Banner Graphic, Volume 21, Number 100, Greencastle, Putnam County, 31 December 1990 — Page 7

Dolphins outlast Colts, 23-17

MIAMI (AP) For the Miami Dolphins, the road to the Super Bowl will start at home. The Dolphins clinched the homefield advantage for the first round of the playoffs by beating Indianapolis on Sunday, 23-17. Miami’s opponent in this weekend’s wild-card game will be Kansas City. “This is a young team,’’ Dolphins comerback Tun McKyer said. “To play in front of the home crowd and get that first one under your belt is real important.... “THE DOUBTS AND the statistics are out the window. The team that shows up and plays the best game wins the game. Nothing else matters.” The Dolphins drew Kansas City as an opponent when the Los Angeles Raiders beat San Diego 17-12 to edge the Chiefs for the AFC West title. Miami had been struggling of late, losing three of the past six games going into Sunday. But the Dolphins still finished second in the AFC East with a 12-4 record, their

sports

Challengers all pulling for Irish

By The Associated Press Georgia Tech, Texas and Miami play on New Year’s Day for the opportunity to cheer, cheer for old Notre Dame on Tuesday night The winner of the Cotton Bowl matching the Longhorns and Hurricanes, and Georgia Tech, if it beats Nebraska in the Citrus Bowl, have to root for Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl since the Fighting Irish are playing top-ranked Colorado. NOTRE DAME ALSO could have a claim for the national championship if it can win, but goes into the game with the disadvantage of starting from the No. 5 national ranking. Georgia Tech (10-0-1) is No. 2, Texas (10-1) is No. 3 and Miami (9-2) is No. 4. Notre Dame also is 9-2, but with a victory over Miami it is hoping for Nebraska and Miami victories in the day games. It all could be moot if Colorado (10-1-1) wins, although undefeated Georgia Tech (10-0-1) could get some added support with a rout of Nebraska. “Last year we dreamed about playing for the national title,”

It’s never over, ’til it’s over, especially in the NFL

By BARRY WILNER AP Sports Writer Sorry, folks. It will take a little longer to determine the entire NFL playoff field for 1990. Like almost into 1991. All but one of the 12 spots have been filled, and the final NFC wild-card berth will go to New Orleans if it wins at home Monday night against the Los Angeles Rams. If the Saints lose, Dallas (7-9) will become the first team with a losing record to make the playoffs in a non-strike season. The Raiders and Bengals clinched division titles Sunday with close wins. Los Angeles took the AFC West with a 17-12 victory over San Diego, while Cincinnati beat Cleveland 21-14. “WE GOT IT DONE with hard work,” said Jay Schroeder, whose 17-yard TD pass to Steve Smith with 3:53 remaining gave the Raiders their first division championship in five years. “We came out flat and I don’t know why. We knew what was on the line but we just did not perform.” Until it mattered. Cincinnati also won with a touchdown pass, a 48yarder from Boomer Esiason to Eric Ball. “In practice Friday we had to run that play over four times because Eric couldn’t get the hang of it,” Esiason said. The Raiders’ win made Kansas City (11-5) a wild card. The Chiefs will play at Miami (12-4) next weekend. The Dolphins beat Indianapolis 23-17 to secure a home game. MEANWHILE, CINCINNATI is home to Houston in the first round because the Oilers routed Pittsburgh 34-14 Sunday night behind backup quarterback Cody Carlson. The Oilers’ win knocked the Steelers and Seattle Seahawks, both 9-7, out of the playoffs. Seattle had stayed in contention with a 30-10 romp past Detroit. In the NFC, Dallas blew its chance to secure the final wild-card slot when it was beaten 26-7 at Atlanta. The Saints or Cowboys will be at Chicago next weekend. Washington, which beat AFC East champion Buffalo 29-14, will be at Philadelphia in the other NFC

