The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

'AGE 22 - PLAINDEALER - FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 28.1984 Sports On the Sideline Dick Rabbitt Warriors take to Coach Joe Schlender will take his "Fighting Warriors" to Crystal Lake tomorrow afternoon, hoping to spoil the Central Tigers' perfect record. Bill Mack's Tigers are currently 3-0 on the season, winning their conference opener against Cary-Grove 27-0. However, the winners led by just 7-0 at half. / If the Warriors are ever going to beat Central, tomorrow is the time. A number of years ago, the Tigers were a heavy favorite against a Bill Day-coached Warrior team, and the when the final gun sounded, the score read: Warriors 25, Tigers 0. CENTRAL WILL FAQE -CROSS-TOWN RIVAL South the following week, and may be looking past the Warriors. McHenry will have its hands full containing Jared Sasser, the fine 6-2, 220 pound fullback of the Tigers. Signal-caller Brad Merkle is really the key to the Tiger offense, and the passing QB has ample receivers in Mark Statter and Tim Aldridge. The Tiger line, although not too big, still carries enough beef to make it tough for the opposition. The 4-4-3 defense is anchored by George Markus, (5-9,175). He gets help from Guy Englemen, at 5-11, 210, along with linebacker Bryan Hansen and safety Steve Glanz. pBILL MACK ALWAYS PUTS A RESPECTABLE team on the field, but the Warriors - with a little help from above - could spoil the CLC unblemished record. McHenry will be trying to rebound from a tough 31-8 defeat at the hands of Crystal Lake South last week. The Warriors played great ball the first half, and went into the intermission leading 8- 7. I, along with a lot of fans, thought this was the night for a McHenry upset. However, we were surprised by the play of the Warriors in the second half. "We just got beat," Schlender commented. The Warriors were completely manhandled in the second 24 minutes, and after Bill Schlies' field goal put the Gators ahead 10- 8, it seemed McHenry just played out the string. Coach Schlender has promised a better showing this week, and we are hoping for t h e u p s e t . r -- . GARY GRAY'S GIRLS' TENNIS TEAM LOSTTxTCary-Grove 3-2 in a Fox Valley match Monday. The doubles teams of Sara Bird-Kris Wolff and Michelle Landis-Geri Haner continued their fine play, accounting for the two Warrior points. Chuck Cuda's golfers finished eighth at Barrington last week. The veteran coach was pleased with his squad, made up of fresh­ men andf"sophomores, with only one upperclassman on the team. They lost to Jacobs Monday, 174-183, but the future looks bright. The golfers played at CL Central yesterday at Turnberry, and thanks to coach Ron Marks at Central, I got to play the fine course at the same time. What a guy won't do to get his name in the paper. # A speedy recovery to Pam Schaefer, McHenry's volleyball coach. Pam has had some problems with the dentist, and her jaw last week looked as if someone really gave her a hit. Here's hoping the genial coach is back with the squad real soon. And to Ken Ludwig: Yes, Bill Day, Ken Swanson, S.I.H. and I agree the Cubs were the best team in the National League East. But wait until next year when the Sox will rise again. WELL, FOR THE FIRST TIME IN OVER five years my crystal ball didn't crack last week, hitting 7-for-7. I'm almost afraid to pick this week, even though I gained on our sports editor and trail by one in the standings. I currently stand at 18-6, while our sports editor is 19-5. Things are starting to heat up. Rabbitt: "This week I'll pick the Tigers over the Warriors, hoping for a McHenry upset, however. Cary-Grove over Farragut of Chicago. I don't think th lower leagues in the city play our brand of football in the Fox Valley. South to beat Dun­ dee-Crown in a thriller for South's homecoming. Woodstock, continuing to roll, over Jacobs, Marian over Johnsburg, and Richmond over Genoa-Kingston." Juzwik: "No messing around this week. I wonder how good Central really is. All three of their opponents thus far have been fairly easy marks. Cary-Grove gave them a good battle for a half last week. The Tigers play South a week from now. A prime time for a Warrior upset, don't you think? I tried this last week, and it didn't