^ursday, Septembef 8,1983
The Pendulum
Page 9
Sports
Anderson expects good year after 7-3 in ’82
Transfer talent joining
55 returning lettermen
1 Most head coaches would be
itatisfied with a 7-3 record in
itheir first year on the job.
I But Elon’s Wright Anderson
took over from Jerry Tolley af-
fer the Fightin’ Christians and
Won NAIA national cham-
|bionships in 1980 and 1981.
Thus, Anderson’s first-year
Showing — “only” seven wins,
^ood for a second-place tie with
tiardner-Webb in the South
'Atlantic Conference (SAC-8) —
left many Elon fans somewhat
dissatisfied.
. Actually, the 1982 season at
Ihe midway point seemed on
the brink of total disaster. In
juries to the defense — at one
point, nine of 11 defensive star
ters were sidelined — contri
buted to a rare string of three
losses after three opening wins.
But the Christians regrouped
lo win the last four games of the
campaign. Thirty-five letter-
men, including 12 starters re
turn to provide a strong nucleus
for 1983.
Among the key losses are
quarterback John Bangley, who
had called virtually all the
offensive plays for three
straight years; placekicker Phil
Renn, whose toe provided the
winning margin in several
games over the years; lineback
er Stanley Tootoo, last season’s
SAC-8 defensive player of the
year; All-SAC-8 center Clint
York; defensive back Mike
Edmondson; and wide receiv
er Steve Vargas, Elon’s top pass
catcher of 1982.
Nevertheless, Anderson re
cently told the Burlington Daily
Times-News that. “We have a
chance of being as good or bet
ter than we were last year. We
lost some valuable starters, but
we feel we did a good job of re
placing them. And, too, we’ll
have more depth this year.”
One of Elon’s stronger areas
appears to be the running
backs. The group is headed by
Fred Jordan (5-foot-10,195), for
two consecutive years the
Christians’ leading ground
gainer (609 yards, three TDs in
1982). Other veterans are Mitch
Ryan (516 yards, four TDs), Dar
ryl Brown and Johnny Jacobs.
The addition of transfer tail
back Jimmy Smith, Purdue’s
leading rusher for three years,
makes the runner corps even
more potent. Smith is a 200-
pounder with 4.33 speed in the
40-yard dash.
Three players are battling for
the starting quarterback spot.
The two top contenders appear
to be freshman Mike Brodowicz
(5-foot-10,180) and transfer Sam
Fromhart (6-foot-l, 183, from
TRI-CAPTAINS: Elon hrad ctwich Wri|^t And-r»>n is flankrd by h» 1983 tri-raptains KrBy Stanley
(89), Jeff Cooper (62) and John Mvrray (S4). The ihree seniors are be)iinnuif; their third year as sUrters.
Antelope Valley Junior Col
lege). Both are good runners
and passers. Also in the run
ning is Jeff Majewski.
Whoever gets the starting nod
will be throwing to some ex
perienced receivers, headed by
senior tight end Kelly Stanley
(28 catches, three TDs) and
wide receiver Jessie Jones (23
See Football, Fg. 10
Smith , ex-Purdue star,
adds speed to attack
By GLEN HAISLEY
Staff Writer
When he was attending Kank
akee High School in Kankakee,
III., Jimmy Smith probably nev
er heard of Elon College.
Now, however, after a three-
year career as one of Purdue
University’s top running backs,
he’s being counted on this year
to help the Fighting Christians
maintain their level of football
excellence.
This will be Smith’s last year
of college eligibility, and many
people are already forecasting
him as a fine professional pros
pect.
® The 5-foot-ll, 200-pound
Smith was a three-time All-
American in high school, gain
ing 2,400 yards rushing and
scoring 25 touchdowns in his
senior year.
He also shone for the Kank
akee track tean, pos(ii»g4be na
tion’s third best time in the 220-
yard dash (21.1 seconds) and the
fastest time in the 60-yard dash
(6.2) for high school sprinters.
Purdue gave Smith a football
scholarship, and he started the
first game of his freshman sea
son because injuries had side
lined the Boilermakers’ more
experienced tailbacks.
He said he felt “a lot of press
ure because I was a freshman,
and the veterans on our team
wanted to see if I was as good as
my high school record.” But he
produced immediately, leading
the team in rushing for three
years and ranking fourth in
pass receptions.
One of Smith’s better games
was a four-touchdown, 190-yard
rushing performance against
Northwestern University his
sophomore year. He also ran
back a kickofT 100 yards for a
touchdown in a nationally tele-
•vts«d-game against Stanford.
The Schedule
(Hmm la Bnritogioii M4»»ridl StwliiUB eapib^}
Sept. 17: at G«aford CoBcge (1:30 p.m.)
Sept. 24: at Canioo-NewaMm tloBege (7 p.m.)
0et. It u tENOm-itHYNE COUUBGE
(HoaaeceiBa^ 2 p-n.)
Oct. 8: WOFFOHD COIlfGE (7 p.m.)
Oct. IS: at Presbyteriwi CaBege (7 p.m.)
Oct. 22: CATAWBA COLLEGE (7 p.m.)
Oct. 29: GARDNER-WEBB COLLEGE (PareaU' Weekend;
2
5: at IVrwberry CoBege (7:30 p.m.)
Nwv. 12: « Bowie State CoBcge (1:30 p.m.)
N«v. 19] MARS HILL COLLEGE 2 p.m.)
Jimmy Smith
He had academic problems
after his junior year, however,
and rather than sit out a year he
began to think about transfer
ring to a college outside the
NCAA. ’Through some friends,
he met Elon head coach Wright
Anderson.
Smith said he and Anderson
bit it off well; thus. Smith de
cided to attend Elon.
“I feel comfortable at Elon,”
Smith said in an interview. “Of
course, it’s not nearly as big as
Purdue, which has about 32,000
students. But the faculty at Ellon
seems to care more about their
students than most of the pro-
See Smith, Fg. 10.
Nantahala Whitewater Rafting Trip
Sept. 16 -17
$20 jm
laft X£nia£
2 me.a£i onA
initxuction
Contact Office of
M Student Activities,
M Room 210, Student
Center or call ext.
M 330
Bring your own
camping gear
Deadline for sign-up: Sept. 13