THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, October 27, 1994 TAG: 9410270618
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY CHARLIE DENN, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 92 lines
He's not exactly what you'd call a one-man team, but James Madison quarterback Mike Cawley is doing a superb job of fitting into the Dukes' I-option offensive scheme.
Cawley, a transfer from Syracuse, leads 6-1 JMU in rushing with 473 yards and averages 5.1 yards per carry. He's also thrown for 1,360 yards and is on pace to break his own school record for passing yards in a season.
Cawley passed for 1,988 yards in 1993 and, at his present clip, would amass 2,137 yards this fall.
``He doesn't look like a great athlete,'' said teammate Macey Brooks, ``but he gets the job done.''
In last week's 33-7 conquest of William and Mary, Cawley accounted for 312 yards of total offense. He ran for 85 yards, including a 42-yard dash which set up a TD, and passed for 227 yards and a touchdown. He was named the Yankee Conference's offensive player of the week for his effort.
``Coach (Rip) Scherer simplified things a little for me for the William and Mary game,'' Cawley said. ``He felt I was putting too much pressure on myself, which was causing me to make some mistakes. I have not been happy with my consistency.
``So he gave me a chance to have some success with the plays we were using. I felt really comfortable the whole game, and it was reflected in the way we moved the ball.''
The Mount Lebanon, Pa., native is also on pace to break the school single-season record for pass completions. He has 99 completions now with four games left. The record of 134 was set by Eriq Williams in 1992.
JMU has four games left, including Saturday's clash at Richmond. The Dukes' remaining opponents (Richmond, VMI, Connecticut and Northeastern) have a combined 6-24 record.
If the team wins all four as expected, the Dukes would be 10-1 and likely to host a first-round playoff game in Harrisonburg. James Madison last went to the playoffs in 1991.
g1cdwm27 Derek Fitzgerald SLOW COMEBACK: After a sensational sophomore year in which he rushed for a team-high 1,101 yards and his team made the I-AA playoffs, 1994 loomed as one of great expectations for William and Mary running back Derek Fitzgerald.
But as the native of Springfield can attest, things are not always as they seem.
Offseason anterior cruciate ligament surgery on his right knee has made Fitzgerald only a shell of the back he was last fall.
And injuries to other key performers, most notably quarterback Shawn Knight, have reduced the Tribe to a disappointing 5-3 record entering Saturday's game at Villanova.
``I still don't have the confidence I had last year,'' said Fitzgerald, who averaged 6.1 yards per carry. ``Last season I felt invincible.''
Two factors have contributed to Fitzgerald's modest (227 yards on 50 carries) 1994 totals: His ability to cut has been impaired by the surgery and teammate Troy Keen has emerged as a quality back.
NEW THREAT: With injuries depleting his running back corps, Liberty coach Sam Rutigliano had to press freshman Mike Brown into service last week against Catawba.
Brown, who had been listed as a defensive back in the preseason and had played only on special teams thus far, handled the job well, rushing for 116 yards on 18 carries and scored one TD.
The Flames have already been without Penn State transfer J.T. Morris for five games and their leading runner, Lawrence Worthington, went down in the first half of the Catawba game with an injury after gaining 40 yards on nine carries.
RECORD NEAR: Richmond senior running back Uly Scott should eclipse the Spiders' all-time career rushing record this week against James Madison.
Scott, who gained 89 yards in a 40-24 loss to Boston U., needs just 7 yards against the Dukes to break Barry Redden's mark of 3,324 yards, set from 1978-81. Scott had back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons in 1992-93 and has 505 yards in eight games this season.
NO KICKS COMING: James Madison sophomore placekicker John Coursey is becoming one of the school's most accurate field goal specialists in his first year on the job.
Coursey has converted 10 of 14 tries thus far (71.4 percent), which puts him on a pace to equal or better the single-season record of 15 field goals set by Scott Norwood in 1980. Norwood was 15-of-21 that year, also 71.4 percent.
CLOSE ENCOUNTER: After weeks of blowouts, VMI's Keydets came close to their first victory of the year against Furman.
VMI trailed only 14-11 after three quarters but allowed two touchdowns in the final 15 minutes to lose. Still, the team got 188 yards rushing from tailback Thomas Haskins and had a season-best 407 yards of total offense.
The Keydets host 4-1 Southern Conference co-leader Western Carolina Saturday. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Derek Fitzgerald
by CNB