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Show Page 12 The Tfmnderbird Monday October 15, 1984 Thunderbirds slip past Southern Colorado mark now at A staunch SUSC defense and a consistent offense bring home the win for gridders; by Joe Cartwright The SUSC football team held on to defeat Southern Colorado Saturday, raising its overall record to a 17-1- 3 solid This season has had a lot of ups and downs, said coach Don Conrad, We really needed a win." The Thunderbirds got on the scoreboard first driving 76 yards in 15 plays, scoring on a run by Juan Henderson. The offense was much more consistent today, said Conrad, They showed this on the first drive of the two-yar- After touchdown by Southern Colorado, the field goal by Peri Brian which pur SUSC back on top 10-This was really a critical game for both of us, Conrad said, "We really needed the win. The Thunderbird lead didnt last for long. On USCs next possession, the Indians drove 89 yards to score the touchdown with help from a couple of long a cashed in on a d gains. The big plays really hurt us, Conrad said. We shouldve had a few interceptions, but I felt really good about our defense. They were very aggressive, he added. Trailing by three points going into the final quarter, the took over at their own 37 yard line. After 3-- 3 With 3:41 remaining in the game, Southern Colorado was putting together a long, winning drive. SUSC then called a time out. We told the kids that if we wanted to win the game, we would have to force a turnover, said Conrad. Five plays later, USC quarterback Nick Pannunzio three running plays to the SUSC 48, quarterback Bob Jones was called on to throw the bomb. On the earlier plays, we had run the same pattern and missed the receiver three times, said Conrad. The coach in the press box said he was wide open. This time Jones found wide receiver Rob Edwards in the clear. Dropping back to his own 41 yard line, Jones threw to the wide open Edwards, who caught the ball at recovered on their own fumbled the ball and the 22 yard line to insure the victory. Southern Colorado was really up and going for us, said Conrad, They had played other teams very tough. We had to play as a team to win this one. We kept the defense off the field more and this really helped us, he added. Southern Colorado is in a simi.lar situation as we are, Conrad said. They had lost some tough games, and needed to get back on track. This was their homecoming and they were really fired up. SUSC now travels to Weber State on Saturday to take on the Wildcats and Conrad thinks that this game will be a real test. d game. 17-1- 3 We told the kids that if we wanted to win we would have to force a turnover Don Conrad said. SUSCs defense promptly forced a fumble and recovered. touchdowi the 10 yard line, and waltzed in for a and the lead. There wasnt a defensive player within 25 yards of Edwards, Conrad said. the Thunderbirds now had to Having the lead, Colorados Southern explosive offense and stop reciever John Trahan. Trahans a good receiver but all they could throw to him was short outs, said Conrad. Mark Cranny did a really good job on him. Our pass rush also made a difference. he added. 52-ya- 17-1- They will be up for Weber, said Conrad. We cant worry about what they can do, but worry about what we can do and do it the very best we can. In the past, we have made mental mistakes. We need consistency and we need to concentrate on the things we are doing, added the coach. Volleyballers return to form SUSCs Lady Birds finish fourth and gain respect and experience The SUSC volleyball team returned to its usual winning form last weekend and ripped through the Metro State tournament, finishing fourth out of 13 teams, gaining respect and experience. "When the players all reach for the same thing, were hard to beat, said Coach Joy Peterson. We can beat anyone when we really play. The Thunderbirds must have all been reaching for the same thing. Having lost to rival Mesa College three straight times this year, the Lady Birds had another shot at the Denver tournament. They (Mesa) have a good team, but we are better, said Peterson prior to the match. 5 loss to Mesa the Lady After suffering a Birds regrouped and dropped their foe 0 and 12-1- 15-1- 15-1- We shouldnt have lost that first game, Peterson said but was still impressed after the long road trip to Denver. We did play very well after 12 hours of driving. The Thunderbirds played six matches after traveling and it took its toll on their level of play. We lost some games we shouldnt have lost, finished the said Peterson. The tournament with a 5 record and are now 6 overall. The tournament format called for two pools with the top four teams in each pool advancing to an eight team show down. Im a little disappointed in our pool assignment, said Peterson. Not because we are in the seven team pool, but more so because we have so many teams in our pool that we have played earlier this year. We would like to see some different teams. The Lady 'Birds defeated Western State, Ft. Lewis College and the University of Southern Colorado to finish third in their pool. Once into the final bracket, the Thunderbirds defeated 4-- Volleyball Coach Joy Peterson confronts the referee during a match several weeks ago. This week the Lady Thunderbirds will meet the University of Nevada-La- s match. Vegas in a non-conferen- 21-1- Mesa, and went on to lose close matches to the University of Northern Colorado and host team Metro State of Denver. We did play toe to toe with UNC and Metro, Peterson said. The tournament marked the end of a slump for the Lady Birds who realized something had to be done to get back on the winning track. Were having team meetings and everyone talks about what should be done, said Peterson. The people who will play are the people with the most heart, she added. During the slump, SUSC suffered only its third conference loss in nine years. That match could have cost us our 8th RMAC title, said Peterson. However, the coach Tuesday the Lady Birds will host match. UN LV in a non-conferen- ce was a little more optimistic about the teams future, If we can mantain our intensity and develop some mental maturity, we can become a very good team. If we dont play together, we are very mediocre, she said. With SUSC back on track, they return home to play UNLV, Western St. and Mesa. The way that things are shaping up in the RMAC could mean the Mesa game will be for the conference championship. Unless we can work a little magic and whip Mesa when it comes over here, we could see our string of conference championships end this year, Peterson said, That would be a shame, because we have the ability to win another year. I think we can beat Mesa again. Tuesday at 7:00 the Thunderbirds will entertain the Lady Rebels from UNLV in a match. |