48 - The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - September 25, 2000
GAME STATISTICS
Team Stats
First Downs
Rushes/Yards
Passing Yards
Offensive Plays
Total Offense
Return Yards
Comp/Att/Int
Punts/Avg
Fumbles/Lost
Penalties/Yards
Time of Poss
MICH
25
55/341
172
83
513
42
12/29/0
6/29.0
1/0
7/57
31:14
ILL
21
32/95
352
70
447
79
27/38/0
4/46 5
3/2
4/25
28:46
I
M i CH I G A N
Henson uplifts Blue offense,
leads second half comeback
PASSING
Player
Henson
Navarre
Totals
RUSHING
Player
Thomas
Perry
Cross
Henson
Navarre
Totals
RECEIVING
Player
Walker
Thomas
Whitley
B~elamy
Joppru
Totals
C-A
8-17
4-11
12-28
35
10
4
2
50
No.
6
2
1
1
8
Yds
228
59
41
23
N.
351
Yds
116
19
14
11
8
4
111
No.
6
Yds
14
25
3
57
Yds
0
Yds
141
31
172
Avg
6.5
5.9
41.0
5.8
-2.5
7.0
Avg
19.3
95
140
110
8.0
4.0
13.9
Yds
132
42
174
Avg
140
25.0
3 1.5
28.5
TO
1
0
Ig
21
23
41
11
3
41
Lg
57
10
14
11
8
4
37
Avg
26.4
42.0
29.0
Lg
14
25
3
36
Int
0
0
0
TO
2
0
0
4
TO
0
0
0
0
1
Lg
44
42
44
TO
0
O
0
0
By Mark Francescutti
Daily Sports Editor
PUNTING
Player
Epstein
Henson
Totals
KICKOFF RETURNS
Player No.
Fargas1
Askew1
Orr 2
Totals 2
PUNT RETURNS
Player No.
None
Totals 0
DEFENSE
Player
Hobson
Brackins
Whitley
Curry
Howard
Patmhon
Foote
Kashama
Stevens
LzeSueur
Drake
Rumishek
Fargas
Spytek
Jordan
Petruziello
Lazarus
Casseus
Rosel
Seymour
Orr
Boebert
Cross
CHAMPAIGN - Drew Henson
waited anxiously on the sidelines in the
first half Saturday.
He paced back and forth. He listened
to his headset. lie played catch with
backup quarterback Andy Mignery.
Drew Henson wanted to play.
And finally, he did.
The real Drew IHlenson era began
with 1:42 left in the first half, when Dr.
Stan Wojtys cleared him for 30 minutes
of play. #"
After fighting through the surgety
and rehabilitation of a broken foot, plus
missing three games, Benson returned
just in time ---- Michigan down 14-7 in a
crucial Big Ten opener.
"When he went out in that two
minute series, he definitely gave us a
lift," offensive coordinator Stan Parrish
said. "We're glad to have him back."
Right off the bat, Henson hit
Marquise Walker for nine yards, then a
sideline pass to wide receiver (yes
receiver) James Whitley for I1l.
Two plays later he hit Anthony
Thomas for 14. Then he ran up the mid-
die and quickly slid for 11 more.
In the first 25 minutes, redshirt fresh-
The
man John Navarre was 4-of= Il for 31
yards. In just over a minute, Henson
was 3-of-4 for 34 yards, with an I 1 -yard
run.
It's like Michael Jordan returned to
the Bulls, as everything seemed better
with the ball the hands, especially for
David Terrell.
"He came in and said Let's get it
going,"' Terrell said after he caught six
passes for 116 yards including a 57-
yard touchdown. "We've practiced all
week. We knew what he could do."
What he could do is successfully tur-
bocharge the V-12 Michigan engine that
sputtcred in the first half. He also gave
receivers and coaches alike some confi-
dence in running Michigan's offensive
scheme, as his came out and looked like
he never left.
"He's a veteran player," Parrish said.
"He played in a lot of critical situations
for us i year ago. You sense a guy's
vigor in wanting to come back."
Henson went full force against the
illini, ignoring the oncoming defensive
assault on one play and diving into the
endzone for an eight-yard touchdown.
And, for the most part, the coaches
didn't cringe.
"You know as a young player he
learned to take care of himself"' Parrish
said. "He took some big shots the last
couple of years."
But before the ego builds to NBA star
levels, Henson has the task of piloting
this team for the rest of the season at the
same efficient speed of Saturday's vic-
tory.
