Newspapers / Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.) / Oct. 29, 1987, edition 1 / Page 16
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Page B4 Winston-Salem Chronicle Thursday, October 29, 1987 ON THE SIDELINES The Rams were a big hit in Voiunteer Country By RANDY PETTITT Chronicle Sports Editor MURFREESBORO, TENN. - As I passed through the hills of Eastern Tennessee, it was obvious that those folks love college foot ball — as everything but the clear blue sky from Knoxville to Murfreesboro was painted orange and white in symbol of the Ten nessee Volunteers. Although Winston-Salem isn't exactly painted red and white, there was a healthy smattering of Ram faithful that bothered to make the 400 mile journey. And those who did tackle the mountain terrain to watch their Rams take on the Division I-AA school, had the pleasure of watch ing the 7,000 or so Blue Raider fans swallow their pride and take some good old fashioned North Carolina lumps upside the head. The Rams proved that they could play with the big boys last Sunday - they were the big boys in fact — but everyone around here kind of figured that all along. Needless to say, MTSU fans were skeptical until they saw the CIAA's best in action. "What are we doing playing this little old school," said one man, as he proudly displayed the blue and white of MTSU on a worn sweatshirt that had seen it’s better days. "Those boys don't look very small to me," said a woman who appeared to be in her mid-thirties, as she got a good look at James Daniels of the Rams (all 270 pounds of him). "What do you know about football," he snapped back at her. As it turned out, she knew quite a bit. ■Ill Rams From Page B1 iillliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii the Blue Raiders were forced to punt after just three plays. WSSU then proceeded to put together an impressive drive. Maynor lost six yards on a bootleg, but made up for it when he found Lonnie Pulley open for a 14- yard gain. On third and two, Brod erick Graves plowed ahead for an eight-yard gain and a first down at the 46-yard line. Pulley then reeled off a 27-yard run by dragging a MTSU defender down to the 19. Two plays later. Graves took a shaky handoff from Maynor and fumbled at the 10-yard line where it was recovered by MTSU's Chuck Swofford. Eight plays later, backup quar terback Van Dingier was rushed by Jeffrey Kelly and was stopped for no gain on third and 12 to force a punt. Neither team threatened the remainder of the first half, but the Rams had managed to knock out MTSU's starting quarterback. The frail 5-11, 155-pound junior was hit by three Ram linemen (about 800 pounds worth) and sprained his ankle. He later returned to the game, but was ineffective on the option run. Dodging a Bullet The Rams' spent most of the second half dodging bullets - as they punted three times and missed a field goal on their only scoring opportunity. But despite having good field postion much of the final half, the Blue Raiders couldn't ever get past the Rams' 20-yard line. The only exception came when the Blue Raiders' Don Thomas blocked a David Hamlin punt at the 47-yard line and Chuck Swofford returned it 38 yards for a touch down. Tony Pearson's two-point conversion run gave the Blue Raiders a chance to win with more than eight minutes left to play in the game. WSSU forced the Blue Raiders to punt twice and Anthony Blay lock broke up a fourth down pass to preserve the win for the Rams. Walking The Hogs Most folks take their dogs for a walk, but Coach Bill Hayes usually settles for a snoll with the hogs - as he proudly marched onto the field with his offensive and defen sive line in a symbol of the Rams' superiority upfront. They could've passed for the Pittsburgh Steelers had they dressed in black, but Hayes' show of strength worked nonetheless. On a pre-game radio show the Blue Raiders talked of how they would outquick the Rams and A Happy Hayes Although Coach Bill Hayes was a happy man to be walking out of Floyd Stadium with a win over the Division I-AA Blue Raiders, one could sense he wanted more - on the scoreboard. "We had some opportunities and didn't convert them," Hayes noted after his Rams won the 11-8 battle. 'We gave them a good dose of the Wing-T to soften them up and then we shoved it up the middle. Our game plan worked, but we "They had no business on the field with us. Although the scoreboard didn't show it, we were by far a much better football team than they were." -- Bill Hayes On MTSU's loss finesse their "flatfooted linemen” - it never happened. Hayes and his hogs simply ran over the Blue Raiders like a steam roller running through a watermel on patch, squashing whatever hap pened to be in their path. MTSU's frail leader - quarter back Marvin Collier, a 5-11, 155- pound junior - felt the wrath of the Rams, as Rohalier Phillips, James Daniels and Donald Frank collabo rated for a first-quarter hit that put Collier out of the game for nearly the rest of the first half. With a sprained ankle. Collier's flashy running out of the option ceased to exist. And the big boys of the CIAA showed MTSU how they move the pigskin back in North Carolina. As one Ram lineman noted, "They put their pants on one leg at a time like we do." "It's just our legs are bigger and we have to wiggle a little bit." couldn't get it into the end zone." The Rams piled up 401 yards of total offense, including 387 yards on the ground - Lonnie Pul ley accounted for 210 of them - but a costly fumble, a missed field goal and a blocked punt made the game appear a lot closer than it actually was. "We moved the football on them and proved we were the better football team," said Hayes. "But you have to give MTSU credit. They were like a rubber band on defense. They hung in there and showed some character — and so did we." Hayes said he was proud of his team's defensive performance. "They made it close there at the end. But our guys wanted this one real bad. It would've been a long ride home had MTSU been able to come back. "Our guys wanted to gain some respect and they did." Can't Buy A Ranking Prior to this game, the Rams may have very well been the "Rod ney Dangerfield" of black college football - as they could attain a respectable ranking only in the Sheridan Poll prior to the game. "Hell we can't even get ranked in Division 11," Hayes said, clearly irritated at his team's absence from the Division 11 top 20. "This was obviously a big win for us," he said. "1 think some folks have to take notice now." MTSU's head coach. Boots Donnelly, was one of the lookers that Hayes spoke of, 'We didn't have a single man who played well today," he said of his MTSU club. "They (WSSU) took us com pletely out of the game. They looked awfully good." The 7,000 or so fans at Floyd Stadium surely wouldn't forget the Rams anytime soon, but some were still taking the loss the hard way. The same man who had earlier ignored his wife's rather wise observation, slammed his stadium chair against the bleachers in dis gust and kicked over a tall cup full of diluted Pepsi. "Damn," he shouted, again smiking the metal bleacher with his chair. His wife only flinched at the noise and cracked a slight smile at her husband's tantrum. "It's only a game," she com forted. He stormed out of the stands and went about his business. And so did the Rams - as they go about their business of getting the CIAA championship monkey off their back. The monkey's once firm grip, slipped quite a bit last Sunday - he looks ready to jump off any day now. Look No More -- "The Ultimate' KINGS NTM HIGH POTENCY FORMULA! IRON, GINSENG, VITAMIN E, & ZINC NATURES HELPER FOR TODAY'S PEOPLE ON-THE-GO! 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Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
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Oct. 29, 1987, edition 1
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