I4vormbe'r 11, 202 T Je l~albiguu ? ttiI SOTMNa . SECTION B 77 r -a MICHIGAN 41, MINNESOTA 24 oing for tee jugular Offense clicks as 'M' retains the Little Brown Jug By J. Brady McCollough Daily Sports Writer INNEAPOLIS - The Min- nes ta football team is learning the hard way that respect is something that must be earned. The Golden Gophers, desperately yearning for a benchmark victory, lost to Michigan, 41-24, Saturday night. The loss was Minnesota's second in as many weeks against a traditional Big Ten powerhouse on national television, as the Gophers were dominated by Ohio State in Columbus last weekend, 34-3. "We played some of the big boys, and respect is something that we want to bring to Minnesota," Min- nesota linebacker Ben West said. "It's something we've been striving for for a few years, and we're not going to get it unless we beat these top teams." But Minnesota certainly had its chances to win against this "big boy." The Gophers, down 17-3 after two quarters Saturday, got a mes- sage from Minnesota linebackers coach Greg Hudson and took it to heart. "He said, 'Our 'M's are the 'M's that should win this game,' " run- ning back Terry Jackson III said. The Minnesota offense - hurt by a goal-line interception by Michigan safety Jon Shaw and poor execution in the first half - took Hudson's message to heart, scoring 14 unanswered points to tie the game at 17 and send the Metrodome crowd into a frenzy with 6:06 left in the third quarter. The Golden Gophers struck first on a six-play, 78-yard drive that lasted just a minute and 43 sec- onds. From the 6-yard line, Min- nesota quarterback Asad Abdul-Khaliq play-action faked and hit wide receiver Tony Patter- son streaking across the field for the score. After a quick stop by the Minnesota defense, Abdul-Khaliq took the Gophers down the field with his feet, rushing for 26 yards and two first downs on the drive. On a crucial third down on the Michigan 27-yard line, Abdul- Khaliq rolled out to his right and found receiver Antoine Burns, who beat Michigan safety Charles Drake to tie the score. "I was feeling so good, the offense was feeling so good," Abdul-Khaliq said. "I felt like we could do anything. After (we tied the game), we were on such a confidence level that we thought we could play with just about anybody right there." With the Wolverines leading 20-17 and the game's momentum still up for grabs late in the third quarter, Michigan defensive end Pierre Woods blocked a Preston Gruening punt deep in Min- nesota territory, giving the Wolverines the ball at the Minnesota 10-yard line. On the ensuing play, Michi- gan quarterback John Navarre threw a perfect fade pass to receiver Braylon Edwards in the back right corner of the end zone. Edwards skied above Minnesota corner- back Ken Williams, See GOPHERS, Page 4B Sarantos & Co. become champions of November BELL AM MINNEAPOLIS - There's an old cliche in college football that "champions are made in November." Certainly it's a mindset that Michigan players are familiar with; Coach Lloyd Carr emphasizes it every year. And while Iowa's victory over Northwestern on Saturday made the Rose Bowl an impossibility for the Wolverines, Michigan fans ought to be excit- ed by what tran- spired in the. Metrodome on the second weekend of November - a lot of unlikely DAVID heroes in maize HORN and blue made sure the Wolver- Tooting my ines' season didn't Own slip away unneces- sarily. Michigan came into Minnesota on the heels of two dramatic games: Last weekend's 49-3 thumping of in- state rival Michigan State and the 34-9 loss to Iowa the previous Satur- day. And on the road, at night, on artificial turf and indoors, anything could have happened. The Wolver- ines controlled the game early, establishing a 17-3 lead by halftime. But the Golden Gophers responded in the third quarter, putting up 14 unan- swered points to tie the game at 17. It looked like a story line that Michigan fans know well - blow a big lead against an inferior opponent. But if there was one thing that kept that from happening, it was the big plays delivered by the unlikeliest of Wolverines: Linebacker Joey Sarantos, cornerback Jeremy LeSueur, lineman Pierre Woods and safety Jon Shaw. "I think this is a different team from what's happened in the past," senior strong safety Charles Drake said. "Guys who weren't making plays stepped up. Things were rolling." The defensive player of the game was Sarantos, a redshirt freshman from