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 a% i 33 t,,. 3! Op! ;!; ;!; ic; gigl ; :!;;J:!:! ;;:: :;:::!:!;:I:!; llllklglllkT4killlpgm - - ---- --- ------- mmomill RNM a7be s o ign - juipli mmumom 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. i