in NU’s 39-3 drub
bing of Kansas State, Brown hit
four field goals in the first half, one
of which was good from 50 yards
with at least another 10 to spare.
Still, he wasn’t satisfied.
“I told (kickers') Coach (Dan)
Young I wasn’t real pleased withthe
day,” Brown said. “Anytime I go
out, I expect myself to be perfect”
You see, Brown is not your typi
cal kicker.
“When he came in before his
senior year of high school for our
camp,” Young said, “that’s when we
really noticed him. Of all the quar
terbacks we had in here — out of
: 1,200 kids — he was the best.”
Quarterbacks?
That’s right. At Carroll High
School in Southlake, Texas, Brown,
who won state titles as a sophomore
and a junior, attracted mild recruit
ing interest as a signal caller. But
he decided to stick with his right
leg, not his right arm.
Today, he is one of the Busk
ers’top athletes, kicking 65-yard
fi£ldgoals in practice and running
But most importantly, he shaves
his head on a weekly basis.
Ghennoii a enniAi* unajnfcTrr ' 1
anerman is h senior ncwsyrui"
torial major and the Daily Ne
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Sr; •
NU plays its third
road match in six days
tonight in Boulder.
By Shannon Heffelfinger
Staff Reporter
Nebraska Volleyball Coach Terry
Pettit is convinced that in order to win
the Big 12 this season, conference
teams must play well away from home.
“That’s the most difficult thing
about this conference,” Pettit said.
Nebraska (12-2 and 4-0 in the
league) will put its perfect Big 12
record on the line tonight at 8:30
against Colorado at die Coors Event
i-•
Center in Boulder. The Buffaloes, who
own a 3-23 all-time record-against the
Comhuskers, bring a three-match win
ning streak into the contest.
Tonight’s contest marks the third
time in six days the Huskers have
played on the road and NU’s only
weeknight match all season.
Freshman middle blocker Tonia
Tauke, whose 10 kills last Friday
against Iowa State were a career high,
admitted that traveling can be difficult.
‘It’s kind of fun,” said Tauke, NU’s
most efficient hitter this season with a
.408 percentage, “but it does get men
tally tiring. Living out of a suitcase gets
a little rough.”
Colorado (8-3 and 3-1 in the con
ference) is led by senior Rachel
Wacholder. The 5-foot-11 outside hit
ter is averaging 3.66 kills per game
with a .281 hitting percentage. Sopho
more outside hitter Sarah Lodge has
also been impressive at the net for the
Buffaloes, pounding four kills per
game.
The Buffaloes have four returning
starters on their roster but feature a
much younger team. Eight of CU’s 11
players are freshmen and sophomores.
Despite CU’s youth, the Huskers
are not overlooking the younger Buf
falo team.
“The Colorado-Nebraska game is
always a big one,” Tauke said. “We
have a traditional rivalry with them.
Pettit, who said he is impressed
with Colorado, thinks the match will
-,-;-1
MaitMillek/DN
BECKY HORNBACHER, Nebraska’s goalkeeper, clears the ball earlier this season as Loyola
Maiymount forward Yvonne Dalton chases behind.
Hombacher leads defense
By Vince I^Adamo
Staff Reporter
Thanks to Nebraska goalkeeper
Becky Hombacher, the Comhusker
goal has been closed for business
this season.
The junior from Ralston sat out
last season after transferring from
Virginia. As a true freshman in
1993, die started two games but was
granted a medical hardship after
breaking her leg.
Hombacher bounced back in
7 1994 to start all 21 games for the
Cavaliers. She led the Atlantic
Coast Conference with 11 shutouts.
This season, she has brought her
winning ways back to Nebraska.
Sevan of die sixth-ranked Huskers’
victories have been shutouts. Two
shutouts last weekend lowered her
goals-against average to a spectacu
lar 0.55 per game.
Hombacher has recorded 33
saves for 11-0 NU. , *
“A shutout shows that the team
is dominating defensively,”
Hombacher said. “It’s definitely
:, i« prevalent. We work on defense all
«-—-—
If you come in here, you don’t mess
with me.”
Becky Hornbacker
NU goalkeeper
the time.”
Hombacher’s experience,
athleticism and intsensity have been
assets for Nebraska, Coach John
Walker said.
If the opposition scores,
Hombacher said, she takes it per
sonally. And since a goalkeeper is
the final fine defense, a certain in
stinct must be carried. When the
opponent tries to score, Hombacher
slams the door.
“You have to have a killer in
stinct,” she said. “If you come in
here, you don’t mess with me.”
Seventh-ranked Texas A&M
found that out the hard way in a 1
0 Nebraska victory on Sept. 29, the
biggest in the history of the third
year NU program. Hombacher had
be hard fought.
“Colorado has been our main rival
in the Big Eight for the last few sea
sons.” Pettit said. ‘It’s a very impor
tant match. They are a well-coached
team”
t .
Please see BUFFS on 8
Coaches say
V
is special
ByAntone Oseka
Senior Editor
Nebraska Football Coach Tom
Osborne doesn't like to call the
Comhusker kicking game “special
teams.” __
Our philoso
phy is to put the
best possible
player on kicldng
team,” Osborne
said. “We don’t
call them special
teams or anything
like that.”
wnat maxes H
the Nebraska kick
ing game special is
that the Huskers put their best athletes
cm die field, Osborne said, unhke many
teams that use low-unit players to fill
punt- and kickoff-coverage positions.
“These are the bat players we've
got to do the job,” Osborne said.
The NU punt return team features
some of the top talent that Nebraska
offers. Rushing from the outside to
block punts are Butkus Award candi
date Terrell Farley and free safety Eric
Warfield. Both blocked a punt during
Saturday's 39-3 win ova Kansas State.
“Coach Osborne and die rat of the
coaching staff do a great job of em
phasizing how important the lacking
game is each week,” piace-kicker Kris
Brown said. “I love it when the kick
ing game is that important.”
Dan Young, the Husker assistant
coach in charge of kicking, said he has
seen little wrong with Nebraska’s spe
cial teams’ play so far this season.
“The panting of Jesse Kosch has
improved so much,” Young said “We
thought at bat Jesse was a 40-yard
punter, and now he has a 45-yard av
erage.”
That 45.1-yard average has allowed
Kosch, a junior, to become die No. 13
punta in the nation and rank fourth in
the Big 12. On the other side of die
punt, Shevin Wiggins leads the Big 12,
averaging 18.2 yards on five returns.
In field goals, Brown ranks second
in the Big 12 and ninth in the country,
averaging 1.75 field goals pa game.
The sophomore has nailed seven of
last Saturday against Kansas State.
Young said the kickoff team will
suffer a major loss if fullback Billy
Legate is unable to play Saturday