established-
riSTHE STARS SHINE
incriminatit
ered. An \
description'
uate detail'!
ituation b®
)bable cans' Writer
OVER MARS HILL
prejudice ^
setting an
original plan for this article was to spotlight an important member of
1, ® Hill football team. As I began compiling the necessary information,
de of Stud, t^ized that it was impossible at this time to choose only one star,
ery reason^ Itiere is a name that is well known throughout the community as a hero, as
an official eiej LJons to a SAC 8 championship last season, as well as gaining per-
ssociation P*! ^°nal recognition by being named SAC 8 offensive player of the year. This
ducted an Per athlete is Joe Pizzo, the senior quarterback who also sparked the Lions
® 3-0 beginning this season until he was plagued with injuries. First a bruis-
se room i*
I to
rhis policy
ks Hill Co1I^!^5'v
♦ d shoulder that interfered with his passing game, and then in the match up
l®8air -
•nst Carson-Newman, he suffered a broken fibula. As I talked with Joe, I
^ ^^'"ong, optomistic gentleman who gave a lot of credit to the other
irt and of the team for accomplishing the goals that had been met. Joe is a
;finition of 1 ^sical education major who plans some day to coach football on the college
;ure or ® > but the immediate future after graduation holds positive plans for a
ire once ®®r in professional football. Joe stated that there has been pro scouts
nt during Inf'^^^^oting about twenty teams looking at his ability and now the decision
w
on how well his leg heals. As we looked back at the first six games of
led was -
>er of ''urrent season, I asked Joe how it felt to score the winning touchdown
les, they ''ery little time left in the game as the Lions beat Catawba College. Joe
' "'ith a very energetic answer
“This was one of the most exciting ac-
I ’VI
b accused
a V(
(jj Pbshments of the season, I was able to help the team win the game, and
entering ^® that sense of self accomplishment.”
by the paralleled that feeling with the student who makes an A on an
t what I '^be student gets in there and studies hard, it pays off as a sense of ac-
ple who Pbshment.” Joe also added that this years team is better that the team
:m. The ^nd that there is still a slight chance for the team to play in the
fig staff This of course would depend largely on the performance of
:cused wa* °ther teams in the conference.
lAith^ homecoming time rolled around, the team found themselves working
» make it ^new quarterback who had much less experience and playing time than
; this artid® • Wayne Scott is the sophomore back up QB who has gained much respect
w at the n® filled in for the injured Joe Pizzo from time to time during the season
to addres^ltj^ homecoming found himself in the driver’s seat as the starting quarter-
ts in this ® Pizzo commented on the performance of Scott, “Scott did well con-
mendmed ^8 that it was his first start.” The Lions came out victorious over the
accordii^ of Presbyterian College by the score of 12-10.
ti individu^ljg ayne Scott is a business major who feels good about the opportunity to
; unreasofl%l^^ le to play football and help the team win ball games. Scott said, “Under
here he °^lho\y'^?”'^hions, I feel that my performance was pretty good.” I asked Wayne
m of P'”'Ukne the team adjusted to the new personnel and he said, “The team
was depending on them to pull us through because, unlike Joe, I
m? Even have the natural ability to do it on my own. They knew that and that
of this. I '.Voijjg’^^ftly what we did.” As we discussed the future, Scott said that he had
lents of ^ 'hightiy big shoes to fill but he hoped that he would get a chance to try.
f the Patton stated, in an interview, that Wayne Scott had gained a lot of
our rights ct members, and for the most part he was pleased with his
r children^Jq^ °tmance in the game. He also stated that if Scott wanted to fill the
position next year, he would definately get a fair shot at it.
that future plans that include professional football because he feels
d principle
is too small.
"'ill Pizzo be back? “That is a tough question.
ill Ur -..-w. j .V.. .. .—j.. V...W. —
Vy ,1 ably just be in time for the last game.’
replied Joe. “I am
'viii h, doctor every week for x-rays and hoping. If I get to come back, it
k'eii
l6' ^''tl al' have heard the scoop. We have reflected on the current star,
October ^ so the new risine star. Joe Pizzo is a man that will definitely be
. j new rising * — —
utstandiP' ^bered as a Mars Hill star whether he gets to play anymore this year or
universi s for Wayne Scott, who knows where he will lead us, but he does have a
cation. to^
hqlogy. P th;
*l^rt in the right direction. Both of these athletes, along with Coach Pat-
®uld be commended on the attitude toward the team and each other
^ ° “*u oe commended on the attitude toward me team auu caui umcr
of Boo^ conveyed to me as I sat and talked with each of them seperately.
