Page Eight
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
Sunday, November 24, 1974
Page ---.., THE,.ICH.G.N.,A.L.
KLABAN'S KICKS DOOM MICHIGAN
'Fou
(Continued from Page 1)
and decisively for an early 10-0
lead.
THE WOLVERINE defensej
forced Ohio to punt away its
initial possession before Mich-
igan moved 53 yards in only
four plays. Three rushes gained
nine yards before Franklin
found wingback Gil Chapman
cutting across t h e middle.
Chapman gathered in the toss
at the 20 and raced to the flag.
After, a Greene fumble, the
Wolverines came right back,
Buckeye
boots
-we
Wilt
flue
roses
moving 52 yards in nine plays
for a first down at the OSU 22.
Gordon Bell carried for 42 of
those yards but Michigan stalled
at the 21 and settled for Lan-
try's 37-yard boot.
WITH HIS total of 108 yards
yesterday, Bell carried for cver
100 yards for the fifth straight
game. He also became just the
third Michigan back to rush for
1000 yards in a season, joining
Ron Johnson and Billy Taylor
in that elite group.
George Hostings -
Climactic battle .. .
.. .just a kicking contest
COLUMBUS
BEFORE THE GAME, all the sports writers talked about
motivation, about desire, about Archie Griffin, about Dennis
Franklin's ankle, about field position and strategy. Little did
they realize it would all boil down to the kicking game.
Without a doubt, the difference in the kicking games of
Michigan and Ohio State is the reason that the Buckeyes and
not the Wolverines will in all probability be going to the Rose
Bowl. Two unheard-of young Buckeyes with strong legs booted
their way into Big Ten history here yesterday, breaking the
hearts of Michigan-lovers, and Woody Hayes-haters all over the
country.
One unfortunate young Viet Nam veteran from Oxford,
Michigan could not equal their exploits at the end of the game,
on the last kick of his college career.
Fat old Woody came out of his lockerroom after enter-
taining his high school recruits and confirmed that kicking
was what decided the contest. "That was the greatest exhibi-
tion of a great kicking game I ever saw," he crowed.
Briefly, Woody declared to the assembled press that it was
his coaching opponent, Bo Schembechler, who had prompted him
to concentrate on footwork.
"Bo said this game would be decided on the kicking game
and he was right," gloated Woody. "I heard that and decided
we would work hard all week on kicking and punting-and we
did work hard on it. Sometimes you can learn something from
another coach," he added with a satisfied grin.
Kickers spark Bucks
Whatever Woody did in practice, it paid off yesterday. Tom
Klaban, a Czechoslovakian immigrant, was letter-perfect in four
field goal attempts ranging in distance from twenty-five to forty-
seven yards. They were all the points that the best offense in
college football could manage against the magnificent Michigan
defense, but they were enough for Ohio State to spoil the
Wolverines' season for the third straight year.
Woody Hayes' legions retali-
ated with Klaban's first field
goal and two more before half-
time. Prior to Klaban's second
boot, the Bucks had a first
down on the Michigan 11 but
settled for three points, cutting
the Michigan advantage to 10-6.
Michigan moved 346 yards to
the Buckeye 34, but Lantry was
wide with a 51-yarder into the
wind, and the Bucks took over
with a little over a minute left
in the half.
IN THESE wanning seponds,
Ohio moved 54 yards as Hayes
used all his time outs to set tip
Klaban's third kick, a 43-yarder.
Greene set it up by burning a
momentarily sloppy Michigan
defense for a 25-yard comple-
tion to Dave Hazel.
The defenses tightened up in
the second half and only Klaban
could dent the scoreboard for
the winning tally, five minutes
into the third quarter.
Since Michigan and Ohio
State tied for the Big Ten title
the conference athletic direc-
tors will gather in Chicago this
morning to pick the conference
representative in the Rose Bowl.
Although tradition normally
dictates that the winner of the
head-on battle would go, there
is some feeling that Michigan
has an outside shot at captur-
ing the vote. A 5-5 split would
send the Wolverines to Pasa-
dena.
Blue 1
P -
1 hea
Frustrated B
*. still proud of his team
COLUMBUS
LENN E. SCHEMBECHLER has one nickname that he likes,
"Bo." He also has a nickname that he doesn't like, "Little
Woody."
