Leach works his revenge
(Continued fron Page 1)
The Michigan Daily-Sunday, October 29, 1978-Page 9
fT
tart was gain 131 yards on 23 carries,
:he most gained by any Michigan back
o far this season. He spent con-
siderable time in the Minnesota secon-
dary, and finally broke a 49-yarder for
Michigan's last touchdown - the only
score Leach didn't have a hand in.
"You take an 18-year-old freshman
(lile that and throw him in there - well,
you'd have to say he did a good job,"
said Schembechler.
Schembechler was quick to point out
hat Woolfolk made his share of fresh-
an mistakes - a missed block, a
>rocedure penalty, and especially a
second quarter fumble that ended up
out of bounds 27 yards behind the line of
scrimmage when Michigan was at the
Minnesota four yard line.
BUT WOOLFOLK wasn't the only
Wolverine who succumbed to oc-
casional sloppiness. Michigan fumbled
the ball six times, but only lost it once.
The bobbles always seemed to come
right by the sidelines, and half the time
ended up gaining yardage.
"Those fumbled pitchouts are
scary," Bo said. "But we got kind of
lucky on most of them."
Three first half penalties also slowed
the Wolverines, and probably were
responsible for keeping the halftime
score down to a respectable 14-3.
Michigan totally dominated the half,
scoring on a 26-yard Leach to Clayton
pass-run on their second possession and
again when Leach capped a 68-yard
second quarter drive with an eight-yard
squirm into the student endzone.
Minnesota settled for 79 yards of of-
fense, 45 of which came on Marion Bar-
ber's breakaway run one play after
Russell Davis had lost a fumble just in-
side Gopher territory. It was the only
time all afternoon the dangerous Bar-
ber wasn't trapped near the line, and it
led to a 20-yard field goal by Far-
mington product Paul Rogind.
But the Gophers pushed the self-
destruct button in the second half, tur-
ning the ball over the first two times
they touched it.
MINNESOTA had stopped Michigan
on one series to open the half, and
seemed to have good field position on its
own 44. But on the first play from
scrimmage, starting quarterback Mark
Carlson dumped a short pass right into
the waiting arms of safety Mike Har-
den, who brought the ball back all the
way to Minnesota's 25.
Seven plays later, Doug Marsh
caught his fourth touchdown pass of the
year.
Minnesota kick returner Keith Ed-
wards didn't even give his offense a
second chance, fumbling Brian Virgil's
ensuing kickoff on the 15. Gerald Diggs
dug the ball out for Michigan, and two
plays passed before Leach legged the
ball from the two for the score.
Suddenly, less than five minutes into
the half, the score was 28-3.
"That was the key," Schembechler
said. "Once we had them 28-3, I thought
our defense was playing well enough to
hold Minnesota."
THE RE-STRUCTURED defense
continued to improve, giving .up only
211 total yards. Nose guard Mike
Trgovac and linebacker Andy Can-
navino, both of whom played only
reserve roles until last week, each had
eight tackles, trailing only the main
man, Ron Simpkins, who had 11.
"We could have had a ballgame ex-
cept for the first five minutes of the
third quarter," said dejected Min-
nesota coach Cal Stoll. "But Michigan
got 42 more points than last year -
helluvan improvement, isn't it?"
BUt as long as Leach was on the field,
Minnesota would have had a hard time
making things close. He completed his
day's work with a short touchdown pass
to Clayton on a fourth-down play later
in the third quarter.
The five-TD day, gave Leach 70
touchdowns in his four years - 39
passes and 31 scoring runs. It brings
him within three of the all-time NCAA
mark.
Blue dynamo
SEASON HIGH RUSH MARK
Woolfolk sparkles in sun
Dailv Photo by ANDY FREEBERG
MINNESOTA'S quarterback Wendell Avery (1) is snagged by Michigan's Wolf,
Rick Jones(4.4) as Minnesota attempted to pass. Avery went 6 for 13 for a total of
58 yards passing yesterday. Gary Weber (62) looks on for Michigan as does Marty
Stein (68) for Minnesota.
By ERNIE DUNBAR
There's not much more freshman tailback Butch
oolfolk could ask for fromhis first start in college football.
Filling in for senior Harlan Huckleby, who was sidelined
y a groin pull suffered in last week's Wisconsin game,
oolfolk ran like a seasoned veteran in racking up 131 yards
23 carries, as Michigan rolled to a 42-10 victory over
innesota.
