The Michigan Daily - Thursday, October 7, 1993 -9 Stickers end long hiatus from Oosterbaan Wolverines host Spartans after hard-fought road losses to No. 1 Penn St., No. 3 Iowa By RYAN WHITE FOR THE DAILY "There's no place like home. There's no place like home." Those aren't only the words of Dorothy going home to Kansas, but of the Michigan field hockey team finally coming home to Ann Arbor. After spending the first month of ~ the season on the road, the Wolver- ines return to the friendly confines of Oosterbaan Fieldhouse tonight at 7:30 to face off against cross-state rival -------- -andBig Ten opponentMichigan State. Michigan coach Patti Smith, who is expecting a tough game, is one person who is definitely looking for- ward to finally playing at home. "It will be a hard fought game as it is anytime Michigan and Michigan State play each other in anything," SHARON IMUSHERIDaI Smith said. "It will help that we're Jennifer Lupinsky and the field hockey team host the Spartans tonight. finally playing at home, we're ex- pecting a good size crowd and the team is really up for the game." Last weekend Michigan (0-2 Big Ten, 5-2 overall) lost a couple of tough matches to No. 3 Iowa and No. 1 Penn State. The teamhowever is not down about the losses. "We are very positive after the weekend," defender Lelli Hose said. "We proved that we can play with the top teams in the country." In Michigan State (0-2, 2-5), the Wolverines are facing a young team headed by first-year coach Michele Madison. Freshman Terry Pacheco is lead- ing the Spartans in scoring with four goals and one assist for a total of nine points. Starting goaltender Tricia Gann, who is also a freshman, has played in all seven games for the Spartans and has a goals against aver- age of 2.10. Rookie Stephanie Hart is third on the Michigan State squad in scoring. "We are very positive.- after the weekend. We proved that we can play with the top teams in the country." -.Lelli Hose Michigan defender Senior Keely Libby is the leading scorer for the Wolverines with three goals for a total of six points. Sopho- more goalkeeper Rachel Geisthardt is among the top 20 goalkeepers in the country with a goals against average of .615. Last weekend, Michigan played; strong defense but was unable to score a goal in either of its games. That will have to change in order to defeat Michigan State tonight. "We will have to continue to play strong defense and keep the number of shots against low," Smith said. "We also have to have the mids and forwards attack inside the 25-yard- red zone." Considering the teams' respective.- rankings and at each team's season, record, Michigan should win the game in easy fashion. But don't try to tell the Wolverines that. "It will be an aggressive and emo- tional game," Hose said. "No matter what the situation, Michigan State always gives a good game because of : the rivalry." Spartans' Thomas perseveres through hard etimes, fumbles; becomes top college tailback By KEVIN SHAW STATE NEWS FOOTBALL WRITER The muscles in Craig Thomas' stomach were throbbing, begging for a breather; a chance to stretch, relax and return to a comfortable state. His stomach wasn't the only part ofhis body that was aching and writh- 9ing with exhaustion. In the heat of running 10 40-yard sprints in 90-de- gree weather, his ankles, feet, arms and legs all needed a chance to cool down. But Thomas wasn't finished. His mind told him he should do more; the question was whether his body would let him. Somehow it did. He crouched into his three-point stance, just like he would do against Michigan or Ohio State. The snap count was two, and he was off. Dashing. Darting. Eluding imagi- nary tackles in his mind. Then there was nothing left but open field. Touchdown! Thomas went through the proce- dure again. Andagain. And again. By the time he was done, he had run another 10 times down the field - 100 yards for each jaunt. The work ethic of the of the 6- foot, 194-pound Pennsylvania native has always been demanding. Thomas has never been given anything. Who is Craig Thomas? Not many people knew of Thomas last year while he worked as a backup for Spartan notable Tico Duckett. But e opportunities were there for Tho- mas, and he took full advantage of them. The result was 15 touchdowns, 887 yards, and an impressive 5.7 yards-per-carry - all as a backup. Thomas is probably the most un- heralded starting tailback in the George Perles era. While honored as a preseason All-Big Ten member, college football fans outside of East Lansing probably still scratch their heads in curiosity when they see him jog onto the field. The lack of attention does not bother Thomas, however. "It's good to be the underdog," he says. "I want people to go away from the TV wondering, 'Who is that num- ber 33?"' MSU's starting tailback did not receive the job hands down; in fact, during Thomas' sophomore year, he felt he would never get the chance to play. In the midst of what would turn out to be a 3-9 season, the Spartans were playing Notre Dame and trailing by 39. With two minutes leftin the con- test, the coaches called his number. It served as a wake-up call to Thomas, who before then thought football was the answer to everything. "Coming out of high school and coming into college, I think ifaplayer plays well as a freshman or sopho- more, theirfocus really isn'ton gradu- ating," he says. "At first I was like that, focusing more on football than anything else. "When I got in that game the last two minutes, I was thinking to my- self, 'I had better find something else to do,"'he says with a smile. "I felt I had to find an alternative to being successful in life." But Thomas could not give up on the sport he grew up playing. Ever since age six, he had admired pro greats like Tony Dorsett and Walter Payton, hoping someday to act out theirmoves on his own football stage. Plus, he