ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, January 19, 1997 TAG: 9701200129
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: MOBILE, ALA.
Just a few days after California sent a coach to the pros, a Cal quarterback showed NFL scouts that he might belong there, too.
Pat Barnes threw for three touchdowns in the second quarter Saturday to lead the North to a 35-14 victory over the South in the Senior Bowl all-star college football game.
Barnes led the North to touchdowns on three of the four drives he directed and made a good case to join his old Cal coach, Steve Mariucci, in the NFL next year. Mariucci was hired as coach of the San Francisco 49ers earlier in the week.
``It's ironic, but timing is what life is all about,'' said Barnes, who was named most valuable player despite playing just one quarter. ``Coach Mariucci achieved a goal that anyone in football strives for. I'm going to the NFL, too, and I'm glad I'm going on a positive note.''
Barnes was thought of as the country's third- or fourth-best quarterback prospect coming in, but may have increased his stock with the second-quarter performance in front of some 600 NFL scouts and coaches.
He completed five of 10 passes for 88 yards and highlighted a game featuring strong-armed Virginia Tech quarterback Jim Druckenmiller and Arizona State's Jake Plummer.
Barnes, who set school records with 3,416 yards and 31 touchdown passes this season, credited his one-year experience with Mariucci for better preparing him for the next level.
``He taught me how to stay on an even keel,'' Barnes said. ``He taught me that you have to be in it on every play and build on your skills every day to improve.''
After his solid second quarter, Barnes volunteered to step aside for Druckenmiller, who played the first quarter and the entire second half, completing 6-of-13 for 147 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
Virginia running back Tiki Barber, from Cave Spring High School, had one carry for zero yards and caught one pass for 12 yards.
While Barnes dominated the second quarter, San Diego State running back George Jones was the story of the third. He ran for a 52-yard touchdown and turned a screen pass from Druckenmiller into a 24-yard score to give the North a 35-7 lead.
Jones, suspended for the first four games of the season for NCAA violations related to use of a car, finished with 89 yards rushing on 10 carries.
``When the suspension was over, I wasn't even that excited to come back,'' Jones said. ``But today is special for me. I think it proves I can play with these guys from the bigger schools.''
Ohio State defensive back Rob Kelly had two interceptions for the North, which shut down the South offense on eight straight possessions from the middle of the first quarter to early in the fourth.
Barnes' last touchdown drive began on the North 41 with 41 seconds left in the first half. He scrambled for 13 yards on the second play of the drive to set up a 46-yard pass over the middle to Southern Illinois tight end Damon Jones that gave the North a 21-7 halftime lead.
On the North's previous possession, Barnes led a 52-yard touchdown drive. He capped it by standing in the pocket for about eight seconds before finding Iowa's Sedrick Shaw for a 5-yard touchdown pass.
The first North score was set up when Kansas State receiver Kevin Lockett took a handoff and threw a 35-yard completion to Michigan State's Derrick Mason.
``I talked the coaches into putting that in,'' said Lockett, who finished with two catches for 71 yards. ``They didn't want to do it, but they finally did Friday. They told me it better work.''
The trick play took the ball to the South 38, and six plays later Barnes hit Central State's Alonzo Johnson for a 17-yard score.
Plummer went 14-for-23 for 173 yards with one touchdown and an interception. He led the South on a touchdown drive on its first possession of the game, capped when Tennessee's Jay Graham scored from 1 yard out.
Jason Taylor of Akron finished with two sacks and was named the North's defensive player of the game. NOTE: Please see microfilm for scores.
LENGTH: Medium: 82 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. North quarterback Jim Druckenmiller (16) of Virginiaby CNBTech fumbles after being hit from behind by Ndukwe Kalu of Rice in
the first quarter of the Senior Bowl all-star game in Mobile, Ala. KEYWORDS: FOOTBALL