best since they last made the playoffs in 1985. “We’ve come a long way,” coach Don Shula said. “There won’t be too many records better than 12-4 in the NFL. We’re one of the top teams.” THE COLTS FINISHED with a 7-9 record, their worst since 1986. They were eliminated from playoff contention last weekend. “I saw no quit in this team,” coach Ron Meyer said. “When the media say you have nothing to play for ... I think they have to reconsider after today.” Oft-criticized Sammie Smith led the Dolphins by topping 100 yards rushing for the first time since the season opener. The second-year pro carried a career-high 29 times for 108 yards. Smith also caught a 53-vard touchdown pass from Dan Marino. And Miami benefited from two plays by defensive end Jeff Cross that produced 9 points. CROSS SET UP the only touchdown of the second half when he rushed in from Jeff George’s

Colorado running back Eric Bieniemy said. “This year we want to win the national title. Come Jan. 1,1 think you’ll see a team of one mind.” IN THE OTHER New Year’s Day bowls, it’s No. 12 Michigan (8-3) vs. No. 15 Mississippi (9-2) in the Gator Bowl; No. 14 Clemson (9-2) vs. No. 16 Illinois (8-3) in the Hall of Fame Bowl; No. 18 Louisville (9-1-1) vs. No. 25 Alabama (7-4) in the Fiesta Bowl; No. 8 Washington (9-2) vs. No. 17 lowa (8-3) in the Rose Bowl; and Virginia (8-3) vs. No. 10 Tennessee (8-2-2) in the Sugar Bowl. There were two bowl games Monday No. 21 Southern Cal (8-3-1) played No. 22 Michigan State (7-3-1) in the John Hancock BowlandCalifomia(6-4- l)facedWyoming (9-3) in the Copper Bowl. On Saturday, Texas A&M upset No. 13 Brigham Young 65-14 in the Holiday Bowl, knocking Heisman Trophy winner Ty Detmer out of the game with dislocated shoulders; Auburn beat Indiana 27-23 in the Peach Bowl and Colorado State edged Oregon 32-31 in the Freedom Bowl.

opening-round game. IN OTHER GAMES SUNDAY, it was the San Francisco 20, Minnesota 17; the New York Giants 13, New England 10; Denver 22, Green Bay 13; and the New York Jets 16, Tampa Bay 14. On Saturday, it was Kansas City 21, Chicago 10, and Philadelphia 23, Phoenix 21. Raiders 17, Chargers 12 At Los Angeles, the Chargers managed only four field goals, leaving room few the Raiders. They took advantage. The Raiders drove 80 yards in 11 plays for the winning touchdown after a 21-yard field goal by John Carney had given San Diego a 12-10 lead. Schroeder completed all five passes for 70 yards on the winning drive. Before that, he was just 6-of-17 for 92 yards. “This team responded when it had to,” defensive tackle Bob Golic said. “We came through at the right time. They had nothing to lose and played like it. I guarantee you’ll see a different Raider team in the playoffs.” Bengals 21, Browns 14 At Cincinnati, the Bengals blew a 14-0 lead, then rallied. It didn’t hurt that their opponent was ending the worst season in franchise history. The Browns (133) had two fumble recoveries negated by penalties, failed to score on first-and-goal from the 1, and had interceptions lead to both Cincinnati touchdowns in the first half. The Bengals are making their second playoff appearance in seven years under coach Sam Wyche, who took them to the Super Bowl in 1988. Four times they went down to the final week needing help from another team to make the postseason and didn’t get it This time, they did. “It feels good to finally have one go our way,” Wyche said. “Everybody’s equal now,” safety David Fulcher said. “We start from scratch here. I think when we start from scratch, we play pretty well.” Oilers 34, Steelers 14 Carlson, making his first start since 1988, completed 22 of 29 passes for 247 yards and three touchdowns as the Oilers riddled a defense that hadn’t allowed a TD in its last three games. The Steelers entered the game