couldn't tell his family that he wanted to quit, he says. His grandfather, holding two jobs formore than 35 years and never missing one day of work, set the example of hard work for Thomas early in life. "I've never been the type of per- son to give up something I believe in," he says. "You can play and be a success as long as you believe in yourself. But the minute you stop believing in yourself, you've lost." Not much was expected of Tho- mas his junior year, but a 15-touch- down season became a pleasant sur- prise for the Spartan faithful. Now MSU coaches and players know what he can do and expect a repeat perfor- mance. To Thomas, it's just another ob- stacle he must overcome - shatter- ing doubtful expectations like abowl- ing ball exploding through a set of pins. Bowling has become a pastime for Thomas; he enjoys going out with his fiancee and friends for a night at the alley. It serves as a relaxing activity, easing any pressure he may feel from football. But good fortune was not with him one night on the lanes. His aver- age wasdown; hemissedafew spares. As he walked back to his seat, shaking his head in bewilderment, a friend looked at him and said, "Luck just isn't with you." Thomas re- sponded, "Kind of like Central Michi- gan, huh?" It's probably what will be most remembered about Thomas, the iden- tical circumstances against Central Michigan and the Illinois last year - the even leaps over the goal line, the precise hits by the opponent, the loose balls, the turnovers. He can joke about them now, but Thomas still hates talking about "the fumbles."He often feels like they are the only thing people rememberabout his otherwise successful season. "No one felt worse than I did," Thomas says when remembering the fateful contests. " But you either play over it and win, or those things haunt you and you lose and you have an excuse for losing." It was a letdown, of course, know- ing that six points could have easily turned an "L" into a "W." But Tho- mas never let the disappointment and failure of not crossing the goal line get him down. While there may have been a few dissenters in the lockerroom, his team- mates were there to give him support and urge him on throughout the long offseason. "How can you knock a guy who's going out there playing at 100 percent every time," says quarterback JIm Miller. " He's always out there doing his best. Craig will be the first guy to point the finger at himself." The lesson Thomas had learned throughouthis life- "Never give up, hard work pays off' - could be ap- plied to help deal with this latest test. He didn't forget and he didn't give up. "He has to be a man to overcome (the fumbles), and he has come back stronger than ever," team co-captain Brice Abrams says of his teammate this year. "We need him to come back stronger than ever. Hard work pays off, and I think you'll see great things from Craig this year." Compared to the other boulders Thomashashad toclimbover through- out his career, he says the fumbles were like pebbles in desert sand, eas- ily blown away from his thoughts like a gust of wind. It may have taken him longer than expected, but now the spotlight has fallen on Thomas, and he says he certainly won't waste his opportu- nity. "Nothing worth having is easily achieved," Thomas says. "I believe it, because I'm living proof." Michigan State's Craig Thomas hasi SPORTS INFORMATION not dwelled on the mistakes of 1992. U S Department of Recreational Sports INTRAMURAL SPORTS PROGRAM WANTED!! FLAG FOOTBALL OFFICIALS Clinic Begins: Monday 10/11 7:00 p.m. IMSB For Additional Information Contact IMSB 763-3562 .GREETING FROM EAST ,LANSING: Michigan State will pillage Wolverines By CHRIS MACHNIAK STATE NEWS STAFF WRITER Call it intuition, psychic ability or a good tip from my Uncle Vitto, but I am absolutely, positively sure - or our money back - that MSU will defeat your precious Maize and Blue on Saturday Oct. 9. Please do not question my sanity, because I have legitimate reasons to back upmyclaim. Thesereasons don't include obvious facts such as: we party harder, our dorms are better or the truth that we invented tailgating. They happen to be of a more serious nature. For example, the centerpiece f our defense is the capable MSU freshman middle linebacker Reggie Garret. Chants of "Reggie, Reggie," will soon be the norm. His quickness and speed are his strengths. Reggie's weaknesses are that he is young and Si -01 '4 i fl " f li 1r i "<>:e # $ i i~ tic : ::: inexperienced. However, this will be Reggie's breakthrough game against an inconsistent Wolverine attack that is led by Heisman Trophy candidate Tyrone Wheatley. Plus, the Spartans have the dy- namic duo of Craig Thomas and Duane Goulbourne (390 combined rushing yards against Central Michi- gan) in their backfield, which repre- sents a legitimate threat to the Wol- verine defense that continues to allow an excess of points, not to mention rushing yards. Michigan State signal caller Jim Miller has had an excellent season. He continues to complete more than 50percentofhispasses and has thrown fewer interceptions than Collins. These, of course, do not include the top six reasons why the Spartans will defeat Michigan this Saturday. 6. Wolverines don't know how to play on Astroturf. 5. Mo just isn't Bo. 4. We have a large ceramic statue known as Sparty and Michigan foot- ball players use too much energy try- ing to paint it. 3. If Braves can come back to overtake the Giants then anything is possible. 2. Everybody loves the underdog. 1. Michigan State players will scare Michigan players into submis- sion by shouting "Boo!" Prediction: Michigan State 31, Michigan 30. Michigan State placekicker Bill Stoyanovich connects on a game-win- ning field goal. Trustme, I know what I am talking about. I U Department of Recreational Sports INTRAMURAL SPORTS PROGRAM IMT A ^L'i n %IItP ATy T