Woody Hayes has been criticized by everyone from Howard
Cosell to the school newspaper here, the Ohio State Lantern. For
Ann Arborites the stories are old and numerous about Woody
smashing sideline markers and eating people, especially refer-
rees, who don't root for Ohio State like every God-fearing
American should.
Schembechler, of course, is known to differ with an official
once in a while and lock the doors after a loss, but yesterday
as another unbeaten season was quashed by Ohio State, Bo
showed a lot of class. He didn't stand there expecting sym-
pathy or making excuses because his kicker missed the field
goal that would've won the game although the reporting hordes
would've loved it.
Instead he stood there like a normal coach who just lost
a close, fiercely fought game and gave his comments, answered
a few questions and left. No fire and brimstone invective or
excuses. Just plain talk-proud talk.
Bo probably disappointed some by refusing to condemn
Mike Lantry or moan because Dennis Franklin was obviously
bothered by the bad ankle, but rather he turned to the parts of
the game that he was justifiably proud of.
"That's the same Ohio State team we played last year
and we lost thirty seniors and had a helluva rebuilding job.
This has been the most motivated, dedicated team I've had.
I'm not going to let the two-point loss to Ohio State dampen
that."
ds or tales H
Marc Feldman
0 . .
Doily Photo by KEN FINK
OHIO STATE'S Len Willis (89) goes nowhere on this kickoff, thanks to Tim Davis (56) and
Tom Drake (28). Davis was a standout for the Michigan defense, garnering 17 tackles.
cemen
triumph
4m3
for sweep over
Huskies.
By DAVE WIHAK.
The Michigan hockey team. . ....
restored a little sunshine in1
Ann Arbor last night as the 1
Wolverines defeated the Michi-
gan Tech Huskies 4-3 to com-~
plete the series sweep.
On a day that was ill fore- NIGHT EDITORS:
boding for Michigan sports, the BRIAN DEMINGj
dekers were not to be denied a JOHN KAHLER
victory as they fought from
behind to win, scoring two
goals within the last six minutes with George Lyle scoring on aI
of the game. lightning quick shot just ten
seconds later. That tied the
THE WINNING score came score, and the first period end-i
at 17:34 of the third period on ed in a deadlock.
1,
tinuously forechecking and fir-!
ing shots on Tech goalie War-
den. But time and time again
their shots were either blocKed
by the defense or Warden.
As if their failure to score
was not enough, the Wolve:irnes{
were further aggravated when
the Tech Huskies pulled ahead
3-2 at the 7:53 mark of the final'
stanza.
STILL, INCENSED by the
Tech goal, the Wolverines kept!
pressing. As the clock tikcd
down things looked bleak for
Michigan, especially when Mich-'
igan Tech apparently scored n-
other goal. It was, however,
called back on an offside. At
this point, the tide turned in
favor of Michigan.
With under six minutes left
in the game, Kris Manery de-
flected the puck past a hafflad
Warden on a Greg Fox shot
from the point. The goal made'
the score 3-3 and ovwrine
seemed inevitable.
Such was not to be, however,
as center Moretto scored ther
Gary Kardos, who earned one Michigan must be starting to feel like the old Brooklyn
of the game's stars, summed Dodgers who would beat every team year after year only to
the game up best when he said, lose to the Yankees in the World Series.
"The puck was bouncing arlund
at both ends, but when it came Bo doesn't think of making up cliches to the writers like
down to the winning margin, "We're jinked against those guys," even though Michigan hasn't
it just bounced our way. ' lost a regular season game to anybody but OSU since October
- . 11969.
The victory was indeed a big
one for the Wolverines, and it Bo obviously respects Ohio State's football team and his
gives indication that Micaitan former boss, Woody Hayes. Bo wouldn't be known as "Little
in the race for the n iitnah Woody" if he lost seven games a year. There's a little bit of
championship. As Robbie Moore a compliment in that nickname also.
conjectured after the vi*ory, Naturally Bo was reserved in the crowded cubicle adjacent
Lois betweenthe 14th and to the dressing quarters, but he continued to praise his team.