blind side to knock the ball out of the quarterback’s hands. Lineman Brian Sochia, an eighth-year pro, picked up the fumble and raced 13 yards for his first NFL score. Miami’s defense scared a firsthalf safety when George was flagged for intentional grounding while trying elude Cross in the end zone. George, a No. 1 draft pick concluding an up-and-down rookie season, also had two passes intercepted by Jarvis Williams. INDIANAPOLIS scored the final points when Dean Biasucci kicked a 55-yard field goal, the longest ever against Miami, with 5:18 left Only 13 seconds remained by the time the Colts got the ball back at their 20, and the clock ran out after they reached the Dolphins’ 47. The Colts’ Eric Dickerson rushed for 110 yards on 20 carries. George threw first-half touchdown passes of 15 yards to Albert Bentley and 64 yards to Jessie Hester. DEPSITE THE LOSS, Indianapolis was 5-3 in the second half of the season.

Indiana up to fifth in latest AP college poll

By the Associated Press With UNLV holding the top spot for the seventh consecutive week, the top 11 teams in the Associated Press poll remained unchanged Monday. The Runnin’ Rebels (6-0) received 62 of 63 first-place votes and 1,574 points in the voting by writers and broadscasters to easily outdistance Arkansas (10-1), which had 1,465 points. SYRACUSE (12-0) received the other first-place vote and had 1,428 points, 32 more than Arizona (101). Indiana (12-1) was fifth with 1,262 points and was followed in the Top Ten by Ohio State, North Carolina, Duke, SL John’s and UCLA. The Buckeyes (10-0) held sixth with 1,251 points, 59 more than North Carolina (9-1). Duke (9-2) had 1,146 points, while St. John’s (9-0) had 1,031 and the Bruins (101) had 991. OF THE TOP 10 teams, only one had a victory closer than 10 points last week, and that was Ohio State’s 82-80 win.

Despite 5-of-23 day, Ditka will start Tomczak

CHICAGO (AP) After a day of thinking it over, Chicago Bears coach Mike Ditka says he’ll stick with quarterback Mike Tomczak in the first weekend of the playoffs. After the Bears’ 21-10 loss Saturday to the Kansas City Chiefs, Ditka said he might start back-up Peter Tom Willis, rather than Tomczak, next week. But in an interview with Chicago station WBBM-TV Sunday night, Ditka said he was “pretty sure” he

Colts-Dolphins Colti-Dolphins Stats Indianapolis 7 7 0 3 —l7 Miami 7 9 0 7 —23 First Quarter Ind—Bentley 15 pass from George (Biasucci kick). 4:11. Mia—Smith 53 pass from Marino (Stoyanovich kick), 6:15. Second Quarter Mia—Smith 1 run (Stoyanovich kick), :48. Ind—Hester 64 pass from George (Biasucci kick), 2:25. Ms—Safety, George intentionally grounding in end zone, 6:10. Fourth Quarter Mia—Sochia 13 fumble return (Stoyanovich kick), :10. Ind—PG Biasucci 55,9:42. Ind Mia First downs 20 16 Rushes-yatds 24-123 31-115 Passing 193 192 Return Yards 44 19 Comp-Att-Int 18-30-2 14-26-0 Sacked-Yards Lost 3-29 0-0 Punts 1-40 5-48 Fumbles-Lost 1-1 0-0 Penalties-Yards 1-15 3-25 Time of Possession 28:01 31:59 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHlNG—lndianapolis, Dickerson 20-110, Bentley 3-13, George 1-0. Miami, Smith 29-108, Logan 1-7, Paige 1-0. PASSlNG—lndianapolis, George 18-30-2-22?-Miami, Marino 14-26-0-192. RECElVlNG—lndianapolis, Bentley 6-56, Brooks 6-40, Hester 3-97, Dickerson 2-12, Morgan 1-17. Miami, Paige 4-25, Duper 3-54, Edmunds 326, Smith 1-53, Pruitt 1-18, Martin 1-11, Clayton 1-5.

