Fo'dtbair89n"n6 Daily Taf M6elFriday,v September 8, 19895
Experleoiiced! Cays face
By MARK ANDERSON
Staff Writer
Virginia Cavaliers coach George
Welsh knows he has a potential pow
erhouse on his hands. The only ques
tion is whether he'll ever get the
chance to unleash it.
Welsh may have the best team he
has ever had in his eight years at
UVa. The Cavs return 1 8 of 22 start
ers from last year's 7-4 sqaad, in
cluding All-ACC performers Roy
Brown (guard) and Kevin Cook (free
safety). Throw in the nation's most
highly recruited running back, Terry
Kirby, and Welsh has a potent mix.
Unfortunately, Welsh says he may
have his toughest schedule ever. The
Cavs were dominated, 33-16, by Notre
Dame in their opener and must travel
to Perm State this weekend. They must
also face their chief rivals for the
ACC crown, Clemson and N.C. State,
on the road.
But Welsh refuses to dwell on the
schedule.
"We have no excuses if things go
wrong," he said.
Welsh returns nine starters on an
offense that boasts the best overall
O'Domnmell leads Maryland
By NATALIE SEKICKY
Staff Writer
The hopes of the 1989 Maryland
football team are riding on the strong
arm of senior quarterback Neil
O'Donnell, and it will take a mam
moth performance from the ACC's
top returning signal caller to keep the
Terrapins out of the conference cel
lar this season.
O'Donnell, at 6-foot-3 and 219
pounds, may be the giant Maryland
head coach Joe Krivak needs as he
enters his third season at the helm.
The most accurate passer in school
history with a 61.1 percent comple
tion rate, O'Donnell is among the
all-time Maryland leaders in several
other categories.
But the decimation of the fourth
best running attack in the ACC ( 1 62.3
ydsgame) leaves Maryland with very
little firepower to take on the likes of
1988: 5-6 4-3 ACC, fourth
place.'
31 Returning Lettermen; 14
Returning Starters.
Key Offensive Starters
Back: Quarterback Neil
O'Donnell, fullback Bren Low
ery, tailback Ricky Johnson, wide
receiver Barry Johnson, center
Mark Agent.
Key Defensive Starters
Back: Linebackers Karl Edwards;
Scott Saylor and Scott Whittier,
safety Kevin Fowlkes.
Key Losses: Running back
Mike Beasley (transfer), wide
receiver Vernon Joines, kicker
Dan Plocki, linebacker Matt
D'Amico, defensive back Chad
Sydnor. .,.
Strengths: Quarterback, line
backing corps.
Question Marks: Running
game, brutal non-conference
schedule (Michigan, Penn State,
West Virginia), Will a runner
emerge to take pressure off of
O'Donnell?' ' .
backfield in the ACC. Leading the
way is junior quarterback Shawn
Moore, who set the school record for
total offense last season with 2,526
yards.
The 6-2, 210-pound Moore's 2,158
yards passing were second on UVa.'s
all-time single season list. He passed
for 15 touchdowns and ran for 368
yards and 10 more touchdowns.
But the real excitement comes from
behind Moore. Senior fullback
Durwin Greggs, 5-11, 230 pounds,
will have the job of blocking for two
excellent tailbacks, junior Marcus
Wilson and freshman Kirby.
Despite playing in only six games
last year, Wilson rushed for a team
leading 429 yards. Fortunately, Welsh
happily reported that Wilson's two
knee surgeries have actually left him
faster and that Wilson was impres
sive against Notre Dame.
Wilson's quick recovery may be
directly due to looking over his shoul
der at Kirby. The 6-2, 2 1 0-pound tail
back gained 7,428 yards and scored
103 touchdowns, both state records,
in his career at Tabb (Va.) High
School. His many awards included
West Virginia, Michigan, Penn State
and league powers like Clemson and
N.C. State.
"We've got to play on all cylin
ders, and we've got to play very, very
hard," said Krivak, who is 9-13 in
two seasons as head coach and under
some pressure to return Maryland to
the role of ACC contender it enjoyed
in the 1970s and early 1980s.
The outlook for the running game
was not so bleak after last season.
The Terps three leading rushers,
Ricky Johnson, Mike Beasley and
Bren Lowrey, who combined for
1,519 of the team's 2,105 total rush
ing yards, were expected to return
and contribute.
However, Johnson was declared
academically ineligible in February,
and though playing now, missed the
spring workouts. Beasley transferred
after Krivak denied him a red-shirt
he requested in order to boost his
grades. The Terrapins also lost red
shirt freshman and highly-touted back
Andre Vaughn for the season with a
knee injury suffered in a spring scrim
mage. Maryland's only proven tailback
is Lowrey, who averaged 3.4 yards
per carry and 23.3 yards per game in
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national player of the year honors
from Parade Magazine, USA Today
and the Gatorade Circle of Champi
ons. Welsh said Kirby is handling all
the hype surrounding his enrollment.