16th of March?" St. Louis, in- "I'll put my team up against any team, any time and
I I
Meanwhile, the Buckeyes' other kicker, Tom Skladany,
had an equally. super if less recognized day. The sophomore
hit five superb punts for an average of 45.2 yards, bottling
up the Wolverines in bad field position all day.
On top of that, he knocked four of his five kickoffs into the
endzone. Michigan was never able to start a post-kickoff drive
from anywhere better than its own twenty-one.
But despite all the Buckeye toe-heroics, it was on the kicking
game of Michigan that the outcome depended With eighteen
seconds left to play.
Lantry's fateful minute
As the Wolverines lined up for that fateful field goal attempt,
it seemed that Schembechler's team was staring a long awaited
victory in the face. Bo had caused gasps in TV rooms all over
Michigan when he elected to punt on fourth-and-twenty with only
two minutes to play.
But that strategy paid off as the Wolverines held on three
plays, got the ball back on their forty-seven, and drove it to
the Ohio State sixteen in only thirty-nine seconds. On the
last play before the kick, though, tailback Rob Lytle was sent
off right guard, instead of to the left, toward the middle of
the field.
So, kicking from a more difficult angle from thirty-three
yards out on the right hash mark, poor Mike Lantry just barely
missed wide to left. Fate had thus come to haunt him in the
Ohio State game for the third straight year.
Two years ago, he had to watch from the sidelines as
Schembechler several times elected to run on fourth down and
disdained easy field goal tries, any of which would have sent
Michigan to the Rose Bowl. Last year, he narrowly missed from
fifty-eight, then forty-five yards in the final minute to once
again cost the Blue the trip west. Yesterday, fate once more
treated the senior kicker most cruelly.
Cruel blows of Fate
I guess that the Fates just have it in for the Wolverines,
in general. Yesterday Michigan outdid the Bucks in total
yards, first downs, pasing yards, total plays and tied them in
rushing yards; and did it on their home field, perhaps the
toughest gridiron in the country for visiting squads.
Gordon Bell matched Archie Griffin step-for-step, cut-for-cut,
twist-for-twist. The Blue defenders held the Bucks without a
touchdown for the first time since 1967. Michigan overcame the
loss of three key offensive players, as well as a sub par per-
formance from a sore-ankled Franklin.
Yet still, unbelievably, the Buckeyes jinxed them again for
the third straight year.
Some Wolverine faithful still cling to hopes that the Big Ten
athletic directors might reverse their mistake of a year ago and
vote today in Chicago to send co-champion Michigan to Pasadena.
That possibility didn't seem to faze Hayes. "Logically,
I don't think there's any question about it," he said. "We
tind fo,. the title mw hant thea had t o had .n wa'l n"
a shot by Angie Moretto after
a fast goal-mouth setup by Gary
Morrison.
After the game, Michigan
coach Dan Farrell had noth-
ing but praise for his team.
"We played a great Tech team'
out there tonight, and coming
back the way we did showed
our poise under pressure." In
completing the sweep of last
year's league champions, Far-
rell could find his breath
enough to comment: "We play-
ed like champions, and it took
a super effort to do it."
THE WOLVERINES opened
the scoring at 12:57 of the first
period. Angie Moretto cruised
in on goal after receiving a
pass from Gary Morrison. The
junior center fired a screen
shot over the shoulder of Tech
goalie Jim Warden for the
tally.
However, before Moretto's
goal could even be announced
on the Yost P.A. system, the
Tech Huskies came right back,
The second period opened with
a flurry of penalties, and at
2:41 the Wolverines found them-
selves with a one man advant-
age.
However, in an amazing turn
of events, Michigan Tech's Billy
Steele stole the puck from
Michigan's Greg Natale and
scored a shorthanded goal at
3:35. Steele skated in all alone
on Frank Zimmerman and just
barely slid the puck past the
Wolverine goalie.I
cidently, is the site of this sea-
son's NCAA hockey champion-
ships.
Tech sgv p Michigan came out and dominated most aspects of the
Tgame, holding the vaunted Buckeye attack without a TD and
FIRST PERIOD to 253 yards. Considering that OSU had averaged close to 500
SCORING: 1. M-Moretto (Morri- yards and 40 points a game, that's no ordinary accomplishment.
son, Fox) 12:57; 2. Tech-Lyle
(Dempsey, ostlund) 13:07. There were some doubts about the Michigan defensive line
PENALTIES: none. I holding up against the big bruising Buckeye blockers, but the
SCORING: 3. Tech-Steele (unas- Wolverines were nothing less than spectacular.
sisted) 13:07, sh; 4. M-Hughes (T.
