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Show T-Bird9 hot., Raiders mot; SUSC wins Colorado in Cedar City. SUSC has one conference d defeat, to Adams State, and Western State follows with two, to Adams and Mines. While Bishop had mixed feelings about his offense, he had nothing but praise for his stingy defense. "Even the second and third units were doing the job for us," said Bishop. "I think they were real hungry after giving up so many points to Cal Poly last week. And I think they proved themselves." Bishop also was surprised at the ease with which his team prevailed. "They had the number one and number four leading backs in the conference coming in. They also had two all-conference linemen. We thought they were a good team that had just made some mistakes. That makes us even more happy with the job our defense did on them." The T-Birds will now take a week off, before traveling to Silver City, N.M., to meet Western New Mexico, a game that worries Bishop because "it is a game we need to win, and should win. But we can't afford to let down at all." nrw. raw . Mit, 7 I 1 - v 4" A ll'l1'' ' 1 VjH A ' V' ' f , :. .. ,'. - j By LEE WARMCK Record Editor While Southern Utah's 41-3 drubbing of Ft. Lewis was impressive enough, one left the field Saturday thankful things didn't go better for the T-Birds-for mercy's sake. But mercy seemed to be the furthest thing from the T-Birds' minds, as they piled up 417 total yards, and yielding just 70. But five 'Bird turnovers kept this from being an Oklahoma-style rout. It's hard to believe that things could really not go your way in a 41-3 win, but that's the way Head Coach Jack Bishop saw it. "Offensively, we played very well at times, and just so-so at other times. We just didn't execute extremely well offensively," Bishop summed it up. Though the offense put up a nifty 41 points, this game belonged to an unbelievably-tough defense. The deer-depleted deer-depleted crown of 310 had to shake its head a few times before believeing this was the same unit that had yielded 38 points the week before. Ft. Lewis, held to minus 34 yards rushing, also had to wonder. You see, Ft. Lewis entered the game with two of the RMAC's leading running backs. Those two, combined, gained just 20 yards. As a result, the Raiders turned to the air, though not with overwhelming success. The T-Birds yielded just short passes-the longest completion being 18 yards-totalling 104 yards on a less-than-effective l2-for-33. Finally, the Raiders got just six first downs, none on the ground. Their longest rushing play of the game was good for just seven yards. The three points Ft. Lewis did get But to score 41 points, an offense doesn't roll over and play dead, and SUSC's proceeded to methodically put their's up. The first TD capped an 80-yard drive, with Mollica connecting with Mark Holland f for the 23-yard payoff. The 'Birds were given much better field position the rest of the game, thanks to the defense and punt return teams. The defense would typically hold the Raiders without a first down inside their own 20. The rush on the Ft. Lewis punter would then force a rushed kick, usually giving the T-Birds the ball in Raider territory. Haider punters Tim Holt and David Wier were forced to punt 12 times, and averaged just 27.5 yards per effort. Two of their kicks were partially blocked. What would have been a 13th punt was never made because of a bad snap. T-Bird T-Bird Mike Budke then tackled Wier for a nine-yard loss. That just about sums up how things went for the Raiders. For the record, Mollica had one more TD pass of 22 yards to Mike Scheiss. The cagey quarterback also ran from 49 yards out himself. Running back Gary Mason had a 6-yard TD run. And backup back-up fullback Bob Verburg added two more scores, each from five yards. The T-Birds scored at least one TD in each period for their 41, and were it not for turnovers, they would have soared far into the 50s. Ft. Lewis didn't appear to be even as tough as Mesa, who the T-Birds T-Birds earlier destroyed 44-3. The win, coupled with other RMAC results, gave the T-Birds new hope for at least a shared conference title. Colorado Mines, a team SUSC earlier beat 20-17, upset defending champ Western State 28-27. And New Mexico Highlands, a 25-20 victim to the 'Birds, gave powerhouse Southern Colorado all they could handle before falling 24-21. Adams State and USC, the two undefeated un-defeated teams, face off this weekend. SUSC will be rooting for a USC victory, which will set up the upcoming match between the 'Birds and Southern SUSC 41 Fort Lewis 3 Fort Lewis 3 0 0 03 SUSC 13 7 14 741 Lewis- Siegel KG 45 (8:59 - 1) SL'SC - Holland 23 pass from Mollica (3:54 - 1 ), Wells kick SL'SC Mollica 49 run (2:10 - 1), kick failed SUSC Scheiss 22 pass from Mollica (13:35-2), Wells kick SL'SC Mason 6 run (6:41 3), Wells kick SL'SC Verberg 5 run ( 1 :53 - 3), Wells kick SUSC Verberg 5 run (10:38 - 4), Wells kick Lewis SUSC Offensive plays 66 83 First downs 6 21 Rushes yards 43- -34 65-235 Passes 33 12 1 18-13-2 Passing yards 104 182 Total yards 70 417 Return yards 128 46 Fumbles lost 2-1 6-3 Penalties yards 5-35 3 25 Punts-average 12-27.5 4-37.5 Posession 25:06 34:54 SUSC running back Bob Verburg puts a move on a Fort Lewis defender during Saturday's game, won by the T-Birds T-Birds 41-3. Verburg contributed two TD runs, each of five yards, to the T-Bird cause. The 'Birds' piled up 235 yards rushing. came early in the first period, and were set up by an offensive mistake. An interception of a Dave Mollica pass was returned 50 yards to the T-Bird 20. After three plays netted them minus seven yards, the Raider's Todd Siegel was still able to put through a 45-yard field goal. Otherwise, it is doubtful Ft. Lewis would have ever scored. Jt4 re'", ' V iT-" 1 -5 ' r ' Mi ll :? X. : I Defensive end Jeff Gunderson is about to unload on Fort Lewis quarterback Alex Periera. Gunderson and colleagues held the Raiders to 70 total offensive yards. The T-Bird defensive unit registered six sacks. |