Portage who came very close to quitting the team before the season had even begun. Sarantos, whose brother Paul is a true freshman for Michigan, considered leaving the Wolverines in August, when his father Peter was diagnosed with can- cer. Peter Sarantos played football at I ALYSSAWOOD/Daily \ a Michigan in the late '60s. "It hit me really hard," Joey Saran- tos said. "I had to do a lot of soul searching, a lot of thinking. I didn't really consult my parents or any- thing, I just decided to go home and talk with them. And I went home in the middle of two-a-days, but my mom talked me out of it, and I know I made the best decision; it's helping my father out, and it's helping my family out, and I'm loving it." Sarantos, playing significant min- utes for an injured Zach Kaufman, ended the game with seven tackles and an interception, which came on an Asad Abdul-Khaliq pass that was tipped at the line by Patrick Massey. The ball bounced high in the air and found its way to an open-armed Sarantos. It was the icing on the cake See HORN, Page 4B ALYSSA WOOD/Daily Top tight: Michigan's Braylon Edwards leaps for a touchdown catch late in the third quarter. Above: Michigan receiver Ronald Bellamy celebrates with his teammates following his touchdown in the first quarter. Fight night: Icers and Falcons duel to a draw Blue stickers shut out of championship FIELD HOCKEY lITN COLUMBUS By Brian Schick Daily Sports Writer By Kyle O'Neill Daily Sports Writer BOWLING GREEN -- Physical only begins to describe Michigan's 1-1 tie with Bowling Green Saturday night.- The Falcons' only goal scorer was given a concussion as he scored, and at one point in the second peri- od Michigan had to cram four guys into 3 MICHIGAN 1 the penalty box. BOWL N( GREEN 1 (OT With 22 penal- ties in just the first - ---- two periods - the two teams average 14 a game between them - it is safe to say that both the Wolverines and Falcons were satis- fied with their brute strength on the night. "It's always a physical game with Bowl- ing Green," Michigan alternate captain John Shouneyia said. "They're a big team and a tough team, so we knew we were going to have to come out banging and match them at least." Bowling Green (0-7-1 CCHA, 2-8-1 over- Friday night's game 6-4 in another physical contest that saw Michigan's captain leave the game halfway through with a torn MCL in his left knee. "It was great to come out with one point," Sigalet said. "I think (Saturday) night is going to be a big turning point in the sea- son. We've come close in a lot of games, so it's nice to get a point - especially against the sixth-rated team in the country." Saturday's contest began simply enough ) with Michigan's Danny Richmond, Dwight Helminen and Eric Werner all getting early chances to put one by Sigalet. All were unsuccessful. Bowling Green's Tyler Knight and Chris Pedota had a two- on-one chance in the first few minutes, but it was broken up by Richmond at the last second. The pace of the game changed after the first 40 minutes brought a great deal of hit- ting and powerplays that kept the two offenses off balance. Even Michigan defenseman Andy Burnes, who was absent for the past five games with mononucleosis, -"" - JASON COOPER/Daily The referee can only watch as Bowling Green's D'Arcy McConvey (center) puts a headlock on Michigan senior John Shouneyia (left). Sophomore Eric Werner gives McConvey a taste of his own medicine. COLUMBUS - After beating Ohio State 3-2 Saturday to advance to the Big Ten Tournament championship game, Michigan field hockey for- ward Molly Powers wasn't concerned about which team she faced in the championship game (Penn State or Michigan State), but she knew if the Wolverines faced the Spartans, it would be a hard- fought contest. "Michigan State games sometimes don't have pretty hockey," Powers said after the Ohio State game. In a game in which both teams struggled to find quality scoring chances, No: 5 Michigan State (5- 1 Big Ten, 21-2 overall) shut out No. 2 Michigan (6-0, 18-3) 3-0 yesterday to win the Tournament title, its first in program history. This was the first time an opponent blanked Michigan since Sept. 1 Bowling Green broke, the stalemate at the 18:30 mark of the first period, when Fal- cons' defenseman Kevin Bieksa hit a slap- shot from the blue line off a heads-up pass sent the Bowling Green junior directly to the ice and out of the game with a concus- sion. "I thought it was a harmless play at first, I