Top 25 The Tbp Twenty Five By Associated Press The Top Twenty Five teams in the Associated Press 1990-91 college basketball poll, with firstplace votes in parentheses, records through Dec. 30 total points based on 25 points for a first place vote through one point for a 25th place vote and last week's rankings: Record Pts Pvs 1. UNLV (62) 6-0 1,574 1 2. Arkansas 10-1 1,465 2 3. Syracuse (1) 12-0 1,428 3 4. Arizona 10-1 1,396 4 5. Indiana 12-1 1,262 5 6. Ohio St 10-0 1,251 6 7. North Carolina 9-1 1,192 7 8. Duke 9-2 1,146 8 9. St. John's 9-0 1,031 9 10. UCLA 10-1 991 10 11. Pittsburgh 11-2 908 11 12. Connecticut 8-1 785 13 13. Oklahoma 10-2 740 14 14. 7-2 711 15 15. Georgetown 7-2 645 16 16. Kentucky 8-2 587 18 17. E. Tennessee St 9-1 523 20 18. Virginia 7-2 521 19 19. Nebraska 12-1 366 22 20. South Carolina 9-2 350 12 21. Southern Miss. 5-1 343 21 22. lowa 11-1 306 23 23. New Mexico St 8-1 230 24 24. Georgia Tech 7-3 112 25. Michigan St 7-3 108 25 Other receiving votes: Georgia 93, Illinois 50, New Mexico 44, Texas-El Paso 35, Purdue 33, Seton Hall 32, Arizona St 30, La Salle 24, Alabama 23, Utah 23, South Florida 16, New Orleans 12, Texas 11, Mississippi St. 9, Oklahoma St 9, Penn St 9, Kansas 8, Princeton 8, SW Louisiana 8, Southern Cal 7, Louisville 6, Baylor 4, Temple 4, Houston 3, Michigan 1, Minnesota 1, N. Carolina St 1.

wouldn’t yank Tomczak for the inexperienced rookie. “I REALLY BELIEVE in Mike,” Ditka said. “It’s easy to point the finger and criticize. But I think he will really go out there and do his best for us.” Ditka said he may play Willis if Tomczak has another bad outing. “I would not be unwilling to play P.T. if things aren’t going well,” he said. “But I’m not going to jerk a quarterback just because

ranked first in the league on defense. Houston’s win gave Cincinnati the division crown with the best intra-division record, 5-1. The Oilers had the best conference mark, 8-4, giving them the wild card over Pittsburgh and Seattle, although all were 9-7. “I thought he’d do that.” coach Jack Pardee said of Carlson. “He was untested, but he has the ability.” Falcons 26, Cowboys 7 At Atlanta, the Cowboys blew a chance to finish .500 after going 1-15 last year. Worse, they may have blown a playoff spot. Keith Jones returned the second-half kickoff 76 yards for a touchdown and Deion Sanders added a 61yard TD interception for Atlanta (5-11). Mike Rozier gained a career-high 155 yards on 21 carries and became the first player to appear in 17 games in an NFL season. He played in five for Houston and 12 for Atlanta after being signed off waivers. “It was one of those days everything we did was wrong,” Johnson said of an offense that gained only 151 yards. Seahawks 30, Lions 10 Norm Johnson had three field goals and Seattle’s defense held Barry Sanders to 23 yards rushing and recorded five sacks. Still, Sanders won the NFL rushing title with 1,304 yards. He became the first Detroit player to win the league rushing title since Byron “Whizzer” White in 1940. The Lions wound up 6-10. 49ers 20, Vikings 17 Most of the usual suspects lifted San Francisco (142) to its league-record 18th consecutive road victory. A notable exception was Joe Montana. Instead, Steve Young performed the late heroics. He hit John Taylor with a 34-yard touchdown pass with 29 seconds left as the 49ers became the first NFL team to win 14 or more games in three seasons. Young rallied the 49ers from a 10-0 halftime deficit. He was 15 of 24 for 205 yards passing and added 59 yards on six rushes in two quarters. “Both of them are offensive stars,” San Francisco’s Charles Haley said of Montana and Young. “Steve told me last week that quarterbacks are expected to win the game. His goal this week was to pull it out at the end.”