Lindskog, Kardos) 4:23, pp. Middle guard Tim Davis registered 17 stops, tackles Mo
PENALTIES: 1. Tech - Goddard Morton and Jeff Perlinger had ten each, all against highly
(tripping) 2:41; 2. Tech - Abbey publicized opponents. Slippery OSU quarterback Cornelius
(rough) 2:41; 3. M - Manery
(rough) 2:41; 4. M - Morrison Greene was unable to work his normal magic, as he finished
(high sticking) 6:28; 5. Tech - with just 43 yards in 19 carries.
Lytle (rough 13:53 6. M - D. Lind-
skog (rough) 13:53. Archie Griffin is probably one of the greatest backs in
THIRD PERIOD college football history and he got his normal 111 yards. How-
anywhere. Name one other team that could keep Ohio State
out of the endzone on its own field," Bo said. No one offered
any suggestions.
At this point it looked as1
though the momentum might winner to end Tech's hoos for1
change in favor of Tech. But the a victory or tie. For Mocetto
Wolverines maintained t h e i r it was his second of the eve-
poise. Less than a minute later, ning and his fifteenth goal of
still enjoying the power-play ad- the season.
vantage, Pat Hughes converted DEFENSEMAN G r e F 'ox;
a Tom Lindskog pass into a i ented about his tlmm's
score with a blazing slapshot
from the side of the net.
THAT SET the stage for the
third period heroics. The Wol-
verines came out flying, con-I
performance: "We really play-I
ed well-I guess we just ad-
justed to the strong forece,:k-'
ing game that Tech play. d in
the first period. We didn't reAlly
expect Tech to come on :rat
strong."
SCORING: 5, Tech - Mayer
(Zuke, Murray) 7:53; 6. M -Man-
ery (Fox. Fardig) 11:50; 7. M -
Moretto (Morrison, Werner) 17:34.
PENALTIES: 7. Tech-Abbey (in-
terference) 2:11; 8. Hughes (brok-
en stick) 19:49.
SAVES
1 2 3 Tot
ever he averaged only 4.4 yards per carry yesterday compared
to his average of over seven. The Michigan-Ohio State game has
become one of those larger-than-life sports spectacles. If the
stakes were not so high year after year, people wouldn't get so
excited about it. Sure, Bo is frustrated along with every other
Michigan fan across the country but he took a long step toward
getting out of Woody's neanderthal shadow.
He and the Michigan team absorbed a bitterly disappointing
loss and they took it like men.
[": m:::. ".t ~~rflvw...:v-t. . V. . ... -
SCORES'
j iI-Zimmerman
1Tech-Warden
12 11 9 32
7 8 13 28
THE MAN OF THE HOUR
GRIDDE PICKS
Ohio State 12, Michiean 10
Purdue 38, Indiana 17
Illinois 28. Northwestern 14
Mich. State 60, Iowa 21
wisconsin 49, Minnesota 14
Mississippi St. 31, Miss. 13
Oregon St. 35, Oregon 16
Washington 24, wash. State 17
Southern Cal 34. UCLA 9
Penn State at Pitt, Thanksgiving
Tulane at LSU, inc.
Clemson 39, N. Carolina 21
Stanford 22, California 20
Baylor 31, SMU 14
La Tech at NE Louisiana, inc.
