Herald and Review from Decatur, Illinois • Page 16

Page B4 Sports- Decatur, Illinois, Friday, September 27, 1985 College football report Bottorff leads gang tackier Something is rotten in Texas Bottorff is part of an experience-laden defensive unit that has been so effective in the first two games that Millikin's opponents have yet to obtain plus yardage on the ground. Against conference opponents, Wheaton and Wesleyan, Millikin's defense limited them to negative 28 yards. It also has seven interceptions and 12 sacks. It simply reaffirms Bottorffs pre-season conviction that Millikin would have the best defense in the College Conference of Illinois-Wisconsin. "Knowing the people we had coming back.

I felt we would be the best in the conference if not one of the best in the nation. I see no reason to change that after two games." he remarked. Bottorff epitomizes the type of player Millikin Coach Carl Poelk-er likes to point to with pride when he talks about the overall intelligence of his squad. Bottorff has a 3.89 grade-point average out of a possible 4.0 as a math major. "I'm interested in obtaining a job in a computer-related industry." he says.

In the meantime, Bottorff is ringing up some fancy figures of his own on the football field By REX SPIRES Herald Review Sports Writer Linebacker Cary Bottorff put the Millikin defense in perspective. "When you watch us play, you won't see many solo tackles." he said. "Usually, there will be two or three guys in on the tackle, sometimes more. We like to be known as hitters. We're not out to hurt anyone.

We just want them to remember us." A 6-foot-l, 220-pouud senior. Bottorff has done his share of hitting. He was the team's leading tackier a year ago when Millikin was 8-1. After the first two games this time, Bottorff is in a familiar position atop the tackle charts. He has 17 tackles, including one for a loss.

He also has an interception. He set the tone for last Saturday's 35-0 romp over Illinois Wes-leyan by grabbing a deflected pass on the second play of the game and rambling 17 yards for the touchdown. It was his first touchdown as a college player. "It's a thrill unlike any other in football," said Bottorff. who was a fullback at Oilman High School.

"I never thought I'd score a touchdown playing defense. Getting one in that kind of situation made it even better." 4 Knight-Ridder News Service The way things are going, by 1987 every Southwest Conference team but Rice will be on probation. The suspension of seven Texas Christian players, including Heisman Trophy candidate Ken Davis, is but another in a growing line of shocks for the Southwest Conference, which seems ready to overdose on illegal recruiting. Southern Methodist was hit with a three-year probation last month: Texas is looking into allegations that quarterback Kevin Murray is being paid $300 a month, and the University of Texas was caught up in a controversy involving football players who allegedly received discounted rental rates at a private apartment complex. The vast state of Texas apparently isn't big enough for the Southwest Conference.

Eight of its schools are in Texas, and they all but stab each other in the back for the top players. Conference Commissioner Fred Jacoby told the Dallas Morning News that "Because of the high quality of high school football in this region and so many institutions recruiting in a small area, the competition is keen. That doesn't justify the condition that exists, but it goes a long way in explaining it." 6Py' bends but doesn't break By JEFF RIVERS Herald A Review Sports Writer They call him Ply and for good reason no one can pronounce Plywaczewski. rhoto by Herb Slodounik papist Linebacker Cary Bottorff leads Millikin University in tackles with 17. DeVries proves himself Plywaczewski (pronounced Pla chev sky) senior defensive tackle for the Millikin University football team, doesn't mind the awkward moniker.

Boston College has joined the drug-testing craze, demanding that players volunteer. Said Coach Jack Bicknell: "If a kid doesn't agree to be tested, he isn't going to play." Although such testing is well-intentioned, chances are it could be ruled an invasion of privacy if it was ever tested in court. Nebraska may perform the most stringent tests. Nebraska even searches for steroids, a strength-building drug. Gregg DeVries has erased the doubts.

One of the few concerns Millikin Coach Carl Poelker had about his football team was what would happen if it became necessary to replace starting the middle is just as satisfying as making a tackle." said Plywaczewski. "There are no heroes on the defensive line. You just do your job. I plug up the middle and make sure the run doesn't get through me." said Plywaczewski. Making the hit especially on running plays is what Plywaczewski likes to do best.

"I enjoy the contact." said the Chicago product. more contact on running plays. It's easier for me to read the run." Plywaczewski will have plenty of reading opportunities Saturday, at Carthage. "They're basically a run team." he said. They run double tight ends that crack back on our ends.

We're going to have to good play from our ends and I'm going to have to work on my pursuit." Plywaczewski has worked hard preparing for the season. He's met his goals of bench pressing 400 pounds, getting his 40-yard dash time to 4.8 seconds, and getting his body in the best shape possible. With a working class name like Plywaczewski. how could the work not pay off? Wally Plywaczewski quarterback John Cardamone. Several seemingly-capable quarterbacks were waiting in the wings.