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SCOTT SKILES: Passing fancy leads to record

Ex-Pacer Skiles sets NBA record with 30 assists

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) Former Indiana Pacer Scott Skiles set an NBA record with 30 assists Sunday night in Orlando’s 155-116 victory over the Denver Nuggets. Skiles, whose previous careerbest assist game was 18 this season, surpassed the record of 29 by New Jersey’s Kevin Porter against Houston on Feb. 24, 1978. SKILES HAD 25 assists after three quarters and tied the record on his 29th with an alley-oop pass to Jerry Reynolds vWth 6:53

he makes a mistake or throws an interception.” Tomczak completed only five of 23 passes for 85 yards in Saturday’s game. “I played very poor,” Tomczak said Sunday night on WGN-TV. “The stats were poor.” THE BEARS (11-5) finished the season losing four of their last six games and still don’t know who their first playoff opponents will be. On Sunday, Dallas failed to

Jerry Rice caught nine passes for 118 yards, becoming only the fourth player ever with 100 receptions in a season. The Vikings (6-10) lost their final four games to finish last in the NFC Central. Redskins 29, Bills 14 At Washington, the Bills (13-3) rested many of their regulars and Thurman Thomas, held to no yards in five carries, lost the rushing title to Detroit’s Sanders. Chip Lohmiller tied a team record with five field goals for the Redskins (10-6). Lohmiller made kicks of 37, 24,19,43 and 32 yards. Bruce Smith also fell short of the NFL sack lead. He didn’t get any in the last three games and finished with 19, one behind Derrick Thomas of Kansas City. “We have other things to look forward to,” said Smith. “We have accomplished 99.9 percent of our goals this year.” Giants 13, Patriots 10 At Foxboro, where a sellout crowd included more than 40,000 Giants fans who drove up from New York, the Patriots finished their worst season ever. New England was 1-15, tying the NFL mark for most losses in a season. The Patriots also lost 14 in a row, matching another league record, and have not beaten an NFC East team since 1978. All of the scoring came in the first half, with Matt Bahr’s 27-yard field goal providing the difference for New York, which struggled in splitting its last six games after a 10-0 start. Broncos 22, Packers 13 Denver, which won the AFC championship in three of the last four years, finished last in the AFC West this season at 5-11. Green Bay wasn’t much better, falling from 10-6 to 6-10 and losing its last five. In this one, Sammy Winder rushed for 80 yards in his final NFL game. Jets 16, Bucs 14 At Tampa, the Jets won their second straight to wind up 6-10, the same record as the Bucs. The main difference in these teams is that rookie coach Bruce Coslet will be back, while Tampa interim coach Richard Williamson has no idea if he’ll be back after going 1-2 since replacing the fired Ray Perkins.

December 31,1990 THE BANNERGRAPHIC

left. Skiles then made eight passes that would have been assists, but the shots were missed. Finally, Reynolds converted a 20-footer with 19.6 seconds to go for the 30th assist. Skiles scored 22 points, including 13 in the fourth quarter when he took open jumpers rather than pass to teammates. THE MAGIC, whose previous single-game record was 135 points, put eight players in ddlible figures, led by Reynolds’ 27 and Terry Catledge’s 25.

clinch the NFC’s No. 3 wildcard berth, losing 26-7 at Atlanta. That left the door open for New Orleans to nail down the playoff spot with a victory over the Los Angeles Rams tonight. A Rams victory would send the Cowboys to Chicago this coming weekend. Tomczak said he’d be upset if he is set down, but realizes that Ditka’s choice won’t be personal but will be for the good of the team.

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