"He knows he's going to play. He's
not feeling the pressure," he said.
Moore lost the school's all-time
reception leader, John Ford, to gradu
ation, but he may not miss him. Jun
ior Bruce McGonnigal (26 catches,
18.1 yard average) is one of the best
tight ends in the ACC. Sophomore
Herman Moore and senior Tim Finkel
ston (19 catches, four touchdowns)
man the wideouts.
This high-powered offense is so
lidified by five returning starters on
the front line. All-ACC senior guard
Brown and 6-6, 295-pound tackle Ray
Roberts, a red-shirt sophomore, are
among the nation's best.
The Cavs had better put a lot of
points on the board because their
defense, which looked porous against
Notre Dame, may rank in the middle
of the ACC pack.
The excellent defensive end tan
dem of senior Ray Savage and sopho
1988.
Opening holes for the depleted
group of backs will be an experi
enced offensive line anchored by
senior center Mark Agent, a presea
son second-team all-conference pick.
Junior Ken Oberle and senior Mark
Hofland return at the tackle spots,
along with senior Mike Kiselak at
guard. The only new face on the line
is really a familiar one, that of senior
Blaine Rose, a tight end converted to
guard.
O'Donnell will be pitching to re
turning senior wideout Dean Green
(14 catches,. 2 14 yds, 2 TDs) and
junior wide receiver Barry Johnson
(24 catches, 348 yds, one TD). Sen
ior tight end David Carr averaged
13.7 yards per catch and had one
touchdown last year.
On the other side of the ball, the
Terps are hurting in the defensive
secondary after graduating three of
their four starting backs. Strong safety
Kevin Fowlkes is the only returning
starter from a core that was seventh
in the conference in pass defense,
giving up 232 yards per contest.
The defensive line is led by so
phomore Larry Webster at left tackle.
Webster, at 6-5 and 271 pounds, is
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more Don Reynolds anchors the sus
pect defense. The 6-4, 256-pound
Savage is quick enough to cover backs
on pass plays.
Starting nose guard Ron Carey and
tackle Joe Hall return to the line, while
senior Chris Stearns and red-shirt
freshman Kenneth Miles will fight
for senior Elton Toliver's tackle spot
- The 6-2, 258-pound Toliver was
forced to move to linebacker with
the loss of NFL draftees Jeff Lage
man and David Griggs. Senior Phil
Thomas will man the other lineback
ing spot.
1988's weak spot, the secondary,
may be a strength in 1989. After giv
ing up 229 yards per game in the air,
Welsh hopes experience will make
the difference as all four starters re
turn. One of the returnees, Keith
McMeans, led the nation two years
ago with nine interceptions as a fresh
man. The kicking game is the weakest
part of Welsh's 1989 squad. Jake
Mclnerney will be the kicker, despite
never having kicked in a UVa. game.
Myron Martin, a junior college trans
fer, will handle the punting duties.
Soto tough seasoim
expected to bounce back from a spring
knee injury and could be an All-ACC
lineman. Junior Rick Fleece is a 6-3,
254-pound guard who played in ev
ery game last season.
At right tackle is 6-foot-7, 268
pound sophomore Lubo Zizakovic,
who runs a 5.1 40 yard dash despite
his monstrous proportions. Zizakovic
played in five games last season.
The obvious strength of the Mary
land defense is the veteran lineback
ing squad, led by seniors Scott Whit
tier (6-1, 225) and Scott Saylor (6-1,
234) at the inside slots. Juniors Karl
Edwards (6-4, 225) and Jack Bradford
:ARfiffi&B&ALL
1988: 7-4, 5-2 ACC, second
place.
37 Returning Lettermen; 18
Returning Starters.
Key Offensive Starters Back:
Quarterback Shawn Moore, tail
back Marcus Wilson, wide re
ceiver Herman Moore, All-ACC
guard Roy Brown, tackle Ray
Roberts.
Key Defensive Starters Back:
Ends Ray Savage and Don Rey
nolds, defensive back Keith
McMeans.
Key Losses: Wide receiver
John Ford, kicker Mark Inderlied,
linebackers David Griggs and Jeff
Lageman.
Strengths; Best overall back
field in ACC, 18 returning start
ers, versatility of Moore at QB,
offensive line.
Question Marks: Tough
schedule, Who will replace Ford
as big-play threat?. How will they
I rebound from early season demo
lition?
(6-1, 219) are the outside lineback
ers. Saylor led the Terps in tackles last
season with 119 despite seeing lim
ited time in the last four contests due
to injury. Whittier had 73 takedowns,
good for sixth on the team. The two
are co-captains, along with Agent.
Shoring up the punting duties for
Maryland is sophomore Dan DeAr
mas, who averaged 36.9 yards per
punt in 1988. Sophomore kicker Fred
Ensign will be hard-pressed to fill
the shoes of Dan Plocki, the ACC's
leading scorer last season with 78
points. Plocki was perfect on 27 PATs
and hit 17 of 22 field goal tries.
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