Henson must also give credit to
Thomas and the offensive line, who
helped move the ship. Henson had plen-
ty of time and didn't get sacked, while
Thomas averaged 6.5 yards per carry on
his way to a career-high 228 yards.
As for next week, Henson expects to
start against Wisconsin, especially after
he felt almost 100 percent prior to
Illinois.
"The foot is all fine," Henson said.
"When you get out in a normal game
setting, it has its bumps and bruises. It's
sore, but my whole body is sore. I
haven't been hit like that in months. I'll
just pack some ice bags on it."
Henson had surgery on Aug. 24. He
returned at about the same time the
original prognosis of three to six weeks
predicted.
"It was disappointing when I got hurt,
because I thought I had paid my dues,"
Henson said. "But I realized if I waited
two years for this job, I can wait a few
weeks more'"
Avg Lg TO
S 0 0 0
Solo
7
4
6
4
6
3
3
3
2
3
2
2
0
0
1
1t
0
0
Yds
0
0
0
0
0
0
Asst
4
4
3
0
1
2
1
2
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
Tot
11
8
7
7
6
6
4
4
3
3
3
2
2
2
1
1
ALEX WOLK/DadY
The controversy and secretism are over. Drew Henson is back as the Wolverines
starting quarterback. The Henson-Terrell combination returns as well.
Michigan-Illinois deck
Spedial expansion deck
01
PASS DEFENSE
Player
Whitley
trackins
Curry
Drake
Hobson
Totals
Int
O
0
O
0
0
0
Lg
O
0
0
0
O
0
Brk-up
2
1
1
1
6
S
TD
0
0
0
0
0
0
I L L I N O
PASSING
Player
Kuttner
Totals
RUSHING
Player
Harris
Harvey
Cook
Kittner
Totals
RECEIVING
Player
Cook
L.ewis
McGoey
Harvey
Whitman
Moorehead
Young
Hodges
Harris
Totals
C-A
27-38
27-38
Yds TO
352 2
352 2
Att
17
8
4
2
32
No.
7
4
4
4
3
3
1
1
22
Yds
59
39
16
-9
114
Yds
59
107
36
23
28
61
15
14
9
268
Avg
3.3
4.3
4.0
-4.5
3.0
Avg
8.4
26.8
9.0
5.8
9.3
20 3
7.0
3.0
9.0
12.2
Lg
11
11
9
0
11
Lg
18
40
17
9
15
58
15
14
9
32
int
0
0
TD
1
0
0
2
TD
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
2
DREW HENSON
Henson's presence immediately
changed the tone of the game.
He stepped onto the field for
the first time this season and
drove 52 yards in one minute.
Henson's Illinois stats: 8-for-17,
141 yds, 1 TD,0 INT
JOHN NAVARRE
KURT KITTNER
Pulled after giving up a one
touchdown lead, avarre's per-
formance was overshadowed by
the quarterback who will replace
him for the rest of the season.
Navarre's Illinois stats: 4-for-
11, 31 yds, 0 TD, 0 INT
if Kittner sprained an ankle
against Cal., no one could tell
on Saturday. His performance
made him look like one of the
Big Ten's elite quarterbacks.
Kittner's Illinois stats: 27-for-
38, 352 yds, 2 TD, 0 1NT
ANTHONY THOMAS
228 yards and two touch-
downs. That's all that one
needs to describe Thomas'
dominating performance
against Illinois.
Thomas' Illinois stats: 228
yards, 2 TD, 6.5 avg.
PR
ROCKEY HARVEY
One of Illinois' two running
back attack, Harvey was vic-
tim to an Illini squad that loved
the pass on Saturday.
Harvey's ;Ilinois stats: 34
yards, 1 TD, 4.3 avg.
HOTOS BY ALEX WOLK and NORMAN NG, Daiy and AP HOTOS.
PUNTING
Player
ikse
Toa l
KICKOFF RETURNS
Player No.
Wilsn 3
Total 3
PUNT RETURNS
Payer No.
Manning 4
Totals 4
DEFENSE
Player
Jackson
Abdullah
Franklin
Schumacher
Wakefield
Washington
Young
Fbertiart
Wbailer
Wilson
Hurd
Moore
Jackson
Moorehead
Lloyd
Kautter
long
No. Yds Avg Lg
4 186 46.5 59
4 186 40. 5 59
Yds
16
18
Avg Lg
5.3 9
5.3 9
Yds Avg Lg
186 46.5 59
20 5.0 8
Solo
7
6
7
J
6
6
3
3
2
3
2
2
1
Yds
0
0
0
0
Asst
5
6
2
4
0
0
-C
5
2
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
TO
0
0
TO
0
0
Tot
12
12
9
9
6
6
6
5
5
4
3
2
2
OFFEN
Continued from Page 11.
by 10, Rose Bowl hopes dwindling,
Thomas started gunning for the end
zone. Starting on the Illinois 45,
Thomas carried twice for 25 yards on a
touchdown drive. Thomas alternated
carries with mentee freshman Chris
Perry.
