WOMEN'S CROSS
COUNTRY:
Erin Webster beat the
heat and the competition
this weekend in Indiana.
PAGE 2B
THE SPORTSMONDAY COLUMN:
Lousy opponent + lousy weath-
er = poor day for scalpers.
PAGE 3B
FOOTBALL:
Stephanie Wright
isn t yetanicking
about Michigan's
passing game.
PAGE 4B
alemptember 11, 2006
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No. 10 MICHIGAN 41, Central Michigan 17
Pouring it on
Weather
delay can't
stop Blue's
run attack
By Scott Bell
Daily Sports Editor
It looked just like the week before - except it was
a tad bit wetter.
Following the first weather delay in Michigan Sta-
dium's storied 79-year history, Michigan disposed of
Central Michigan, 41-17, in a game that was never
in doubt but also in a performance that was also far
from perfect.
Now the Wolverines' focus shifts toward getting
through its nonconference schedule unblemished
- a feat Michigan hasn't accomplished since 1999.
"I think this is a chance for Michigan to come
back and prove itself," said senior defensive end
LaMarr Woodley of next week's matchup against
Notre Dame. "Every guy on the team knows what
this game means to us."
But if the Wolverines plan on upsetting Notre
Dame in South Bend next weekend, they will have to
display much more offensive balance than they have
in the season's first two games.
On Saturday, No. 10 Michigan (2-0) hoped to fill
i' the holes frth an opener against Vanderbilt where
its-offense showed a strong rushing attack and little
developed inhe passing game. Instead, the fans
who stayed through the hour-long weather delay
saw a mirror image of the Wolverines' opener: Mike
Hart and his backfield mates running at will while
the passing game struggled to reach half as many
yards as the ground game yielded.
Hart, who had a game-high 116 yards and three
touchdowns, doesn't necessarily see a problem with
the unbalanced offensive numbers so far.
"If we can run the ball like that, why not keep
running and work the clock and keep our defense off
the field?" Hart said.
Junior quarterback Chad Henne, the target of
much scrutiny after two games of a limbted passing
attack, isn't worried either. He said the Michigan
offense has been running fine this year without big
numbers from the air.
"When you get the running game established, you
just go full force with the running game," Henne
said.
Against the Chippewas (0-2), there was no need to
pass the ball more. In three of Michigan's first four
possessions, the Wolverines controlled the ground
and the clock. Touchdown runs of four and 10 yards
by Hart and a three-yard scamper by sophomore
Kevin Grady capped the drives off and gave Michi-
gan a 21-0 lead.
For the game, Michigan totaled 252 yards on the
ground, a week after gaining 246 against Vander-
bilt. But the Wolverines' second-straight impressive
See CENTRAL, page 5B
Offensive lineman Alex Mitchell lifts running back Mike Hart in celebration following one of his three touchdowns against Central Michigan on Saturday.
Sopping student section stays in rain
By Matt Singer
Daily Sports Editor
In its 79-year history, virtually everything has
happened within Michigan Stadium's walls: Kordell
Stewart's Hail Mary. Desmond Howard's Heisman
pose. Dozens of Big Ten titles won and lost.
But until Saturday, the Big House had never expe-
rienced a weather delay.
Early on Saturday morning, weather experts pegged
Ann Arbor with a 40-percent chance of showers and
thunderstorms. Late in the first quarter of Michigan's
matchup with Central Michigan, it became clear that
the probability was much, much higher.
Thick, gray clouds blocked out the sun and dark-
ened the field as Michigan's offense prepared to
resume play after a media timeout with 3:30 left in
the first quarter. Then lightning flashed north of the
stadium. Since the strike occurred within six miles of
the field, according to radar at the U-M Golf Course,
the officials stopped the game to comply with NCAA
regulations.
Just as both teams cleared the field and headed into
the tunnel, the skies opened up. Most of the 108,712
fans in attendance headed for cover as huge raindrops
pounded Michigan Stadium's exposed bowl.
But many Michigan students had a different reac-
tion to the deluge. The Maize-clad student section
greeted the onset of pouring rain with a roar, setting
the stage for an rain-soaked party in sections 25 to 31.
In the mostly empty stadium, the Wolverines' student
fans danced, sang and attempted to start the wave.
They chanted everything from the soccer song "Ol6,"
to "We're not leaving" to "It's great to be a Michigan
Wolverine."
"I don't come to many football games, but this
was ridiculous" said LSA junior Johny Urgiles, who
stayed in the student section through the rainstorm.
"Everybody went crazy."
The students weren't the only people who braved the
weather. The Michigan Marching Band donned pon-
chos and remained firmly planted in their seats, enter-
taining the remaining fans with somewhat waterlogged
versions of "The Victors" and Weezer's "Hash Pipe".
See STUDENTS, page 5B
N VOLLEYBALL
Crisler plays host
red-hot Spikers
By Dan Feldman Although Michigan coach Mark
Daily Sports Writer Rosen thought all the controllable
aspects of playing at a new venue, such
They played in Crisler Arena, nor- as setting up the court and hyping the
mally "where the hoopers at, the post match, were handled well, the vari-
men, the high flyers and the three- ables didn't go as smoothly. Because
point shooters at" according to cager of the weather delay in the football
Brent Petway's song "No.1." game, the match with Pacific started
But Saturday, Crisler hosted vol- before the football game was over
leyball for the first time as Michigan - rather than 15 minutes after the end
swept Pacific (30-23, 30-23, 30-26) in of the football game as was previously
the finale of the Michigan/Pepsi Chal- announced - and neither team played
lenge, its third consecutive sweep this very well.
weekend. "It certainly wasn't a heavyweight
The Wolverines' three-game win fight," Rosen said. "It was more like a
(30-26, 30-20, 30-21) over Marquette pillow fight. It just wasn't a real clean
Friday afternoon was their eighth match as far as the style of play."
straight win to start the season, which Pacific was led by first-year coach
tied a school record. Their win over Charlie Wade and featured seven
Virginia (30-26, 30-21, 30-27) later freshmen. Although it was just 1-6
that night broke the school record. See SPIKERS, page 61B
Freshman finishes off VCU
By Jamie Josephson
Daily Sports Writer
Freshman Peri Marosevic of
the Michigan men's soccer team
may have a new calling - a psy-
chic.
In the Wolverines' second
match of this weekend's Michi-
gan Invitational against Virginia
Commonwealth (2-3) at the U-M
Soccer Field yesterday, Maros-
evic broke the deadlock with
just more than seven minutes
remaining in the first half. Off
a pass from midfield, Marosevic
gathered the ball at his feet and
turned around to face a pair of
defenders. But even in the middle
of traffic, the rookie found the
tiniest of holes and sent the ball
into the back of the net over the
diving, outstretched hands of the
Rams' goalie - giving Michi-
gan the first goal of the game.
Though the nearly impossible
shot shocked coaches and fans
alike, Marosevic was not neary
as stunned.
"When I woke up this morn-
ing, I felt that I was going to
score today" Marosevic said. "I
knew it was coming. It's one of
those things that as soon as you
get the ball, you know you are
going to score ... I looked up and
saw the goal and said, 'Why not?
Let's take this chance.' And it
paid off:'
Sprinting toward the crowd
while holding up his No. 9 jer-
sey, Marosevic described the
after-goal celebration as "the
best feeling."
Michigan coach Steve Burns,
said Marosevic's "chance" shot
could turn out to be "the best
goal of the season."
Regardless if Burns's own FOREST
See VCU, page 6B Michigan defeated VCU 3-2 in a hard-fought match.
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