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That's Walter Bacon answers call, returns as MCC coach Ex-Crystal Lake star to lead Scot'women's basketball squad Freshmen may again sit out first athletic season By United Press International WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Uni­ versity presidents Will soon urge the redshirting of college freshmen na­ tionwide, Purdue University Presi­ dent Steven Beering says. Beering said staying out of games the first year would give freshman athletes a chance to adjust to the academic, social and cultural chal­ lenges of college before taking on the demands of varsity sports. The proposed National Collegiate Athletic Association rule would al­ low the athletes to practice, but not play. "The dropout rate of very promis­ ing young people who are in varsity athletic programs is simply star­ tling," he said. "And I think that the combination of these stresses is what makes this happen. And there­ fore, the proposal is that we ought to redshirt all varsity athletes for the first time in college. At the same time, give them, in essence, a five-year scholarship so that the first year they can use this time to get their feet on the ground academically." Beering made the comments in a taped audio release by the universi­ ty news bureau, received Monday. "Within the Big Ten and the PAC Ten, -- those 20 institutions that annually vie to go to the Rose Bowl - there is probably unanimous opinion now that we ought to go for some sort of freshman ineligibil­ ity," he said. "Maybe not across all competitive sports, but certainly in the football and basketball programs." University presidents will be fine- tuning the proposal soon, he said, at a national convention of the presi­ dents in January. Beering said redshirting would help alleviate some university- NCAA frictions. "For example, Rule 48, which deals with the sticky issue of en­ trance requirements. The current debate about whether to use an ACT test or an SAT - and I really be­ lieve the NCAA should stay out of that. That's an academic decision of the faculty -- which student to ad­ mit to which program. To take the first year and get people settled academically would undo all the ne­ cessity for argument." Tuesday, August 27,1985 Running backs no better than their blockers? Byars is By Mike Prisuta Scripps Howard News Service COLUMBUS, Ohio - For every rule, there's an exception. Meet Ohio State tailback Keith Byars, Heisman Trophy candidate and one of those exceptions. "Take it from an old offensive line coach," said Ohio State's Earle Bruce. "Given the choice between an experienced, strong offensive line and a back like Keith Byars, I'd take Keith every time." Perhaps it is that praise which best sums up the unstoppable fury that is Keith Byars. You've heard the addage that a back is only as good as his offensive line? Byars is so good, he finds a hole, whether the offensive line has created one or not. "He breaks more tackles at the line of scrimmage and in the back- field than you can imagine," Bruce said. "I want to tell you, we lost our quarterback (Mike Tomczak), we lost four-fifths of our offensive line and we lost five of our front seven people on defense. But if Keith Byars has an outstanding year, then we'll be an outstanding football team. He's the most outstanding running baekyou'veever seen. Byars' nickname Ohio St him bemuseJie runs like a ram­ bling crosS-between Jim Brown and Earl Campbell. A monicker that also includes references to Herschel Walker and Walter Payton would also be apropriate. At 6-2 and 235, Byars is fleet and strong. He can use his 4.45 speed to dart around defenders, or his strength to simply run them over, all depends on the situation. "I like to approach a football game like a heavyweight fight," Byars said. "In the first three rounds, fighters usually check each other out. It's like that in the first quarter of a football game. Some­ times you have to dance around and wear them out. Sometimes you have to run 'em over, just to set the tone." Last season, Byars set a lot of tones. He ran for 1,764 yards and led the nation in rushing, scoring and all-purpose running -- the first time a Big 10 back has won all three titles in the same year. Against Illinois, he ran for 274 yards and five touchdowns, includ­ ing one without a shoe. Against Iowa, he passed for a touchdown. He led the Buckeyes in receiving and kick returning. He did it all... except win the Heisman. To accomplish that, Byars will have to glide through intense media hype, scrutinization and pressure the way he powers through Big 10 defenses. He is the favorite. He says he has no problem han- is BrambeltrHisVjHing publicity and pressure (con- mates hung that on cerning the Hesiman). "If you're going to attain a goal, you need to talk about it. Get it out in the open. You're never going to slip up on the Heisman." (Mike Prisuta is a sportswriter for The Press inEvansville, Ind.) r The Bears' Walter Payton shows who's boss as he gallops over some Dallas Cowboy defenders during the first half of the Bears' exhibition game Monday night in Texas Stadium in Arlington, Texas. X By John Clayton Scripps Howard News Service FREDONIA, N.Y. - Most of Hol­ lywood's team suffered from stage fright. Running backs jogged ner­ vously along the sidelines. Linemen fidgeted. Vince Ferragamo was a rare member of the 