work, but we'll give it another shot. McHenry by six or so - I think. Cary-Grove to edge Farragut, South to rip Dundee- Crown. Woodstock should win big. Marian-Johnsburg could be a tough game if the Skyhawks can bounce back from last week's humiliating defeat to Lake Zurich. Richmond in a big way over G-K. Richmond could be the best team in the county." CRYSTAL BALL PICKS: WEEK 4 Rabbitt Pro wrestling shows McHenry at Central Central Marian at Johnsburg Marian D-C at South South Richmond at Genoa-King. Richmond Woodstock at Jacobs Woodstock Farragut at Cary-Grove Cary-Grove Juzwik McHenry Marian South Richmond Woodstock Cary-Grove By Joe Kflsek Plaindealer News Service ROSEMONT - It was...uh...- well, interesting. Almost bizarre. No, that's too strong. Different. That's it. It was different - very different. The place was the Rosemont Horizon and the event was in­ famous All-Star professional wrestling. The same wrestling we watched as kids on channel 32 and is now shown on channel 26 every Sunday morning. Walking in, the place brought back memories of watching The Crusher, Dick the Bruiser, the Sodbuster and Baron Von Raschke going at it. And there they were, in the flesh, some of the faces we've welcomed into our living rooms almost every Sunday. There were the old-timers - The Crusher, Dick the Bruiser, Bobby "The Brain" Heenan, Billy Robinson - along with the relative newcomers - the Road Warriors, Rick Marel, the Fabulous Ones, Tony "Mr. USA" Atlas - all ready to put on a show. BUT THEY WEREN'T THE ONLY part of the show. Seeing them in action on television and seeing them perform in person are two separate thing. Television doesn't show the main performers - the crowd. A crowd at a wrestling match is like no crowd anywhere else. All have their favorites and are intensely loyal, loyal to the point of being fanatical and almost psychotic. One bout pitted Tony "Mr. USA" Atlas against Chris Markoff. Markoff is supposedly from Leningrad, Russia. It was the perfect bout, Mr. USA vs. the Communist. And that theme was played to the hilt. When Markoff entered the ring, the Russian national an­ them was played and he came out dressed in a Soviet army 9 Ylaindealcr New 5 ^ervirc rnoio uy JM- UUJ, * Dick the Bruiser and one of the infamous Road is entertaining because of the participants -- and Warriors go at it during a recent tag-team match the crowd, which is always involved in the mat- at the Rosemont Horizon. Professional wrestling ches. jacket, boots and hat. The crowd went nuts. Literally. They swore at him, spit on him, gave him the or one finger salute and he responded accordingly. MARKOFF'S REACTIONS WERE for show, but the crowd's weren't. They were serious with their hate. Serious enough to where even the security people were getting worried about their own skins. What comfort. And the entrance of the wrestlers is sometimes the best part of the show. IN the headline match, it was the Road Warriors vs. The Crusher and Dick the Bruiser in a tag team match. It was classic. The Crusher and the Bruiser must be pushing 60 years old, and when the two wrestling legends came in, the PA system was playing the "Beer Barrel Polka." They could have been - and probably are - somebody's grandfathers. Entering the ring to the tune of Black Sabbath's "Iron Man," the Road Warriors came out clad in leather chaps, studded wrist bands and belts. Two you definitely don't bring home. Ever. THEY HAD MOHAWK- STYLE haircuts and paint on their faces. Individually, they" are known as the Animal and the Continued on page 20 Area gridders face key conference games By Chris Juzwik Plaindealer sports editor Football seasons aren't very long. Especially in high school. Nine regular season games. All the preparation, all the planning, the goals set during the summer. All those things have to be achieved in nine weeks. A poor performance here, a couple of bad breaks there, and suddenly, a team with high hopes is struggling to reach the .500 mark. Both McHenry and John- sburg's football teams face pivotal Saturday afternoon games in their respective conferences. After disappointing losses last weekend which dropped both squads to 1-2 on the season, each will face the conference leaders this week. McHenry, after dropping a 31- 8 