Oklahoma 24, Kentucky 7
Harvard 21, Yale 16
Wake Forest 16, Furman 10
DAILY LIBELS 12, OSU Lantern 10
OTHER SCORES
Notre Dame 38, Air Force 0
Maryland 10, Virginia 0
North Carolina 14, Duke 13
Temple 17, Vilianova 7
Brown 28, Columbia 19
Princeton 41, Cornell 20
Boston College 70, Mass 8
Rutgers 62, Colgates21
Miami (Fla) 14, Syracuse 7
I
Slinnerv Rock 20, West Chester 7
West vireinia 22. Virzinia Tech 21
Mssuri 27. Kansas 3
Oklahoma State 14, Iowa St. 12
Prizham Vnng 48. Utah 20
T ,,aware 51. Bucknell 16
Po'nnsvlvania 21, Dartmouth 20
Seton Hall 27, Fordham 0
Kansas St. 33, Colorado 19
Arkansas 24, Texas Tech 14
NHL
Boston 5, New York Rangers 2
St. Louis 4. Detroit 2
New York Islanders 3, Vancouver 3
Los Angeles 0, Pittsburgh 0
Chicago 6, Kansas City 0
Philadelphia 6, Toronto 3
Minnesota 3, California 1
NBA
Golden State 110, Detroit 98
Milwaukee 90, New York 72
Cleveland 121, New Orleans 100
Buffalo 117, Phoenix 104
Philadelphia 98, Boston 96
KC-Omaha 103, Atlanta 100
ABA
San Antonio 127, St. Louis 114
WHA
Toronto 9, Quebec 2
New England 4, Chicago 2
Kiban:
By GEORGE HASTINGS
Special To The Daily
COLUMBUS-It was once quipped by
ABC's Alex Karras in one of his more
crafty moments that the best way to
limit the importance of the field goal in
American football would be to tighten up
the immigration laws. Late yesterday af-
ternoon, the Michigan Wolverines must
have been wishing to themselves that
someone had taken Karras seriously.
It was a 20-year-old immigrant, original-
ly from Czechoslovakia, who, in all prob-
ability, knocked Michigan out of the Rose
Bowl with four long field goals. Tom
Klaban, a reserved, soft-spoken junior,
who is not even currently on athletic
scholarship to Ohio State, is a man with
a fascinating story behind him.
Big T en Standi .gs
Buckeye
Thomas Klaban was born in 1954 in The fir:
Czechosolvakia. His family moved when of the
he was still a boy to Yugoslavia, like strong wi
Czechoslovakia an eastern European com- it 47 yard
munist state. the perio
In the locker room after the game, out. Then
Klaban described in detail his family's ine defen
escape from the latter country into Italy. to get it
He told how he, his parents, and his six- throughR
year-old sister left by jumping down from to spare.
a ten-foot stone wall to freedom as border Finally
guards fired over their heads. stanza, K
From there the Klabans, denied entry entire se
into the United States because of immi- winning 4
gration quotas, went first to Germany, Klaban
then Canada. In 1967, Klaban's father was tion that
offered a job in Cincinnati, and was able he handl
to move to Buckeye Country. tiently re
It was there, as a tenth grader at ested rep
Princeton high school, that Tom saw his was the
first game of American football. "I really allowed h
didn't know what was going on," he re- He did:
lated with a shy smile. burst int
He soon found out, and became the middle o
nlacekicker at Princeton for two years interrupt
hero
st boot was on the opening play
second quarter when, with a
nd behind him, the junior drilled
ds between the uprights. Later in
d, he popped one from 25 yards
n, just before the half, a Wolver-
sive lapse allowed the Buckeyes
n position for Klaban to knock
a 43 yarder-with two seconds
, only five minutes into the third
Klaban put the only points of the
cond half on the board with the
45 yard field goal.
seemed startled by all the aten-
his exploits earned for him, but
ed it calmly and quietly, pa-
peating his story for any inter-
porter, and emphasizing that it
efforts of the entire squad that
im his big day.
n't seem to. mind when Woody
to the press room during the
f his escape story and rudely
ed to tell the writers about his
Roses kic
MICHIGAN 10 0 0 0-10
Ohio State 0 9 3 0-12
Mich-Chapman 42 yd. pass
(Lantry kick)
Mich-FG Lantry 37 yds.
OSU-FG Klaban 47 yds.
OSU-FG Klaban 25 yds.
OSU-FG Klaban 43 yds.
OSU-FG Klaban 45 yds.
A-88,243
ked away
Heater
Franklin
Lytle
Chapman
01
Griffin
Greene
Johnson
Baschnagel
15
10
3
HIO STATE
25
19
56
11
19
1
3.7
1.1
6.3
1.0
4.4
2.3
III
43
10 20 2.0
3 21 7.0
PASSING
Conference
WLTPFPA'
All Gaines
W L T PF PA
I
I
d 1