Banner Graphic, Volume 17, Number 96, Greencastle, Putnam County, 23 December 1986 — Page 7

Patriots in, Bengals out Grogan clears NFL playoff picture

MIAMI (AP) The New England Patriots waited until the final seven minutes of the regular season to show why they’re going to the playoffs and why the Miami Dolphins aren’t. The Patriots, 11-5, know how to win when they have to. Miami, 8-8, never developed that trait all season. With 6:55 left on the clock in the last NFL game played in the Orange Bowl, the Patriots had the ball at their own 14-yard line. Twelve plays later, they put it into the Miami end zone for the clinching touchdown in a 34-27 victory that gave New England the AFC East title. The Patriots scored the gamewinner with 44 seconds left on a 30yard touchdown pass from Steve Grogan to Stanley Morgan. That gave the Dolphins time for a lastgasp effort, but defensive back Rod McSwain intercepted Dan Marino’s pass on the first play after the kickoff to end the suspense. “This is two years in a row down here that have left me speechless,” said Patriots Coach Raymond

Chiefs-Jets, Rams-Redskins are playoff openers

By The Associated Press The New England Patriots are in, the Cincinnati Bengals are out and all the pieces of the NFL playoff puzzle are now in place. New England, 11-5, entered the playoffs Monday night when it beat Miami 34-27 to step over the slumpridden New York Jets, claim the AFC East title and earn a first-round bye. The Jets would have taken the division had Miami won, and Cincinnati, 10-6, would have won a tiebreaker over New England for the final AFC wild-card berth. Instead, the Jets, 10-6, despite finishing with five straight losses, will host the wild-card game against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday. The Chiefs, also 10-6, are in the playoffs for the first time in 15 seasons. Also in the AFC playoffs are Central Division champion Cleveland, 12-4 with the home-field advantage in the conference, and Denver, which won the West with an 11-5 mark. In the NFC, where four of the five

Meyer makes Colts' history by winning 3 in row

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) The Indianapolis Colts cast off a season of frustrations in the closing weeks of the 1986 campaign, making Ron Meyer the only coach in the NFL team’s history to win his first three games. “As far as I’m concerned, we are an undefeated franchise heading into (the 1987) training camp,” said Meyer, who inherited the league’s only winless team three weeks ago but finished with three victories, all on second-half rallies directed by newly activated quarterback Gary Hogeboom. The Colts wound up 3-13 after Sunday’s 30-24 season-ending triumph over the Los Angeles Raiders, clinching the second pick in the 1987 college draft. No other coach of the Colts, in Indianapolis since 1984 or in Baltimore before that, had ever won his first three games. The closest to doing that were Keith Molesworth, who won two of his first three games in 1953, and Don McCafferty, who won two of his first three and seven of his first eight in 1970. The victories over Atlanta, Buffalo and the Raiders also marked the longest winning streak for the Colts since 1983. “There’s no question the players are receiving me better than they did three weeks ago,” Meyer said Monday. “It’s a waste of time to go back and look at everything (that happened the first 13 weeks of the season). I don’t have that much time. It’s difficult to go back and look at unpleasant things.” Meyer said he would retain all of the Colts’ current assistant coaches for next season, and he awarded game balls, 103 in all, to

Evansville, Indianapolis record key hardwood victories

By The Associated Press The Evansville Aces shook off the loss of leading scorer Marty Simmon'- and defeated Bradley for the Aces’ sixth victory against two defeats. Evansville was led by sophomore guard Scott Haffner’s 27 points Monday night in beating Bradley 77-68 in a non-conference college basketball game. In other games, N 0.2 Purdue defeated Toledo 89-67, Indianapolis beat Butler 75-65 and Lewis downed

Berry, whose team won the AFC Championship game 31-14 in Miami last January only to lose to the Chicago Bears in the Super Bowl. “I don’t have to talk about this team’s character. It speaks loud and clear about them how they performed in clutch situations tonight.” The victory sent the New York Jets, 10-6, into the AFC wild-card game against Kansas City, 10-6, and knocked the Cincinnati Bengals, 106, out of the playoffs. The Patriots would have been the odd team out if they had lost. But the Patriots like to play with their backs against the wall, in what defensive back Ernest Gibson calls “crunch time.” “We like it best then,” he said. “We feel like we can do anything at crunch time. Even when they were up, we had no doubt. ’ ’ Most of the 74,516 roaring fans in the Orange Bowl had their doubts after Marino sparked a 17-point explosion that put the Dolphins on top 27-20 early in the fourth quarter. He passed to Mark Clayton for touch-