However, none had college varsity game experi- ence. DeVries, a 6-foot-2, 180-pound sophomore from Mil-ledgeville, was thrown into his first college start against Illinois Wesleyan last Saturday because Cardamone was still nursing a bruised shoulder injured in the opening game victory over Wheaton. DeVries responded by completing four of 10 passes for 116 better football team. He has better than a 3.0 grade-point average and his intelligence was a factor in his play. He showed a good understanding of our offense and didn't try to play beyond his ability." Poelker is a firm believer that intelligence is the main reason for Millikin's 2-0 record despite the lack of flashy statistical totals.

Millikin's offense has averaged 260 yards, a low total considering it is averaging 29 points. With seven interceptions, 12 sacks and a strong showing against the rush it has limited opponents to negative 28 yards rushing it is obvious the defense has contributed heavily. "Knute Rockne said smart kids know how to win and our team is not going to do something over the course of a game to beat itself." Poelker said. "This team, more than any I've been associated with, has the quality of figuring out what is'needed to win. We adjust awfully well to the rhythm of a game." Millikin has several players among conference individual leaders as it enters the Carthage game.

Tom Kreller is the scoring leader with 30 points. His five touchdowns are three better than five other players tied for second with 12 points. Kreller also is second in rushing with 134 yards behind Augustana's Brad Price, who has 228. Millikin's Andy Hastings is tops in punting, averaging 38.9 yards for 10 punts. Conrad Givers is second in kickoff returns with an average of 23.5 yards for two returns.

Marc Daniels is third in punt returns with an average of eight yards for two returns. In team statistics. Millikin is second in defense. It has yielded an average of 223 yards. It is sixth in offense with an average of 260.5 yards.

Gregg DeVries The coaches remember my name. That's the kid with the long name," he said. Plywaczewski got his nickname as a freshman, when everyone taped their name on their helmets. His name wouldn't fit. so he wrote "Ply." The nickname stuck and so has he.

The 5-foot-10. 230-pounder is a two-year letter-man and a part-time starter last year. In an opening season 25-18 win over Wheaton College. Plywaczewski made two tackles and added four more more against Illinois Wesleyan last week. The numbers aren't staggering, but Plywaczewski isn't expected to make many tackles.

"Our basic responsibility on the defensive line is to clog the middle," said Plywaczewski. "If you look on the statistic sheet, the linemen didn't make too many tackles." Although clogging the middle is not glamorous, that doesn't bother Plywaczewski. "If I can do the job. clogging COLLEGE CONFERENCE ILLINOIS-WISCONSIN Conterence Overall 2 2 1 1 1 1 0 0 Augustana MILLIKIN Elmhurst III. Wesleyan North Central Wheaton Carthage North Park yards and a touchdown.

His statistics fail to serve as a true measure of his value under the circumstances, Poelker said. "Gregg's performance did not resemble a quarterback playing in his first college start," said Poelker. "He never made a mistake when we ran the ball, audibled off on the line for several good plays and threw with poise. The rest of the team rallied behind him and that shows the leadership and stability he added to the offense." Although Cardamone is expected to be ready to return to the lineup when Millikin plays at Carthage Saturday, Poelker is pleased DeVries has demonstrated he can take over if the situation warrants it. "Gregg's performance means we have a capable back-up quarterback." he said.

"It makes Millikin a 2 2 2 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 Carroll SCORES LAST WEEK Millikin 35. Illinois Wesleyan 0 Auqustana 50. Carroll 0 Elnihutst 13. North Park 6 Wheaton 29. North Central 21 Hope 34.

Carthage 12 According to the joke, some Florida State linemen have perfected a new blocking technique called the Lookout Block. In the midst of a heavy pass rush, they turn to shell-shocked quarterback Danny McMa-nus and yell "Look Out!" McManus has been knocked out twice in three weeks. Milestones Terry Donahue UCLA coach became the school winningest coach with a 34-16 victory over San Diego State. Donahue, in his 10th year, has a career record of 73-29-6. Donahue, 41, entered the game tied with Bill Spaulding.

whose UCLA teams were 72-51-8 from 1925-38. Mike Sherrard UCLA senior wide receiver caught four passes for 44 yards against San Diego State, giving him a school-record 110 career catches. The previous record of 108 was set by Cormac Carnev. who played for UCLA from 1980-82. Worth repeating Leonard Bell Indiana punt returner who scored a 52-yard touchdown on his very first return in a 38-35 victory over Navy: "I was recruited by Illinois and Wisconsin, but now I'm glad I came to Indiana.

I could get used to this winning stuff." Mike White Illinois coach in the wake of a 52-25 loss to Nebraska: "Our program is at a real low ebb. We failed about as convincingly as you can fail." Jerry Pettibone Northern Illinois coach after a 48-20 loss to Iowa: "I feel we have played one of the really great football teams in the country. I can't remember another team with so many players who can beat you so many ways." Grant Teaff Baylor coach on the 20-13 upset of No. 3 Southern Cal: "We won't finish eighth in the (Southwest) conference. I can tell you that." Ted Tollner Southern Cal coach: "I believe we were beaten at our own game.

It came down to what we think is our strength to play physical and stop the run and run the ball when we have to. They won that war. so they won the football game." Texas Christian players not talking Eastern's Pierce leads nation Calvin Pierce DuWayne Pitts CHARLESTON Calvin Pierce leads the nation. The Eastern Illinois University football slotback is No. 1 in Division 1-AA football receiving yardage with 380.