decision to Crystal Lake South at McCracken Field last Friday in the Fox Valley opener for both, will travel to Crystal Lake to face Central. Johnsburg, which was crushed by Lake Zurich 32-0 at home last Saturday, will host Marian Central in a Northwest Suburban tilt. . Both Marian and CL Central are off to 3-0 starts, and both teams had rousing wins in their league openers last week. Marian trounced hapless Wauconda, 37-13, 'while CL Central pounded Cary-Grove 27- 0. "THIS IS A BIG GAME FOR US," admitted McHenry coach Joe Schlender. "We hope Central will be looking ahead to their next game against South. That may make them look past us, which would be a plus." Bill Mack's Central Tigers have an unblemished 3-0 mark on the season. The Tigers' opened with a big win over Lombard Montini, followed by another impressive triumph (34- 8) over West Chicago. The Tigers did, however have a rougher time of it against Cary-Grove than the score would indicate. Central led by just 7-0 at the half, before tur­ ning it on against the less- talented Trojans. "They're a good ballclub," Schlender said of Central. "They have an outstanding back in Jared Sasser, and they have some big kids there. Bill Mack is a super coach." Schlender said the Tigers are almost a carbon copy of the Warriors. "We do a lot erf things identically. They're almost a mirror image of us," he said. "I know I have a good football team here. We just will have to do it on the football field." THE STORY IS THE SAME AT Johnsburg. "We're terribly disappointed in* the way we played last week," Skyhawk mentor Randy Oberembt said. "But attitude isn't a problem with our team. It never has been. The ldds are working hard for Marian." The Hurricanes are ranked in the top five in the state in Class 2A, depending on which poll you put the most stock in. "They have possibly three all-state players in Andy Hartlieb, Dan Fortin and Chris Brown. They are a fine ballclub, every bit as good as Lake Zurich," Oberembt said. The Hurricanes opened their season with a stirring overtime victory over Crystal Lake South, and followed that up* with an 18-6 win over a tough Harvard team before walloping Wauconda. "IN ADDITION TO TRYING to win the game," Oberembt said, "we're looking for total improvement." "Powers (Marian quar­ terback George) has done everything (Marian coach) Don Penza could have hoped. They have super athletes at the skill positions. We'll be prepared, both mentally and physically. We have good athletes. We just have to do it." In Oberembt's plan is to have Marian and Powers throw the football more than they have. "Fortin and Hartlieb can really run. Fortin carried the load for them when Andy was hurt, and Andy is a super back as well." Both games will begin at 2 p.m. Saturday. "We'd like nothing better than to defeat Marian and gain momentum for the rest of the season," Oberembt said. "But we have to go out and do it." Schlender said he feels the same way about Central. FOOTBALL STATISTICS Page 20 "We're not out of the conference race yet. We're the underdog against Central, but we seem to perform well in that role," he added. "It would be a big win for us." A Johnsburg win would also be of the large variety for his team, Oberembt said. "A win over Marian would be the most important thing to happen to our program this year," he said. LOOKING AHEAD, McHENRY HIGH SCHOOL: Tuesday: Today: Volleyball: Cary-Grove, 4:30 Volleyball: Dundee-Crown, 4:30 p.m. p.m. Football: (Freshmen) CL J O H N S B U R G H I G H Central, 4:30 p.m. SCHOOL r Two canoeists travel down the Fox River during the McHenry Canoe Race Sunday. Complete results on page 20. Saturday: Tennis: McHenry Invitational Cross-Country: at Palatine Invitational, 10 a-.m. Golf: at Lake Forest In­ vitational, 10 a.m. Football: (Soph, Varsity) at CL Central, noon, Monday: Tennis: at CL South, 4:30 p.m. Cross-Country: at Hoffman Estates Frosh-Soph In­ vitational, 4:45 p.m. Golf: at CL South, 4 p.m. Football: (JV, Soph B.) CL Central, 4:30 p.m. Saturday: Cross-Country: with Grant, at CL Invitational, 9 a.m. Tennis: at Batavia Quad, 9 a.m. Football: (Soph, Varsity) Marian Central, noon. Monday: Football: (JV) at Marian Central, 4:30 p.m. , Tennis: Round Lake, 4:30 p.m. Tuesday: Volleyball: Grayslake, 4:30 p.m. f