1979 Los Ange­ les Rams. He was not intimidated by his first Super Bowl. As Rams vice president Jack Faulkner remembers, Ferragamo looked around the stands and said, "Be a lot of people here for the game." Although he has the matinee idol looks of a quarterback who comes from the motion picture capital, Ferragamo has never acted the part. Act V of his football career has him in a Buffalo Bills uniform. His California tan, pearly white teeih and laid~frf '* oersonality /night seem out of place along chilled Lake Erie this fall. That's .OK. His role is to be the acting quarterback until the arrival of Jim Kelly, the long-tgrm hope of the Bills. Kelly is the short-term hope of New Jersey Generals and the Unit­ ed States Football League. The Bills hold NFL rights. Kelly's ghost does not bother Ferragamo. "I don't know anything about Jim Kelly," he said. "I don't bother my­ self by thinking about things like that. Whatever happens happens. I don't look at the future. If you do, you're missing things that are being done at the present time. I'm here right now to play football. I take things game by game. Whatever they decide to do, they are going to do anyway. I'm ready to contribute to the team." Ferragamo's career has been a series of short-term decisions. He has made^^y moves, beginning in college. Most of them have proved costly. In 1972, Ferragamo was competing against Steve Bart- kowski for the starting quarterback job at the University of California. Bartkowski held it for eight games. He was 1-7. Ferragamo led the Bears to three consecutive victories. Ferragamo never recovered from a 66-0 opening loss to Alabama in 1973. He quarterbacked California to a 4-7 record and, weary of losing, transferred to Nebraska. Bart­ kowski regained his starting job and became a first-round draft choice of the Atlanta Falcons. Ferragamo was out of place at Nebraska, a dropback passer on a running team. The Rams remembered him and drafted him in the fourth round of the 1977. His contract was less than Bartkowski's signing bonus. After coming off the bench in 1979 to lead the Rams to a Super Bowl date against the Steelers, Ferra­ gamo broke club records for touch­ down passes (30), completions (240) and yards (3,199) in 1980. He then jumped to Montreal of the Canadian Football League. It was big news but it didn't last. He endured the embarrassment of holding his job for only a few weeks and several interceptions. "If I had to do it over again, I probably wouldn't go (to Canada)," Ferragamo said. Although he returned to the Rams in 1982, he was no longer the glam- our boy. It took most of training camp to eliminate bad habits. Eric Dickerson arrived a year later and John Robinson, who designed South­ ern Cal's running offense, was hired as coach. Ferragamo was the start­ er but Robinson searched for a re­ placement. He found Dieter Brock, 34, a CFL star whose Winnipeg team defeated Ferragamo, 49-2, in their only meeting. Once the Rams signed Brock, Ferragamo was told to pack his bags again. "I don't know if I was disappoint­ ed, but I was surprised to find they had a different quarterback," Fer­ ragamo said. "I understand, al­ though not completely. I can agree with a guy wanting to make a change at the position. I've been there for seven years. Last year was virtually nonexistent for me." , A right hand injury bothered Fer­ ragamo and he lost eight intercep­ tions in three games and went out for keeps with a broken hand. At 31, Ferragamo was ready for a fresh start and was traded to a 2-14 franchise seeking the same. FVC seeks assignment Buffalo no Hollywood, but Ferragamo a Bill By Herald Sports staff McHENRY -- If you like sports, and consider yourself an organized person, there might be a job for you. The Fox Valley Conference is seeking a Girls' Sports Assignment Chairperson, a job which begins in the fall. The job, which entails assigning officials for all girls' sports in the FVC, was previously done by one person, who also handled the capac­ ity in boys' sports. Therefore, this paid position is a newly-created one. The assignments for the 1985-86 season have already been made. Thus, the position would require scheduling for the 86-87 school year. For details, contact McHenry East High School principal Bill Dodds, (815 ) 385-1145. 16-inch playoffs slated By Herald News Service McHENRY - The McHenry Men's 16-inch Softball League will begin its post-season playoff sched­ ule Tuesday night at the VFW Field oh east Route 120 in McHenry. The league's top four teams will participate in the playoffs. In first-round action Tuesday, league champion Palace Bowl-Dean Concrete will face the Knights of Columbus in game one of the best- of-three series, beginning at 7 p.m. Palace finished the year at 13-1, while K of C was 6-8. At 8 p.m., Raymond's Bowl-Huff's Decorating will square off against Decker Construction, with the two teams continuing the series with a 9 p.m. contest. Raymond's finished 12-2 on the season, while Decker was 6-8. The first round will conclude Thursday night, with the final series set to begin next Tuesday. Raymond's auxiliary hitter Terry Hovseth won the league hitting crown with a .632 average, just two points ahead of teammate Jim Knox. Decker's Joe Ubrig was third at .615. Knox's 13 doubles won him that crown, while a five-way tie for the triple lead at four was held by Knox, Palace's Phil