He's No. 4 nationally in passes caught per game, averaging 8.7. Pierce caught 12 passes for 186 yards in the 35-27 victory over Saginaw Valley last Saturday. He's a junior from Oak Lawn Richards. In addition to Pierce, Eastern Illinois has three players among the top 10 in national Division 1-AA statistics.

Quarterback Sean Payton is No. 2 in passing yards with 1,040 and No. 4 in total offense, averaging 334 yards. Roy Banks is tied for seventh in receptions per game with 7.7. Du-Wayne Pitts is No.

9 in rushing at 124.7 yards a game. Pitts got a career-high 169 yards in 37 rushes against Saginaw Valley. Teamwise, Eastern Illinois is No. 3 nationally in total offense with an average of 492 yards and No. 4 in passing offense with 346.7 yards.

Eastern Illinois (2-1) opens Gateway Conference action Saturday at 1:30 p.m. at Carbondale against Southern Illinois University 1-3 1 Southern Illinois lost to Drake 31-6 last week. Last year. Southern Illinois bolted to a 41-13 halftime lead against Eastern Illinois and won 48-40 despite four touchdown passes by Payton was named Gateway Conference player of the week after 40 completions for 509 yards and four touchdowns against Saginaw Valley. Wilson leads Illinois State: Stephon Wilson leads the Illinois State University football team into a 1:30 p.m.

Parents Day game in Normal Saturday with Central Roy Banks Sean Payton request by the Internal Revenue Service for information from the NCAA about wealthy school boosters is not directly tied to the TCU probe. "There has been a preliminary meeting about whether there was any possibility of our office cooper7 ating with IRS officials in their interests. But that meeting occurred some four to six months ago and has nothing to do with any particular investigation at all," Berst said. The IRS has expressed an interest in finding out whether wealthy school supporters are taking illegal tax deductions by reporting their payments to athletes as charitable contributions. The investigation got off to a rocky start on Wednesday when most of the seven suspended players refused to talk with Minnix.

According to published reports, the players were worried about the future of their athletic scholarships, which university officials have said they can keep despite being dropped from the team. The players who were suspended are running back Kenneth Davis, linebacker Gearld Taylor, defensive end Gary Spann, defensive tackle Darron Turner, safety Egypt Allen, defensive back Marvin Foster and tight end Ron Zell Brewer. In addition, starting offensive guard Tommy Shehan, who said Monday he had violated conference rules by being employed during the season under TCU's former coach, has been cleared to play, according to Wacker. FORT WORTH. Texas (AP) -The probe into the Texas Christian University recruiting scandal continued Thursday as the NCAA investigator met with a school booster and tried to glean more information from reluctant football players suspended for taking cash.

Dick Lowe, the Fort Worth oilman and TCU alumnus who admitted making cash payments to several players, said Thursday he had a brief and "amicable" meeting with investigator Bob Minnix. But Lowe declined to discuss details of their talk, saying Minnix had asked him to keep it confidential. He said Minnix gave no indication on what kind of punishment the school could expect from its players' admitted violations of NCAA rules. "It was a very amicable meeting. He was very courteous." Lowe said.

David Berst, the NCAA's director of enforcement in Kansas City, declined to say how long Minnix would be in Fort Worth conducting the inquiry. "I'm simply not willing to get into the details of any of our investigations," he said. "Self-disclosure is a mitigating factor in determining what action to take. But I am not in a position to speculate on what may happen in this matter." The TCU players who admitted taking money turned themselves in to coach Jim Wacker, who suspended them from the team. The school reported the situation to the NCAA.

Berst did say, however, that some recent published reports of a Florida. Wilson was named Missouri Valley Conference offensive player of the week after gaining 113 yards in 21 carries in the 17-2 victory over Wayne State. the opening kickoff. Purdue recovered and turned it into a field goal. Notre Dame lost 23-21.

"I'm a different player than I was a year ago," said Brown. "Their kicking game is far superior to ours and that's my biggest worry," said Burtnett. "That's a real problem and will be a big factor in this game." Faust called Brown "a game breaker. He has great speed and a great sense of direction. He feels where he has to go to get open." Brown was the catalyst last Saturday night in Notre Dame's 27-10 victory over Michigan State.

The sophomore flanker from Dallas returned the second half kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown, and he caught four passes for 88 yards, including a 49-yard strike from Steve Beuerlein which set up another touchdown. Brown's first remark after the game was, "I'm looking forward to playing Purdue. I'm looking for revenge." A year ago, Notre Dame's first game was against Purdue. Freshman Tim Brown fumbled CHICAGO (AP) Maybe the coaches don't think much of the revenge factor when Notre Dame and Purdue football teams collide Saturday at West Lafayette, but it is uppermost in the mind of Tim Brown. "I never look at the revenge factor," said Notre Dame Coach Gerry Faust.

"The revenge factor can be overplayed," said Purdue Coach Leon Burtnett. "Each game is different, each team has a different personality." But Tim Brown sees it differently and with good reason..