Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, December 11, 1994 TAG: 9412140079
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: D-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
But this was a national championship game, and Washington & Jefferson football coach John Luckhardt wasn't about to let his players quit.
A first-half blitz by Albion put the Presidents down 17 points at halftime of Saturday's Stagg Bowl. And W&J never recovered, losing the national championship game for the second time in three years 38-15.
But throughout the second half, the Presidents pulled out all stops trying to recover.
Luckhardt wasn't about to let his players become despondent despite the adversity that hit them. It started with 23 seconds left in the first quarter as Albion blitzed the Presidents with 24 points in just over 14 minutes.
``You play this game, play it hard. Sometimes you lose,'' Luckhardt said. ``I never feel bad about losing if the kids go out and give a great performance. Today, we played an excellent first quarter, lost momentum and couldn't find a way to snatch it back. I fault myself for that.''
A 70-yard touchdown run by Jeff Robinson and a 29-yard interception return for a score by Jared Wood turned a 7-0 W&J lead into a 14-7 Albion advantage, and the rout was on.
But the Presidents continued to stump for their cause in the second half.
``When we got down, we felt we had to generate something with our defense or our kicking game,'' Luckhardt said. ``We were sending both linebackers to give ourselves a chance and we were going [for it] on fourth down.
``My mother's pretty smart and she knows no one thinks about how many points you get beat by. When we were down 31-15, [we felt that] if we can score, get a two-point play and an onside kick, we can go on.''
But even an emotional halftime speech by W&J's inspirational leader couldn't revive the Presidents.
Matt Szczypinski, the All-American defensive tackle, did not miss a game despite undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his left knee prior to the playoffs. And even at less than full strength, the senior is ``pretty darn good,'' Luckhardt said.
``He played well holding us together,'' Luckhardt said. ``I never saw him express much emotion, but he did at the half. It's like they say, `When E.F. Hutton talks, people listen.'
``Expletives deleted, this was a Richard Nixon rendition of the way he thought we played the first half. He said, `Hey guys, cut the crap.'''
Unfortunately, Szczypinski wasn't around for much of the second half. He injured his other knee on Albion's second possession.
BIG PLAYS: Robinson's 70-yard touchdown run was just part of a big day as he rushed for 166 yards on 24 carries. During the season, Washington & Jefferson ranked first defensively in the NCAA against the run as the Presidents gave up just 213 rushing yards in nine games.
There were reasons why Robinson was so successful on the first of his three touchdown runs.
``It was an off-tackle play and our outside linebacker got blocked out,'' said W&J defensive back Ian Wagner. ``Our free safety on the other side didn't have a chance to make the play.
``We heard Robinson was a finalist in the NCAA Division III 100 meters. So we knew how fast he is.''
Wood's interception was one of two off W&J quarterback Jason Baer, who, after guiding his team on 55-yard march on the Presidents' second possession, was intercepted twice in the first half.
Baer said the touchdown interception he threw was a normal crossing pattern.
``It was a bad choice. I passed to the wrong guy and their player came up. Then I was lying on the ground [as Wood sped to the end zone],'' he said.
W&J's first touchdown drive was the Presidents' last offensive success for a long time. The Presidents, after giving up 24 points in the second quarter, didn't get a first down in the second half until the first play of the fourth quarter on an 11-yard pass completion by Baer.
``I don't think they changed it [the defense]''' said W&J flanker Chris Begley, who caught passes of 14 and 25 yards on the Presidents' first touchdown drive. ``They put more pressure on and we had less time to throw as the game went on.''
COMING TO DIVISION I: Luckhardt was asked if the physical part of going through playoffs for a national championship is too long. He said that if national titles are decided in all other sports, the same should hold for football. So he's against the idea of the Division III cutting back to having just regional championships to avoid 13-and 14-game seasons.
Then the Presidents' coach predicted what many have been waiting to hear: ``Within five years, there will be a Division I [football] playoff for a national championship because of the money and the rationale of the people involved.''
by CNB