Perry's impressive start gives fans
one more reason to pat Thomas on the
back.
The freshman running back - who
the team calls "Little Train" - looks
up to Thomas as a big brother. When
Thomas has a good game, Perry has a
good game. When Perry makes a mis-
take, Thomas gives him advice. When
Perry scores a touchdown, Thomas
gives him a hug.
And that hug came on that same
fourth quarter drive. Thomas brought
the team to the 15-yard line and Perry
rushed in to cut Illinois' lead to three.
A 26-yard, three-play drive solely by
Thomas gave the Wolverines the victo-
rv with three minutes left. That drive
may be overshadowed by a question-
able call that the ground caused
Thomas to fumble on the three-yard
line. But I'm not going to suggest
whether or not I agree with the call -
if you haven't already, you can decide
what you think by watching the replay
on ESPN.
What I will suggest is that whether
or not it was a fumble, one point you
can't argue is that Thomas has been the
team's MVP through an almost-disas-
trous beginning to a football season.
This would have been an entirely
different season if he didn't come back.
And you have his family to thank
for his return.
-Stephanie O/kn can be reached at
soffen lfumnich.edu
ILLINI;
Continued from Page IB
The second of Thomas' threv runs the
gave Michigan its 35-31 lead also culmi-
nated in a fumble. On that play, referee,
Bill LeMonnier and his crew did rule the
fumble to be ground-caused, and the
Wolverines kept the football.
Terrell did a yeoman's job to keep,
Michigan in the game. Aftecr finishing the
first half with just two ciatelies for, 12
yards, the Biletnikoff Award candidate
came alive after the break.
A 57-yard pass from Henson at t
14:13 mark of the fourth quarter was his
only touchdown of the day, but a 38-yard
leaping grab on a crucial 3rd-and-5 in.the
third quarter was even more timely.
Terrell "told me to throw him the ball,
so I did," Benson said.
Just as important, Dr. Wojtys told
lenson lie could play for a half---- so he.
did.
OUR O-FOR-4'S
Northwestern 47,
Wisconsin 44 (20T)
Indianxa 42
Cincinnati 6
Ok, so we messed up. But who really
picked Northwestem to score 47
points in one game, much less the
whole season? As fur the second game,
we were all scared of how little
Cincinnati almost upset big bad
Wisconsin the week before, that it
clouded our good sense. Hey, we all
picked Miami (Fla.). That's got to be
worth something.
ALLX WOULK/Daly
Drew Henson dives in to the end zone on an eight-yard run in the third quarter.
PAS$ 09FENSE
Player
JacksQn
Waller
Wilson
Young
Totals
ilt
0
0
0
0
Q
Lg
0
0
0
0
0
8rk-up TO
1t0
10
1 0
1 0
4 0
_ -. 1
STAFF PICKS
PLAYERS OF THE CAME:
WEEK 3 SELECTIONS
AL.L PICKS MADE AGAINST THE SPREAD.
HOME TEAMS IN CAPS.
Michigan (-6.5) vs. ILLINOIS
MICHIGAN STATE (-4) vs. Notre Dame
0H10 STATE (-11) vs. Penn State
WISCONSIN (-16) vs. Northwestern
NEBRASKA (-41) vs, Iowa
INDIANA (-5) vs. Cincinnati
etta iA' '), xic - anti
Michigan 35-31
Michigan State 27-21
Ohio State 45-6
Northwestern 47-44
Nebraska 42-13
Indiana 42-6
Florida 59-31
David
Den Herder
Illinois
Notre Dame
Penn State
Wisconsin
Iowa
Cincinnati
Florida
Chris
Duprey
Illinois
Michigan State
Ohio State
Wisconsin
Nebraska
Cincinnati
Florida
Mark
Francescutti
Illinois
Notre Dame
Ohio State
Wisconsin
Nebraska
Cincinnati
Kentucky
Stephanie
Offen
Michigan
Michigan State
Ohio State
Wisconsin
Nebraska
CIncinnati
Florida
ANmQ.Iw TI4momAND N s SwKtNo:
i_'Lib
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