'''■ >11 has something to be proud of e
of again this year. We have a team and coaching staff that is
signing ‘ has something to be proud of even if the team doesn’t win the
ithematic^l ded>*onship
iteacher^ the well being of each other and the pride and honor of our
y Schools' 01.
Page Three. The HILLTOP Wednesday, November 5, 1986
SAUCIER- A CLOSER LOOK
by Chris Martire
Staff Writer
It’s hard enough for a freshman
scholarship player to make the traveling
team. For a walk-on it almost impossible.
Wide receiver Darrell Saucier now a
senior, is the exception, and he
remembers his freshman campaign. “I
would do anything to make the traveling
team, I knew they needed a long snapper
and I snapped some in high school so I
asked the coaches for a chance. At first
they thought my weight (only 160 pounds)
would be a problem, but luckly no one
else could snap,” he said.
Since then Saucier has been the team’s
long snapper, and has snapped for na
tionally ranked kickers. “I take great
pride in the punt team. I’d like to think
my snapping played a role in helping to
make former punter Chris Pierpoint an
All American,” he said.
Saucier made the traveling team as a
freshman on his long snapping ability.
His turning point as a wide receiver came
in his junior year against Furman. “I
scored my first collegate touchdown
against an N.C.A.A. Division I-AAteam.
That one play made me realize how much
I accomplished,” he said.
Saucier may have accomplished even
more off the field then on it. “I’ll be the
first person in my family to get a college
degree. Coach Patton is big on education
and I didn’t want to lose his respect,” he
said
Mars Hill football has helped Saucier to
gain discipline, but more importantly put
his values in order. “I’ve always learned
to get up if you get knocked down, but
now when I fall I pick the person up
beside me also,” he said. “I guess it boils
down to this. When preparation meets op
portunity, success is sure to follow,” he
concluded.
CARSON-NEWMAN DEFEATS
LIONS 10-7
by Andy BebI
After a scoreless first half, the
Carson-Newman Eagles scored 10 points
in the second half to defeat the Lions
10-7 in Meares Stadium on October 18.
The loss snapped an eight-game home
winning streak and dropped the Lions to
1-2 in the conference and 3-2-1 overall.
Mars Hill opened the scoring, or so
they thought, as Joe Pizzo ran the ball in
from 17 yards out in the first quarter.
But an illegal procedure penalty nullified
the score. So two quarters later, the
Another scoring drive by Mars Hill was
thwarted by three incomplete passes and
a blocked field goal as time ran out.
This had to be one of the strangest
games for the Lions as quarterback Joe
Pizzo went out of the game in the third
quarter with an ankle injury. Pizzo was
10 of 16 for 93 yards when he got in
jured, and Wayne Scott stepped-in and
finished the game 6 of 13 for 100 yards.
Another nightmare in the game was the
kicking game. David Shealy, usually a
‘*fVe played well enough to win, and the effort was there...
Eagles opened the scoring on a Louis
Reveiz 37-yard field goal. Not satisfied
with a 3-0 lead, Carson-Newman opened
early in the fourth quarter with a
32-yard touchdown pass from quarter
back Edwin Lowery to wide-open Ward
Phillips. Reveiz added the PAT and the
Eagles of Carson-Newman were cruising
10-0. But Coach Steve Patton and his
Lions were not finished yet. Reserve
quarterback Wayne Scott, playing for
the injured Pizzo, hit wide receiver Joey
Bivens with a TD pass with 4:16 left in
the fourth quarter. David Shealy added
the point after to bring the score to 10-7.
quite accurate kicker, just couldn’t get
his game together as he missed four field
goals. Coach Patton stated, “We played
well enough to win, and the effort was
there, but the error in the kicking game
hurt us.” It should be noted that Shealy
had a 47-yarder partially blocked and his
final 27-yard field goal was blocked.
The loss dropped the Lions to 19 in
the national rankings and they would
have to regroup in order to play
Presbyterian the following week for
Homecoming.