That amount represents the highest individual rushing
otal recorded by a Michigan running back so far this season.
major chunk of that yardage came on Michigan's final
possession of the game. The 6-2, 195-pounder took a pitchout
from quarterback Rick Leach and outraced the Minnesota
defense for 49 yards and a Michigan touchdown.
But while it appeared that Woolfolk had the answers
when called into action, Coach Bo Schembechler was quick to
point out that the 18-year-old from New Jersey still had some
flaws in his performance.
"I thought young Woolfolk did a good job," said
Schembechler. "On the basis of the plays you saw him make
they were good and bad. He fumbled the ball, he missed some
locks, he made typical freshman mistakes.
"But you have to realize he has not been up with us all
that time. He hasn't been in there running plays every week
preparing."
Woolfolk's only previous action came against the
adgers when he entered the game midway through the
fourth quarter, rushing six times for 32 yards.
Even Woolfolk wasn't totally pleased with his initial
tarting assignment. "I recognize I made a lot of freshman
errors and common mistakes freshmen usually make," said
the tailback who's been clocked at 9.5 in the 100-yard dash
and 10-1 in the 100 meters.
"After the game, Bo said I got a lot to do and don't get
conceited all of a sudden 'cause I have a lot of work to do. I
wish I wasn't so tense at the beginning of the game. I wish I
could have just been myself instead of just trying to impress
people that looked down on me becauseI was a freshman,"
said Woolfolk, who gained 60 yards on 15 carries in the first
half. "I was nervous until the first hit."
What is so ironic about Woolfolk's performance is that it
may never have come about had injuries to tailbacks Stanley
Edwards (ankle) and Roosevelt Smith (shoulder sprain) not
ccurred. Smith was able to account for only six attempts
and 20 yards, while Edwards failed once again to enter his
first game this season.
'We worked him hard this week" Schembechler said of
Woolfolk, who is the only freshman running back on the
Michigan team. "He ran first string all week because neither
Roosevelt Smith or Huckleby ran a play in practice this
week. We're asking that kid to do an awful lot."
In trying to keep his performance in perspective,
Woolfolk responded to questions in a rather modest tone. lie
realized he was in the Michigan lineup and playing before the
third largest crowd in Wolverine history (105,308) simply
because the men in front of him were hurting on the sidelines.
"Me playing this week and last week wasn't because of
talent. I think it was because of injury," he said honestly.
One of the key factors in Woolfolk's success was the
assistance he received from Huckleby and Smith.
"I was asking Huck and Stanley questions and they were
helping me with the reads I was missing. Huck was standing
behind the huddle while we were running plays in practice
and he was telling me what to look out for."
Since Woolfolk replaced Huckleby, the comparison
between the two speedsters was bound to occur. But when
asked to analyze the different styles the backs utilized,
Schembechler was a bit hesitant to respond.
"Well, they're a different type of back. Iluckleby's a long
strider and Woolfolk is a sort of like a power runner, but he's
got speed. He still's got to develop a little fluidity in there, but
he's a natural athlete.
"But-the thing I like about him is that he can deliver a
punch and he can take one. We're not talking about a dainty
back that has to toughen up. He's a pretty physical kid. His
legs are well built. A lot of muscle in his legs, big legs,"
Schembechler said of his runner who never played in a losing
game at Westfield high school in New Jersey.
"He doesn't look like he's that fast, but he's fast," Bo
continued. "He's a power runner, a speed runner."
The speed Schembechler speaks of is legitimate. In
addition to his times in the 100, Woolfolk has posted times of
20.9 in the 220-yard dash and has the second fastest time in
prep history in the 300-yard dash with a time of 31.0.
This speed has some observers touting Woolfolk for the
1980 Olympics in Moscow, something the youngsters likes
just fine. When asked whether he'd like to either win the 100
meters in the Olympics or score the winning touchdown in the
Rose Bowl, Woolfolk responded, "Win the 100 meters. The
Olympics-is once every four years and I can go back to the
Rose Bowl next year."
But for the moment, Woolfolk's attention is focused on
the upcoming game with Iowa. With the status of Huckleby
and Smith unknown until later this week, Schembechler can
rest assured that come Saturday, Woolfolk will once again be
an able substitute.
First downs.............
Rushing (att/yds)........
Passing (att/comp/int) ....
Passing yards..........
Total offense............
Punts (no.avg).........
Fumbles (no./lost) ........
Penalties (no./yds)........
MICH.
"23
69/301
13/9/0
143
444
4/44/7
6-1
3-45
MINN.
10
39/150
17/7/1
61
211
8/35.2
3/1
3-26
w
.
_ ..
