Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, September 25, 1993 TAG: 9309250179
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The Dukes, who host Division II national champion Jacksonville State today, are sorely lacking a running game.
Scherer's team rushed for a meager 31 yards on 28 carries in last week's 45-34 loss at Connecticut - its worst performance on the ground since a 26-yard showing against Towson State in 1983.
Blame it on the loss of the team's top two rushers, tailback Kenny Sims and quarterback Eriq Williams, who finished their careers as the No. 2 and No. 3 rushers in school history.
"I knew that our offense was going to have to grow," he said this week. "I didn't think we'd have to grow from such a developmental stage."
The Dukes (1-2) had problems last week, as quarterback Mike Cawley fumbled the ball away on two option plays.
"The quarterback makes the option go and if your quarterback doesn't execute, then you're going to have trouble running the option," Scherer said.
But Scherer said he's determined to keep the option, even though he'll have to adapt it to Cawley. "I'm trying to drive home to him that there's more to playing quarterback than being just a gunslinger back there."
In other major-college games today involving state teams, Virginia hosts Duke, Harvard visits William and Mary, Maryland travels to Virginia Tech, Indiana (Pa.) is at Liberty, Villanova is at Richmond and VMI travels to Army.
Virginia coach George Welsh thinks Duke (1-2) is playing with the best offense it's had since 1990, when the two teams shared the Atlantic Coast Conference title.
But Blue Devils coach Barry Wilson said he'll wait and see if that's true of his team, which scored a total of 80 points against Rutgers and Army.
"I will be a lot more confident about our offense if we can move the ball and score" against the 22nd-ranked Cavaliers (3-0).
In Williamsburg, William and Mary coach Jimmye Laycock says the Tribe's offense will be back to full strength in a matchup between the nation's two oldest colleges.
Quarterback Shawn Knight and tailback Derek Fitzgerald are expected to return. Knight, who sat out the last two games with a bruise behind his right shoulder, was replaced by Todd Durkin. Durkin was 32 of 46 for 389 yards.
Fitzgerald, who missed the first two games recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery, was in for a handful of plays last week in the Tribe's 10-0 loss to Tulane. "I would anticipate him being full speed," Laycock said.
Harvard, founded in 1636, holds a 4-3-2 advantage over the Tribe, founded in 1693, in the series that began in 1925.
Virginia Tech is preparing for the no-huddle offense of Maryland, which is averaging 36 points a game. Outside linebacker Stacy Henley said that despite the Terrapins' 0-3 record, "I consider their offense to be 3-0, so it's another big challenge for us."
In Lynchburg, Liberty (3-0) has yet to choose a single quarterback, as coach Sam Rutigliano continues to look for quarterback-receiver chemistry.
Some offensive players have found this unsettling.
"I think it would be a benefit to the whole team if he did make a decision," said Travis Wilemon, who has been sharing time at quarterback with Antwan Chiles. "The whole team is just kind of out of sync because of it."
Villanova (1-1, 0-1) holds a 9-4 series advantage over Yankee Conference rival Richmond (2-1, 1-1). Richmond is led by Greg Lilly, who last week became the second quarterback in school history to register 700 career pass attempts and 400 career completions.
In West Point, N.Y., it will be a matchup of Wishbone offenses between VMI and Army, but they won't use quite the same approach. The Keydets have attempted 39 passes in the past two games; the Cadets only 10.
Keywords:
FOOTBALL
by CNB