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teams have qualified for at least three straight years, playoff spots were finalized a week earlier. Settled in the final week was the NFC West title, which went to San Francisco when it beat Los Angeles 24-14 on Friday night; and the home-field advantage, which went to the New York Giants when they drilled Green Bay 55-24 Saturday. In losing, the Rams, 10-6, became a wild-card team bound for Washington and a meeting Sunday with the 12-4 Redskins. The Giants, 14-2; the 49ers, 10-5-1; the Central Division champion

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Colts' quarterback Gary Hogeboom - chatting with offensive coaches here - was a major factor in Ihdianapolis winning its final three

everyone in the organization. “This is beyond my wildest imagination,” said Hogeboom, who missed 11 games with a shoulder separation and was activated by Meyer the same week he succeeded the fired Rod Dowhower as coach. With the veteran Hogeboom out of the lineup, the Colts had struggled with rookie Jack Trudeau, who became the lowestrated quarterback among all NFL starters. But in the final three games, Hogeboom completed 57, of 92 attempts for 725 yards and six touchdowns. “I think our quarterback situation is our strength. Gary’s been magnificent in these three

Southern Indiana 68-53. “We seem to think that we couldn’t play well unless Marty Simmons was in there, but we came out tonight and forgot about him being out of the lineup and played well enough to win,” Evansville Coach Jim Crews said. Simmons, who has a broken right wrist, had a 22.3-point scoring average and averaged 7.3 rebounds. Bradley, down 35-33 at halftime, led briefly midway through the second half before falling behind for

downs of 32 and 19 yards and directed the Dolphins 74 yards leading up to a 21-yard Fuad Reveiz field goal. Marino, who earlier had drilled a 1-yard touchdown pass to Bruce Hardy, finished with 23 completions in 39 attempts for 266 yards and three touchdowns. But, as had been the problem in most of the Dolphins’ losses this season, he couldn’t produce when the team really needed it. “It was a great effort, but we just couldn’t hold the lead,” said Coach Don Shula. “We came a long way from a horrendous (2-5) start this season. A win tonight and we would have finished as good as anyone in the league.” After the 19-yarder to Clayton on the third play of the final period, however, the Dolphins didn’t get another first down. To be fair, they only got two chances because Grogan and the Patriots were hogging the ball. First came a 7-play, 74-yard drive culminated by an 12-yard TD pass to

Bears, 14-2, and the Rams have not missed the playoffs for at least three seasons. The Redskins have made it in two of the last three. The semifinal matchups in both conferences depend as always ,on the outcome of the wild-card games. The winner of the Kansas City-Jets game will play at Cleveland on Jan. 4. Denver will host New England on Jan. 3. The NFC matchups are up in the air because NFL rules prevent title winners from meeting wild-card teams from their own division until

games of the season, according to his coach Ron Meyer. (Banner-Graphic photo)

games,” said Meyer, whose winning streak cost the Colts a chance to draft Heisman Trophy winner Vinny Testaverde. “Three games don’t make a season, but they made my season.” Veteran Matt Bouza and rookie Bill Brooks finished as the best receiving combination in Colts history. Brooks had 65 receptions for 1,131 yards, second only to Raymond Berry’s club-record 1,298 yards in 1960, and Bouza finished with 71 catches for 830 yards. It was Brooks who caught the game-winning 11-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter on Sunday. “We need more speed at wide

good, 55-54, on a free throw by Evansville’s Curtis Jackson with 8:25 remaining. The Purple Aces worked their lead up to four points, but Bradley narrowed it to one, 69-68, on a 3-point field goal by Len Bertolini with 1:11 left. Haffner then was fouled and hit both ends of a one-and-one. Evansville’s Jeff Morning then was intentionally fouled and hit one of two free throws to make the score 72-68. Indianapolis freshman guard Gary Paul scored 27 points, including all