Creden and Tony Aiello, Novotny Sales-McHen- ry Truck Lines' Randy Vauke and Old Bndge's Dan McAuliffe. Palace's Tim Frantz won the home run crown with six, while 45 RBI off the bat of Dan Miller placed him first in that category, nine ahead of Knox. takes an act of God to get an athlet­ ic program going and it takes anoth­ er act of God once you close down a position," Edwards explained. Edwards added former MCC Ath­ letic Director Bob Franz agreed to the set up and his successor, Dave Hill, concurred on the appointment of Bacon. Edwards said his former player should do well in coaching. "Cheri is very capable," Edwards said. Bacon's playing career began in a way some players can only dream about. As a 14-year old freshman, Bacon played on a history-making Crystal Lake High School squad. The Tigers of 1978 went 20-5, including a trip to Assembly Hall in Champaign. The season saw a 92-91 overtime win against Wauconda in the third game of the year. Eight years later, that total of 183 points is still the standard by which high school of­ fenses are shooting at. That game was a prelude of things to come. The Tigers enjoyed things pretty much their own way. The closest a losing team got to Crystal Lake was eight points by Crystal Lake closed down to watch the game, the Tigers fell behind by 11 at halftime. The Tigers re­ grouped, rallied but lost to the even­ tual second-'place finshers 66-65. "That was probably the highlight, but at the time I was too dumb to think it was such a big deal. Over the years, though, 1 have come to realize how lucky I was to be on a team like that," Bacon said. Bacon's high school career also included three times being named to the All-Fox Valley Conference squad. The Tigers competed in the North Suburban Conference when Bacon was a freshman. Bacon entered Southern Illinois University after graduation from Central and immediately discov­ ered a big difference between high school and college women's basketball. "I learned how to run an offense. The practices were a lot harder and longer and it's like a year-long sport. You have a couple of weeks off, then five weeks of pre-season conditioning. After the season, you have five weeks of post-season con­ ditioning," Bacon said. As a freshman reserve, Bacon Rochelle in the sectional title game^ played in 27 games, averaging just Even the supersectional tilt was ja over three P°!n*® a.8ame- Her soph rout as CL crushed Wheaton-War- renville 6246 to earn a berth in the coveted Elite Eight. Crystal Lake faced Lincoln in its quarterfinal contest. With most of omore year looked bright -- until the fateful day of October 4,1982. That's the day Bacon suffered torn cartilage and liagaments in her left knee. She was red-shirted for the 82-83 season. A disagreement between Bacon and SIU assistant George Iubelt about whether or not her knee had recovered led Bacon back to Crystal Lake to strut her stuff for the Scots. Bacon led MCC in virtually every offensive statistic except rebound­ ing and assists. She averaged 22 points a game and nine rebounds. Bacon swatted away 107 opponents' shots, an average of five a contest. "It helped me get my confidence back. It was a rehabiliting year," Bacon said of her stint at MCC. She returned to Carbondale and Coach Cindy Scott's program last fall for her final fling as a player. Although Bacon did not see much action - a total of 67 minutes, she said the year was enjoyable. "They went with a younger line­ up. I sat on the bench, but it was a fun year. The first year was a se­ nior-dominated team expected to win. Last year I did not learn a lot about playing, but I learned a lot about coaching from Coach Scott and Iubelt," Bacon said. Bacon said her knee Is fine and she "got along fine" with the coach­ ing staff in her final year and plans to use many of Scott's plays next winter at MCC. Now, the next question in Cherl Bacon's basketball life will be whether or not the coaching profes­ sion agrees with her. The Scots will be the first to learn the answer. By Steve Peterson Herald News Service CRYSTAL LAKE - For Cheri Bacon, the question was to coa­ ch or not to coach. Bacon's only question once her basketball playing days ended, was when. 'When' was answered perhaps earlier than she expected. Last week Bacon officially entered the * basketball coaching profession when she was appointed McHenry County College's women's basket­ ball coach for the 1985-86 season. "I've known ever since I first got into school I wanted to be a coach. I've been looking forward to it for a few years now," Bacon said. Bacon will be taking over the women's program from Bob Ed­ wards. Edwards rescued the pro­ gram from the brink of cancella­ tion, and took it to respectablity. In two years, he compiled an overall 40-20 record, leading the Scots to two sectional championships, ad­ vancing to the regional tournament and finishing second in the Skyway Conference both years. Cheri Bacon was named the new head women's basketball coach at McHenry County College recently. Bacon had a bright future at Southern Illinois University before a serious knee injury in 1982. "I initially took the job two years ago to maintain the program until a qualified woman coach became available," Edwards said. "The program was about to be closed out -- it had won two or three games in the past three years. I did not want to see the job come to and end. It