Tangled
Up In
Blue
SCORING PLAYS
ist-Mich. Clayton. 26 yd. pass from Leach (Willner
kick)
2nd-Mich. Leach, Syd. run (Wiliner kick)
Minn. Rogind, 20 yd. field goal
3rd-Mich. Marsh, 3yd. pass from Leach
(Willner kick)
Mich. Leach, 2 yd. run (Willner kick)
Mich. Clayton, I yd. pass from Leach (Willner
kick)
4th-Minn. Kitzmann, 2 yd. run (Rogind kick)
Mich. Woolfolk. 49 yd. run (Willner kick)
SCORING
I 11'h Ci l V 111t krgch4'CII l
End
Michigan ................... 7 7
Minnesota .................. 0 3
RUSHING
MICHIGAN
21 7-42
0 7-10
Woolfolk ........................
Leach .......................
R. [avis.............. .....
Reid ...........................
R. Smith ........................
T. Leoni....................
Dickey ....................
MINNESOTA
ATT
23
14
14
5
6
5
YDs
131
62
57
22
20
20
Barber .......................... s15 75
Avery .......................... 3 23
Artis.........................5 21
White ........................ 5 19
Kitzmann ....................... 6 13
Bailey ........................... 1 4
Carlson ......................... 4 -5
PASSING
MICHIGAN
ATT COM INT
Leach ..................... 13 9 0
MINNESOTA
AVG
5.6
4.4
4.0
4.4
3.3
20.0
0.2
5.0
7.7
4.2
3.8
2.2
4.0
-1.3
YDS
143
Carlson ................... 4
Avery................... 13
RECEIVING
MICHIGAN
Clayton .........................
Mitchell .........................
Marsh ...........................
G. Johnson...... .............
MINNESOTA
Thompson .......................
Kitzmann .......................
W hite ............ .............
Bourquin ........................
1 1 3
6 0 58
NO.
4
2
2
1
2
2
2
1
YDS
76
34
19
14
28
8
14
LP
31
19
16
14
16
1s
5
14
An intimate look .
.at the clock
A FTER EXACTLY 13 minutes and 54 seconds of action both Michigan
and Minnesota headed to their dressing rooms and the partisan
Wolverine crowd left the stadium pleased.
The time was 4:20 and the fans had been sitting watching the game for
the last two hours and 45 minutes but they had seen only 13:54 of action. The
ball was actually live-snapped and fumbleable-for less than 14 minutes the
entire game. And 1:34 of that went to kickoffs and extra points.
From the moment the ball is hiked it's a defense's job to end the play as
quickly as possible while giving up as little ground as possible. Yesterday
Michigan ran 88 plays (including extra points) in 7:10, or an average of 4.8
seconds a play. Michigan gained 444 yards, in these 430 seconds, or over a
yard a second offense.
Meanwhile, Minnesota ran 65 plays in 5:28, or just about five seconds an
average play. The Gophers gained 211 yards or only about two seconds for
every yard.
Taking two seconds for every yard while the opposition does the same in
half the time obviously bothered Gopher coach Cal Stol. At his post-game
conference Stoll looked like an advertisement for purgatory: he was ob-
viously not comfortable here.
"We didn't have the ball in the first half," Stoll said, looking at his
fingernails, playing with a local garbage can liner, or the lint on his purple
pants, looking anywhere but at the small group of reporters in front of him.
He was, of course, mistaken. I recall very clearly his team punting a
number of times in the first quarter alone. In fact, Minnesota ran 2:03 worth
of plays in the first half. Stoll's complaint though may be relative; Michigan
ran more time than that in the second quarter alone..
It was in the second quarter that Michigan put together the game's
longest drive. It was an 18-play, 88-second job that resulted in a missed field
goal.
On this drive, as with most others in all of football, the quarterback
proved his worth (and pro contract demands) as the most important player
on the field. No one handles the ball as much as the quarterback.
Rick Leach took yesterday's snaps and constantly ambled down the line
running the option for a few seconds, or he faded back to pass for a while, or
he would keep the ball the whole play and carry it downfield.
Russell Davis on the other hand, occasionally took the ball from Leach
and two seconds later his play was over. Butch Woolfolk tried to muscle in on
Leach's act: he would take pitches and handoffs and stay on his feet for three
seconds or so before being tackled.
Woolfolk's 49-yard touchdown run was the longest play of the game,
taking a full 10 seconds. Here football proved itself as a slow, wathable-
from-a-distance game, for Woolfolk has run twice that distance in half the
time, sans equipment and the football.
