ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, December 15, 1996 TAG: 9612160138
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-5 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: FLORENCE, ALA.
TYPE: DIVISION II CHAMPIONSHIP
SOURCE: Associated Press
Michael Schauer kicked three field goals and Billy Holmes ran for 136 yards and a touchdown Saturday to help Northern Colorado to its first Division II title with a 23-14 victory over Carson-Newman.
Holmes surpassed the 100-yard mark for the sixth straight game and defense came up big for the Bears (12-3), who had four sacks and ended all five of Carson-Newman's second-half drives by forcing turnovers.
Carson-Newman (12-2) was denied its first title since moving from NAIA to Division II in 1993.
Jim Porter led the Bears defense with eight tackles and two sacks, caused a fumble and had one fumble recovery. His recovery midway through the third quarter halted Carson-Newman's best drive of the second half, a 13-play, 60-yard effort that ended at the Bears' 9-yard line.
Northern Colorado punted after that possession, but after a Jesse Tann interception, Schauer made his second field goal - a 45-yarder - to give the Bears a 20-14 lead.
Schauer hit a 23-yarder with 11:20 remaining for the final margin, but missed a 28-yarder with two minutes left that would have set a championship game record.
But the miss came at the end of a 13-play, 54-yard drive that ate up 6:41 and ended Carson-Newman's hopes.
Eagles tailback Tyrone Westmoreland, who came in averaging seven yards per carry, had a 57-yard touchdown run to open the scoring late in the first quarter, but he wasn't much of a factor the rest of the way. He finished with 99 yards on 13 carries.
This was the first year Northern Colorado made it past the first round of the playoffs, but all through the postseason, the Bears played with the poise of an experienced playoff team.
They won their first three games by a combined five points, with all the games being decided in the last 15 seconds.
There wasn't as much drama Saturday, especially in the second half, as the Bears consistently came up with big turnovers. They included a Tony Roberson interception in the last 30 seconds to end Carson-Newman's final, desperation drive.
Northern Colorado took a 17-14 lead at halftime with help from a fake punt with 22 seconds to go in the second quarter. After a Northern Colorado drive appeared to have stalled at the Eagles 45, Carson-Newman called timeout, hoping to force a punt and get one last chance with the ball.
But the Bears snapped the ball to Roberson, who was playing upback, and he ran 26 yards to the Eagles 20-yard line. Two plays later, Schauer kicked a 42-yard field goal to end the second quarter.
On the previous drive, Westmoreland ran in from 2 yards out for his second touchdown of the game. That tied the score at 14-14 after Northern Colorado had gone ahead 14-7 on Holmes' 1-yard run and a 36-yard touchdown pass from Tom Beck to Andy Haase, both in the second quarter.
LENGTH: Medium: 63 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. Northern Colorado quarterback Tom Beck is wrapped upby CNBfor a loss by Carson-Newman's Stan Luttrell on Saturday.