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KANSAS SOFTBALL Freshman pitcher Sarah Workman has posted a 6-0 record and a 0.00 ERA. Page 3B
SPORTS
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 1995
SECTION B
Emmitt ain't no Barry
Here's a little NFL smack talk for you.
I heard one of the dumbest statements made in recent weeks yesterday morning.
A radio broadcaster recapping the Monday Night Football game between the Detroit Lions and the San Francisco 49ers said that Barry Sanders proved why Dallas Cowboy Emmitt Smith is the best running back in football.
Sanders, a running back for the Lions, cannot prove that another player is better than him. This statements should not have been made in giving a recap of a game. A statement like this belongs on sports talk radio or in a column in a newspaper.
The broadcaster
said that Sanders proved Smith was the best back in the NFL by not showing up for a big game. Sanders only had 24 yards on 17 carries.
I suppose that Sanders choked in the big game, and that is why the defending Super Bowl Champion 49ers were able to shut
SPORTS REPORTER
down the run but not the pass. San Francisco has a good pass defense, and there is an explanation for why the quarterback of the 1-3 Lions completed 28-of-42 passes for 291 yards.
The 49ers concentrated on the best running back in football. This shouldn't be too hard considering that Sanders' offensive line is not very good, and his team's passing attack has been W-E-A-K throughout most of his career.
Make Smith run behind that line and he'll be running to the doctor more than he runs to his owner to renegotiate his contract.
Smith always seems to have an injury anyway.
Some of you may remember the team member you played alongside for years on the playground and in the big games that always seemed to have one small nagging injury or another and managed to play. Sometimes they played well, and it was an amazing effort. After enough of those small injuries, the hero act got old.
Smith now has an arm injury that he's going to milk. He said that other Cowboys have had this injury and played, and he will, too. I wonder if his teammates are sick of hearing about his injuries when they have their own nagging injuries that they play with and are never heard about.
The statement made by that broadcaster was ridiculous. Smith's team is a complete opposite of Sanders' team. Smith has the best offensive line in football to run behind and a good passing attack.
Smith would not be as effective if he did not have one of the best quarterbacks and wide receivers in the NFL taking pressure off the running game. Dallas quarterback Troy Aikman passes the ball to many different receivers effectively and keeps the defense off-balance.
If Sanders ran behind the Dallas offensive line, he would rush for 3,000 yards and break every record in the book. Dallas wide receiver Michael Irvin said that the best player in football is Dallas offensive tackle Erik Williams. That means Williams is better on the line than Jerry Rice is at wide receiver and Dan Marino is at quarterback.
Smith isn't even the second-best back in football. Indianapolis Colt running back Marshall Faulk would be perfect for the Cowboy offense. Just like Sanders, Faulk would run through those giant holes and then actually gain yards on his own by putting moves on defenders.
Actually, Smith does gain yards on his own by breaking tackles with his strong legs, but he doesn't compare with Sanders. Sanders can break tackles like Smith, but he also avoids defenders by making moves that cause their heads to spin.
Sanders doesn't have to prove anything, because Smith and Sanders do not play on comparable teams.
Kansas men's golf team wins big
By Spencer Duncan
Kansan sportswriter
The Kansas men's golf team can breathe a sigh of relief after proving yesterday it may be a better team than a disappointing finish on opening weekend suggested.
After a lackluster performance in Falcon Heights, Minn., last week, the Jayhawks left their competition far behind yesterday when they won the Rolex Kansas Invitational by 31 strokes, the largest margin of victory ever recorded at the invitational.
Although the tournament was played at Alvamar Golf Club, Kansas' home course, Kansas men's golf coach Ross Randall does not think that was the reason for such a big victory over Drake University.
"Sure it helps being at home," Randall said. "But the team has never played this well before on this course."
At the two-day, par-72 tournament, the Jaylawks wasted no time in turning back the rest of the field. After two rounds on Monday, the team consisting of seniors Dan Rooney, Alan Stearns, Slade
Adams, junior Kit Grove and redshirt freshman Chris Thompson had a combined score of 571 to give them an 11-stroke lead over second place Drake.
The Jayhawks not only had a commanding team lead, but the first and second place individual leaders were Rooney and Adams, respectively.