Tony Collins. Then, the 12-play masterpiece —lO rushes for 43 yards and two passes for 43 that clinched the title. The wily Grogan, a 12-year veteran, was the surprise hero, taking over for injured starter Tony Eason in the first half. Before he was hurt, Eason passed 22 yards to Morgan for the game’s first touchdown. Grogan was a little rusty at first, but quickly warmed to the task, hitting 15 of 24 passes for 226 yards and two touchdowns with only one interception. “It was an absolutely incredible job by Steve,” Berry said. “He didn’t take one snap in practice all week. We’ve been preparing Tony Eason exclusively.” Grogan said he had no problem once he settled down. “I just had to put it into auto pilot and let the guys around me do their jobs,” he said.

the conference championship game. Normally, the top-seeded team in this case the Giants would meet the wild-card survivor. But a Washington victory would preclude that. A wildcard victory by the Rams, who have qualified in all four years John Robinson has coached them, would put Los Angeles in the semifinals against the Giants on Jan. 4. A victory by the Redskins would put Washington in Chicago on Jan. 3 against the defending Super Bowl champion Bears. It also would send San Francisco, enjoying a four-year run in the playoffs, to New Jersey on Jan. 4 to meet the Giants, who eliminated the 49ers there last season in the wildcard game. The Giants, at 8-0. were the only NFL team to win every home game. , A Giants-Rams matchup Jan. 4 would follow by a day a semifinal between the 49ers and Bears. The conference finals are Jan. 11 with Super Bowl XXI set for Jan. 25 at Pasadena, Calif.

receiver, but I’m ecstatic about Bouza and Brooks,” Meyer said. Albert Bentley, who became the only Colt runner to top 100 yards in one game this season with 162 yards on Sunday, “performed admirably. His ability to come up with big plays got us going in the second half,” Meyer said. “At running back, we have four solid players (Randy McMillan, George Wonsley, Bentley and Owen Gill). That position’s OK. I like our tight ends, but we might need some more competition there. Our kicking game is in good hands,” Meyer said, assessing the team’s needs for next year.

three of his 3-point shots. Butler scored the last 10 points of the first half, including eight by Derrin Fitzgerald, to tie the game 3838 at halftime. The Bulldogs then scored the first six points of the final period to go up 44-38. Indianapolis, 5-4, responded by hitting eight straight baskets in a 19-6 run that included seven points by Jerry Nees, who finished with 18, and five each by Paul and Bill Whaley, who ended up with 15.

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STEVE GROGAN -- More than warmup Monday

Marion still state's top team, despite loss

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Marion’s four-point loss in Kentucky didn’t tarnish its image with most members of The Associated Press weekly high school basketball poll board. Although the two-time defending state champion Giants suffered their first loss of the season Saturday, 18 of the 23 sports writers and broadcasters who voted Monday still picked Marion No.l. The Giants lost 78-74 to Lexington (Ky.) Lafayette. They remained atop the AP Indiana rankings, but for the first time this season, they were not the unanimous pick. Three first-place votes went to unbeaten Lafayette Catholic, which remained second but closed the gap slightly in rating points, 454-434 out of a possible 460 points. Last week, Marion led Catholic 460-428. Michigan City Rogers remained third this week, but the Raiders also inched closer to Marion with one fir-st-place vote and 404 rating points. A week ago, Rogers had 384 points. The next five teams were unchanged from last week, with Concord still fourth, Gary Wallace fifth, Jeffersonville sixth, Evansville Memorial seventh and Fort Wayne Northrop eighth. Jeffersonville, which had the remaining first-place vote, and Memorial are the only unbeaten teams besides Lafayette Catholic among this week’s Top 20. Two previously unbeaten teams suffered their first losses last week their first week in the Top 20 and fell out of the rankings in the new poll. South Bend Riley dropped from No. 19, and Portage fell from N 0.20. The newcomers, both ranked

