OCR Text |
Show wvwwwwvwwwvw 1 6L In The Background by Mac Backman S; I Well, coach Mike Giddings and his men did it. Utah's football team showed that they are better than the critics rated them when they upset Oregon by that invigorating 17-14 score Saturday afternoon. And if scores were kept in proportion to final team statistics, Utah would have won by quite a bit more than a measly three points. The Utes won a big one and convincingly. The Redskins showed their most talented backfield in years. Ben Woodson has evidently shed the injury jinx which plagued him during the 1965 season. Against the Ducks, Big Ben carried the football 18 times, gained 85 yards and ran 30 yards for Utah's first touchdown. Woodson's backfield mates, Charlie Smith, Elwood Stewart, Jack Gehrke and to just a lesser extent Marv Lowery and Doug Wells played fine games. The emergence of Jack Gehrke as an outstanding number one quarterback was a welcome one. Gehrke, a South High product, showed that he has the poise as well as the ability to lead the Utes. Jack connected on 10 of 17 passes to quiet any doubters of his passing accuracy. What's more, he threw the touchdown pass that put the Utes ahead to stay. Despite the fact Gehrke carries only 165 pounds on his 6-1 frame, this former South High flash seems to have the ability to bounce off hard tackles. In the words of an old time sports writer, long since forgotten; "he's got the stuff that good quarterbacks quarter-backs are made of." The defense was tough. Stalwarts like Pat McKissick, John Stipech, Tom Hawkes, and Bruce Bean played their customary good games. Underrated Bill Morley made many tackles. Morley, a former East High star, was slightly injured in the Oregon game but should be ready for Utah's next game. That's Wyoming on October 8th. The defensive backfield has improved quite a bit from last season. Jerry Pullman, Rich Tate, Gonzelo Cureton, and rover Gary Heard did a decent job covering the passes of last season's WCAC leading pass combination of Tom Trovato and Mike Brundage. Brun-dage. So congratulations to the football Utes. They're going to be all right. |