"Our total was really low," Randall said. "You are always really happy when you finish with such a low score the way we did."
Kansas didn't allow its big lead to dwindle yesterday. In fact, just the opposite occurred. The 11-stroke lead grew by 20, and the Jayhawks finished with a combined score of 859. They defeated Drake and became tournament champions for the second consecutive year.
It was the first time Kansas played all three rounds of a tournament at par or better and the lowest three-round total by any team at Alvamar since Oklahoma in the 1981 Big Eight Championships.
"You know, that's saying,
'No one comes into our house
and pushes us around.'"
After Monday, Rooney was the tournament leader with a two round score of 140. He led by just two strokes over teammate Adams and Jason Schultz of Missouri, who were tied for second place.
Yesterday, Rooney lost ground to Adams. Rooney shot a 72 and Adams shot a 70, tying the two for first place. Instead of going to a tie breaker, however, the two were named tournament co-champions. It was Rooney's first collegiate victory and Adams' second.
Rooney said.
Rooney didn't mind sharing the title with his teammate. Instead, he found it to be a positive moment.
“There is no one I would have rather shared it with,” Rooney said. “What better way to play team golf.”
Rooney and Adams were not the only strong finishers for Kansas. None of the competition players finished below 21st place. Grove shot a 219 to finish tied for fifth and capture his first top ten finish. Thompson shot 220 to finish tied for sixth, and Stearns shot a 224 to tie for 21st, which marked his eight top 25 victory.
KANSAS INVITATIONAL
Final Team Standings
1. Kansas, 859
2. Drake University, 890
3. South Florida, 898
4. Southwest Louisiana, 900
Kansas Finishes
1t. Dan Rooney, 212
1t. Slade Adams, 212
1t. Kit Grove, 219
8t. Chris Thompson, 220
21t. Alan Stearns, 224
28t. Dustin Anderson, 226
33t. Chad Roesler, 227
39t. Heath Mayor, 228
47t. Brad Barnett, 229
67t. Jason Seeman, 234
67t. Andy Bengston, 234
78t. Ryan Zug, 239
92. Vance Holtzman, 256
Next week the Jayhawks head to a St. Louis tournament that Randall believes will offer the best challenge of the early season. But the invitational yesterday should prepare the team well for even tougher competition, he said.
Kansas senior golfer Jason Seeman chips onto the green at the Rolex Kansas Invitational. The Jayhawks shot an 859, the lowest three-round team total since 1981.
Mett Flickner / KANSAN
KANSAS FOOTBALL
Running backs share spotlight
Levine and Henley are important to Jayhawk success
Kansas Junior running back June Henley (20) follows his blockers senior running back L.T. Levine (22) and junior tight end Jim Moore (89) during Saturday's 20-13 victory against Houston. Henley and the Levine combined for 205 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns.
By Robert Sinclair Kansan sportswriter
After its 20-13 victory against Houston on Saturday, the Kansas football team improved its record to 4-0 and now is ranked No. 25 in the Associated Press College Football Poll.
After its undefeated non-conference schedule, the question is: What is the secret to the team's success?
During the offseason, Kansas football coach Glen Mason repeatedly promised to throw the ball more this year than in the past. However, maybe it was Cincinnati football coach Rick Minter who best summed up the Jayhawks' offensive philosophy.
"You can talk all you want about passing attacks," Minter said. "But when you lose that ability to run the ball, you lose your edge."
Minter went on to say that Kansas had two of the country's best running backs — junior June Henley and senior L.T. Levine and the best tandem of backs of all the teams his Bearcats would face this year.
In the Cincinnati game, Henley scored two touchdowns. Although he had only 30 yards rushing, he was responsible for the Jayhawks' winning touchdown, which came with 4:43 remaining in the game.
The Texas Christian defense would probably be quick to agree with Minter's assessment of the Kansas running game.
In fact, Henley and Levine both played a key role in the Jayhawks' Thursday night ESPN victory against the Horned Frogs.
Levine, although he didn't score, picked up 62 yards on 13 carries. He was also the lead blocker on Henley's first touchdown.
"June Henley was better tonight than the old June Henley," Mason said following the TCU game. "He was basically unstoppable."
