DATE: Sunday, August 17, 1997               TAG: 9708170211

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY JIM DUCIBELLA, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: ATLANTA                           LENGTH:   82 lines

SKINS STAY UNBEATEN IN PRESEASON 4TH-STRING QB LEADS WINNING DRIVE AFTER WASHINGTON TRAILED 28-6 IN FIRST HALF.

In more than 60 seasons of football, the Washington Redskins have had more than a few winning combinations.

Few, if any, have been as odd as Mark Hartsell and Julie Green.

Green, the wife of Redskins' third-string quarterback Trent Green, went into labor with their first child in Washington Saturday afternoon. Her husband, who was scheduled to play the fourth quarter of Saturday's preseason tuneup against the Atlanta Falcons, instead left Atlanta to join his wife at the hospital.

With coach Norv Turner intent on resting backup Jeff Hostetler, that left only Hartsell, a former Boston College star who was in the Redskins' camp last summer and has experience in the World Football League. He entered the game with Washington trailing 31-26 - and immediately took the offense 80 yards to the winning touchdown in a 35-31 victory.

The final play in the drive came on a play reminiscent of another No. 17 who once played quarterback for the Redskins - Billy Kilmer. On third-and-10 from the Atlanta 10, Hartsell lumbered back into the pocket and shoved back-pedalling guard Matt Reem out of his way. Hartsell then fluttered a pass in the end zone to tight end Chris Sanders, who outjumped linebacker Lorenzo Styles for the ball with 7:48 to play.

That capped a mad and improbable Washington comeback.

The Redskins trailed 28-6 after Chris Chandler's 26-yard touchdown pass to Terrence Mathis with 1:53 left in the second quarter. But Redskins' starting quarterback Gus Frerotte used the remaining moments of the half to begin the recovery by hitting Michael Westbrook with a 26-yard touchdown pass.

After spotting the Falcons a field goal to open the third quarter, Frerotte went to work again. First, he faked a short pass to Leslie Shepherd, then found the wideout for a 31-yard touchdown with 5:44 to go in the third quarter.

After Atlanta punted, Frerotte guided Washington on a 61-yard drive that included an 11-yard run, a 22-yard pass to Westbrook and a four-yard touchdown pass to tight end James Jenkins 48 seconds into the fourth quarter.

Atlanta punted again, and on came Hartsell.

The winning drive opened with Hartsell throwing deep for rookie Albert Connell. His pass was badly under thrown, but Atlanta's Lenny McGill was flagged for pass interference 28 yards down field.

On the next play, running back Kerry Joseph fumbled - but Chesapeake's Jim Kitts recovered for the Redskins. Kitts and Hartsell combined on a six-yard pass play, after which Joseph ran for five yards to get a first down at the Atlanta 24.

Joseph circled left end for 14, setting up Hartsell's gutty touchdown throw to Sanders.

Later, safety Jamel Williams recovered a fumbled punt snap deep in Atlanta territory, setting up a 20-yard field goal by Peter Elezovic and the final margin of victory.

Despite the thrill of the comeback, it wasn't the most pleasing of victories for Turner. His defense, which hadn't allowed a touchdown in its first two preseason games, allowed four in the first half.

The first touchdown, which came after the Redskins took a 3-0 lead, was set up when Chandler rolled from pressure and hit Terrence Mathis with an 84-yard bomb. Washington safety Stanley Richard missed getting his hands on the ball an instant before Mathis brought it in, then missed the tackle on Mathis, enabling him to get to the Redskins 1. Chandler then hit tight end O.J. Santiago for the touchdown.

After Washington cut the deficit to 7-6, Chandler led Atlanta on a 12-play, 72-yard march that ate up 6:58. Tailback Jamal Anderson scored from the 2 with 6:36 to go in the half.

A Washington penalty enabled the Falcons to kick off from the 45 and Atlanta double-crossed the Redskins by recovering an on-sides kick. Chandler, who completed 10 of 14 passes for 197 yards, subsequently hit Michael Haynes for six yards and the touchdown that made it 21-6.

Four plays after Frerotte fumbled when blindsided by Chuck Smith, Mathis beat nickel back Darryl Pounds on a fly pattern down the left side. Chandler's pass hit him at the Washington 5 and he stepped into the end zone for a 28-6 advantage. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Atlanta's Terrence Mathis, right, hauls in an 84-yard bomb from

quarterback Chris Chandler that set up the Falcons' first touchdown

Saturday night. Washington's Stanley Richard, left, missed getting

his hands on the ball an instant before Mathis brought it in and

raced to the Redskins' 1-yard line.

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