MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL CLEVELAND 4, NY Yankees 3 (Cleveland wins series, 3-2) PRO FOOTBALL DENVER 34, New England 13 Tuesday October 7, 1997 li1 'M' football co-captain Mayes out for season / By Alan Goldenbach Daily Sports Editor Eric Mayes's story was nothing short of a young ath- k <: lete's wildest dream come true. Unfortunately for the Michigan co-captain, that dream has a bitter ending. The inside linebacker who walked on to the Wolverines } , after transferring from a small Louisiana college that had no football team, tore a ligament in his left knee early in ? ' Y the first quarter of Saturday's 37-0 victory over Indiana. Mayes will have surgery on the knee sometime this week and will miss the remainder of season. "His spirit and enthusiasm and toughness and leadership will be missed by our football team," Carr said. "We have ,,3, to carry on, but Eric Mayes did a tremendous job for us." Carr also said that the extent of the injury is severe enough that recovery in time for a bowl game is out of the .,, [question. "It's a shame to see a guy, especially a senior, end his career on that kind of note," Carr said. Mayes is a fifth-year senior, and since he has played in at least one game this season, he cannot apply for a med- ical redshirt. The injury occurred on a routine running play - Indiana's fourth from scrimmage on Saturday. Mayes was coming off a double-team block pursuing Indiana tailback De'Wayne Hogan. "He warded off the one closer to the ball," said Carr, recalling the play, "but when he came off the block he was in an awkward position and his foot caught and he tore his knee." }<::.: :a....K*. .r:.n......A native of Kalamazoo, Mayes transferred from Xavier v,:: : :} :'tK.'2S. ............. , .}r ;: ::y... 2 rc;:.,,.A:,,:?:: : .,.. ..:. .,:...'. }: College in Louisiana in 1995, and started for Michigan on WARREN ZINN/ Daily special teams his first two seasons in Ann Arbor. Michigan linebacker and co-captain Eric Mayes tore a ligament in his left knee in Saturday's game against Indiana, and is out This year, with the departure of former captain Jarrett for the remainder of the season. The fifth-year senior will have surgery sometime this week. Irons from the starting inside linebacker position, Mayes Sinclair impacting Blue women's tennis stepped in and.not only replaced the former All-American at his field position, but in his leadership role as well. And according to Carr, that .leadership role will still belong to Mayes. "Absolutely, he's still the captain," Carr said, "and he'll still have an important role on our team." In 1994, wide receiver and co-captain Walter Smith suf- fered a broken leg early in the season. Smith, though, still remained active in his role as team captain and even returned for one play at the end of Michigan's final home' game of the season. "When you lose experience, it always hurts you because those are guys that know what it takes to prepare, and the pressure of preparation doesn't get to them," Carr said. "Week in and week out, the veteran guys know how to pre- pare." Michigan, fortunately enough, has experienced players waiting to pick up Mayes's playing time. As it stands right now, fifth-year senior Rob Swett and sophomores Dhani Jones and Ian Gold will fight for those minutes. True freshmen Anthony Jordan and Kurt Anderson may. also see some time as well. Jones played primarily in Mayes's spot on Saturday, leading Michigan with nine tackles. Mayes is the second Michigan defensive starter to fall victim to a season-ending injury. A week before the sea- son-opener against Colorado, nose tackle Ben Huff, also a fifth-year senior, suffered a similar knee injury in practice that required major surgery. In addition, backup linebacker Grady Brooks, a redshirt freshman, will be out at least another week or two with a shoulder injury. "We just can't afford anymore injuries," Carr said. Mayes has started the last three games and was fourth on the Wolverines in tackles with 25. Two of those tackles were for losses. FILE PHOTO Michigan's >>