In addition to the 294 combined yards rushing on 26 carries, the pair accumulated four touchdowns and the majority of the post-game praise.
Kansas senior quarterback Mark Williams agreed with his coach and added that the running backs definitely played a key role in the victory.
"They really proved what type
of running backs they were today," Williams said. "They were kind of quiet in the first couple games. Today (Sept. 14) they just ran hard and weren't worried about anything else."
Not only were the two backs responsible for 24 of the team's 38 points, but they also came up with some of the biggest plays of the game:
On third down from TCU's 9-yard line, Levine scored on a draw play to put Kansas ahead 14-0.
Henley also ran for a 59-yard touchdown just more than halfway through the fourth quarter.
With 11:32 remaining in the second quarter, Henley scored on a 43-yard run.
Levine broke a 43-yard run, which sealed the victory for the Jayhawks, with 4:04 left in the game.
"I think the defense wasn't set. They had a tackle out of position," Levine said of his score. "We were having a hard time running the ball, but we capitalized on that."
The Jayhawks' success running the ball continued Saturday as both backs scored touchdowns against Houston.
Levine tallied 105 yards on 15 carries including a 48-yard touchdown run.
Later in the game, when Henley dove over the top from the 1-yard line, he was once again responsible for the winning score — his third in four games.
"We knew it was our last chance and that we had to go out there and get it in." Henley said. "We owed the defense for a couple of things. We knew we had to get it in the end zone."
Needless to say, the Jayhawks are as much land rovers as they are birds of flight.
Runnin' like the Wind
Levine and Henley have combined for 614 yards rushing on 96 car-
Their numbers account for almost half of the team's total offense (734 yards out of 1,598 yards) and eight of the Jayhawks' 11 touchdowns.
Career Rushing Leader
1. Tony Sands '88-91, 3,788 yds.
4. John Higgins '68-70, 2,659 yds.
5. HENLEY '93, 2,040 yds.
6. Donnile Dunklin '66-68, 1,630
yds.
12. LEVINE '92: 1.707 yds.
Career Touchdowns
1. Sands, 28
2. three tied, 23
3. HENLEY, 22
Career Scoring Leaders
1. Dan Eichhoff 1990-93, 302 points
6. Bill Bell 1967-69, 132 points
8. HENLEY, 132 points
Volleyball prepares for Sooners
By Bill Petulla
Kansan sportswriter
For the Kansas volleyball team, the Big Eight Conference war begins tonight, and the team will wage its first battle in Norman. Okla., against Oklahoma.
Returning from a disappointing Nebraska Tournament during the weekend, in which the Jayhawks was winless, Kansas (5-8) is wiping the slate clean and starting anew tonight.
"We know that we did some great things in the Nebraska Tournament," Kansas volleyball coach Karen Schonewise said. "We just never played a complete match, but we're putting the Nebraska Tournament behind us now."
The Jayhawks will make some personnel adjustments tonight, as sophomore Leslie Purkeypile switches to leftside hitter. Sophomore Kendra Kahler also will begin the game at the leftside hitter position.
Leading Kansas' battle charge against the Sooners is senior outside hitter Jenny Larson. The Jayhawks' captain leads the team with 160 kills and a .240 percentage for hits. Freshman outside hitter Laura Rohde ranks second for the Jayhawks with 100 kills and leads the team in digs with 110.
Tonight the Sooners will begin their quest for a second consecutive trip to the Big Eight Tournament. Oklahoma (10-4) finished fourth in the conference last season and hopes to get some help from a young squad, which only has one senior.
"Overall, we've been playing very well," Oklahoma volleyball coach Miles Papst said. "I really feel that all the Big Eight games are going to be a dog fight."
Oklahoma sophomore outside hitter Patrice Arrington leads the Sooners. She has 234 kills and 4.98 kills a game. Senior middle blocker Heidi Luehmann leads the team in block assists with 47.
Schonewise said that Arrington, Luehmann and sophomore outside hitter Melissa Peterson are the players to look out for on the young Sooner squad.
"Most of Oklahoma's sets go to the outside hitters," Schonewise said.
Schonewise also said that she felt confident in her team's play and thought they had a good chance to win against Oklahoma.
Kansas is much more focused than it has been in the past weeks, Schonewise said.
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