Florida cracks Top 20

By The Associated Press It may not be a big deal at places like Nevada-Las Vegas or Purdue, but making The Associated Press college basketball Top Twenty is something special for the Florida Gators. Florida slipped into the poll for the first time in history this week. The Gators, 8-1, may be a full 19 spots behind No.l UNLV, but they feel on top of the world. “It’s an indication of the program’s progress,” said Monte Towe, Florida’s associate head coach. “We’re very happy for the players. They’ve worked hard for this honor.” Towe was subbing for Head Coach Norm Sloan, who was en route to Atlanta for Christmas. He said the Gators, who have won eight straight after an opening game loss to Florida State, aren’t ready to call this season a success yet. “Being ranked was just one of the goals of this team and we still have goals left to accomplish,” Towe said. “But this is a very satisfying start.” The Gators never have played in the NCAA post-season tournament but reached the semifinals of the National Invitation tournament last spring and finished the season 19-14. Guards Andrew Moten and Vernon Maxwell, the leaders of that team, are back, joined by 7-foot freshman center Dwayne Schintzius. The Gators beat Louisiana State 96-75 last week and won the Gator Bowl Classic last weekend, beating Virginia Tech 82-60 and Ohio State 82-72. Later this week, they take off for Hawaii for the Rainbow Classic. Nevada-Las Vegas, 9-0, received

December 23,1986 THE BANNERGRAPHIC,

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) The Associated Press Top 20 Indiana high school boys’ basketball teams, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through games of last Saturday and rating points (460 possible): 1. Marion (18), 6-1, 454 2. Lafayette Catholic (3), 7-0,434 3. Mich. City Rogers (1), 4-1, 404 4. Concord, 8-1,381 5. Gary Wallace, 5-1,352 6 Jeffersonville (1), 7-0,349 7. Evansville Memorial, 6-0,331 8. Ft. Wayne Northrop, 5-1,304 9. Ft. Wayne Harding, 7-1,282 10. Bloomington South, 8-2, 222 11. Bedford-N.Lawrence, 7-1,214 12. Terre Haute North, 6-1,194 13. Connersville, 6-1,133 14. Muncie Central, 7-1,119 15. Gary Roosevelt, 4-2,104 16. Lafayette Jeff, 7-3,97 17. Evansville Bosse, 4-2,81 18. Anderson, 6-3,57 19. Andrean, 6-1,48 20. E.Chicago Central, 5-2,47 Others with 10 or more rating points: Bellmont 23, Jennings Co. 21, Noblesville 18, Portage 18, S.Bend Riley 18, Carmel 15, New Washington 15, Clinton Central 14, Richmond 14, Penn 13, Delta 10, Kokomo 10. •> earlier in the season, are Anderson, now rated 18th and 6-3 after beating East Chicago Central, and Andrean, 19th and 6-1 after victories over Portage and Hammond Gavit. The loss to Anderson dropped East Chicago eight spots to 20th this week. Also falling eight places was Evansville Bosse, which dropped to 17th after losing to two ranked teams last week Evansville Memorial and Terre Haute North. The biggest improvements this week were by Connersville and Muncie Central, up four spots apiece to 13th and 14th, respectively. Fort Wayne Harding and Bloomington South rose one spot apiece to ninth and 10th, respectively ; Bedford-North Lawrence and Terre Haute North climbed two spots apiece to 11th and 12th; and Gary Roosevelt moved up one spot to 15th, exchanging places with Lafayette Jeff.

Poll in scoreboard 48 first-place votes and 1,220 points Monday from a nationwide panel of sportswriters and broadcasters. The Runnin’ Rebels, No. 1 for the third consecutive week, beat NevadaReno 115-83 and Ohio University 10581 before capping their week with a 79-75 victory over Louisiana Tech in the championship game of the Rebel Roundup. Purdue, lowa and North Carolina held the second through fourth spots. Purdue, 6-0, received 11 first-place votes and 1,149 points. lowa, 9-0, had one first-place vote and 1,095 points, 20 more than North Carolina, 6-1. Each of the three teams won its only game of the week as Purdue routed Division II Tampa 79-48, lowa blasted intrastate rival lowa State 89-64 and North Carolina beat thenNo. 5 Illinois 90-77 in a nationally televised game. All three played Monday night. Purdue beat Toledo 89-67; lowa ran its record to 10-0 with a 104-71 victory over Rider and North Carolina beat Furman 95-65. Auburn, 6-0, which received the other two first-place votes and 896 points, moved into the fifth spot, while Oklahoma, 6-1, also advanced one place from last week with 805 points. Syracuse, 8-0, jumped from ninth to seventh with 769 points, 27 more than Indiana, 6-1, which held the No. 8 position. Illinois, 6-1, dropped to ninth, receiving 713 points and Georgetown, 7-0, rounded out the Top Ten for the second straight week with 698 points.

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