Marion Barber of Minnesota must be just about as fast, for he went 45
yards in 9 seconds on the game's second longest play.
It's no wonder that the fans love plays like those two long runs, just from
an economic standpoint. Students pay $4 a ticket, or 35 cents for each minute
the ball is live. Other ticket holders pay double, 70 cents a minute.
Would you go bowling for 35 cents a minute? Of course fans want action, '
long runs, time consuming pass plays, quarterback scrambles-they want
their money's worth!
Don Canham must be pleased that he can box 14 minutes of action in an
all day package and over 100,000 people will buy it. (The trombone feature at
halftime took 1:40, equal to the time Michigan moved the ball in the first
quarter.)
The athletic department makes about $700,000 on ticket revenues per
game, or $50,000 for every minute the teams are actually in competition.
It doesn't surprise me that Stoll was in such a dour mood after the game.
Think of the man hours of preparation the Gophers put in before yesterday.
About 90 players each practiced around 20 hours last week (1800 hours)
while 10 coaches each put in around 60 hours (600 hours).
This totals 2400 hours and does not include a halftime pep talk. In 14
minutes Minnesota, with Michigan's assistance, was able to dump 2400 hours
of work drainward.
Okay, they got 10 points, or one for every 240 hours worked, but they
gave up 42 points, which is one every 57 hours worked.
My hair would be as gray as Stoll's and my manner as grim if I had just
wasted 2400 hours in a 14-minute performance.
Just for the record it took Michigan 5 to 6 seconds in the. huddle, while
Minnesota spent 7 or more. It took the entire Wolverine team, including
coaches, 38 seconds to go from the tunnel to a sideline huddle after halftime.
It took over a minute for the band to play the National Anthem, but only 24
seconds for The Victors, and just a second for the crowd to yell you-know-
what at the Fanfare Band.
And it took me 7,000 seconds to write this story.
SLOW START FATAL
Bulldogs devour Blue icers, 5-2
By BOB EMORY
The Michigan hockey team suffered
the first period blues again, only this
time they couldn't overcome them as
the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs skated
to a 5-2 victory over the Wolverines at
Yost Arena last night.
It was the first loss of the season for
Michigan as their record fell to 3-1
overall and 1-1 in the WCHA.
THE FIRST period action was the
wildest of the night as the six goals
scored came at all times and from all
places. Duluth struck early, taking a 2-0
lead less than two minutes into the
game as they coasted to their second
win of the year against as many losses.
Mark Pavelich and Curt Giles
threaded their way through the
Michigan defense with some fancy
passing that left Pavelich wide open in
front and he beat Wolverine netminder
Bob Sutton on his stick side, for the
Bulldogs' opening goal.
Freshman defenseman Mark Fried-
mann scored next for Duluth when his
hard shot from the point deflected its
way through a tangle of players and in-
to the upper corner. ,
WOLVERINE righ wing John Olver
closed the gap with a power play goal
from the point midway through the
period, but Duluth came right back two
minutes later and made it 3-1 on John
Rothstein's first of two goals for the
night.
Bill Wheeler's first goal of the season
temporarily revived the Wolverines,
but Rothstein's second goal with three
seconds remaining in the period
deflated them. Rothstein took a last-
second shot from about 50 feet out that
Sutton misjudged and Michigan went
into the locker room trailing 4-2.
"It's tough to win when you give up
two quick goals like that," said a disap-
pointed Michigan coach Dan Farrell.
"That last-second goal was definitely a
key one for them."
had all kinds of chances to score but
only Duluth did as its goaltender, Bill
Perkl, repeatedly stymied the
Wolverines from in close. Jeff Mars
was robbed twice in a row on rebounds
and Gordie Hampson failed to beat
Perkl on a clean breakaway to name
just a few of his spectacular saves.
"You can't score too many goals
when you shoot the puck right at the
goalie's chest," said Farrell. "I swear,
twenty of his thirty saves were right at
him."
THE BULLDOGS' last goal was a
pretty one. Defenseman Keith Hen-
drickson made a cross ice pasp from his
own zone to right wing John Harrington
who got around the retreating Michigan
defense and came in all alone on Sutton
to score his fifth goal of the young
season.
Both teams seemed to run out of gas
in the third period, a period that was
played exactly even. No goals were
scored, no penalties were called and
each squad managed just eight shots on
net.
Bulldog coach Gus Hendrickson said
the difference in last night's game was
his goaltending. "Perkl played an out-
standing game," he said. "Our
goaltending has really improved from
last year and I thought our forwards
forechecked much better tonight than
SCORES
;:
:;:, w .. . ,:,