ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times

DATE: Wednesday, December 20, 1995           TAG: 9512200078
SECTION: SPORTS                   PAGE: C1   EDITION: METRO 
DATELINE: SAN FRANCISCO
SOURCE: Associated Press 

RICE'S LEGEND GROWS

There was no stopping Jerry Rice, and that means there was no stopping the San Francisco 49ers.

Rice had three touchdown catches to help the 49ers to a big early lead Monday night. Down the stretch, with the score tied, he made several more receptions to set up go-ahead scores.

When it was over, Rice had the fifth-highest yardage total by a receiver in NFL history with a career-high 289 yards on 14 receptions, and the 49ers earned a 37-30 victory over the Minnesota Vikings. (Summary in Scoreboard. C2)

``Thank God he's on our side,'' San Francisco safety Tim McDonald said. ``He can't be human. I would hate to be the team that has to watch the game film.''

Rice came up with one important catch after another from Steve Young, who threw for 425 yards.

The win was the 49ers' sixth straight and gave them a first-round playoff bye. San Francisco could sew up home-field advantage with a victory at Atlanta in the regular-season finale.

``The main thing is to keep our team on track for the playoffs,'' Rice said. ``When we had the momentum and they came back, I knew I had to make some plays, and I went out and made them.''

Rice increased his reception total for the year to 110, making him the first player with three 100-catch seasons.

He overtook Herman Moore of Detroit to set an NFL record for most receiving yards in a season. Going into the last game, Rice has 1,695 yards and Moore 1,581.

``The guy's fantastic,'' said Minnesota coach Dennis Green, a former 49ers assistant who coached Rice. ``He's had a lot of great games, and today was one of them.''

Rice caught touchdown passes of 8, 46 and 31 yards in the first half.

``He's already one of the all-timers. He adds to it every game,'' Minnesota safety Harlon Barnett said. ``It's odd to say this when he broke the record, but we made some decent plays on him. We just need to make more.''

LENGTH: Short :   49 lines
ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO:  AP. San Francisco receiver Jerry Rice (80) is hoisted by
          teammate Rod Milstead after Rice's touchdown reception in the second
          quarter Monday night. color.