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Grambling: Another Win Streak?By O.K, Davis Executive Sports EditorGRAMBLING-Greg Wilson returned a kickoff for Robert Woods here Saturday afternoon.And Grambling State University returned to where they normally belong in the Southwestern Athletic Conference football race: first place.Wilson, a senior defensive back from Algiers, ran the opening kickoff back 94 yards for a touchdown to spark the Tigers to a 13-7 upset over Jackson State in a homecoming confrontation before an estimated 25,000 fans.Grambling thus took over sole possession of first place in the league from the Mississippians, who had won nine consecutive games since last;? year and were undefeated through six contests of this campaign.The Lincoln Parishpowerhouse, who has either won or shared six conference championships in the past seven years, improved their SWAC record to 3-0-1 and overall mark to 5-0-i.Wilson’s return was the fuse which lit the Grambling firepower.The 5-foot-10 and 184-pounder got the kickoff on hisown six-yard line 12seconds later, he was in the Jackson State end zone.Grambling’s fans reactedwith the jubilation displayedat a New Year’s Eve party at Times Square.And among the homecoming alumni was Robert Woods, the All-American Tiger who was one of only two collegians in the nation last year to return two kickoffs for touchdowns.Woods, watching from the sidelines, was as happy as Wilson.“In the dressing room, before the game, ” head coach Eddie Robinson explained, “I reminded the players that we hadn’t returned a kickoff for a touchdown this year.“1 told them that, today, it would be appropriate since Robert was going to be watching.”The pre-game pep talk apparently worked for Wilson.RHS FroshWin TitleRuston High’s freshman football team ended Haughton's winning streak and consecutive scoreless games at the right time here Monday night.The Bearcats toppled the previously undefeated Buccaneers 36-6 to capture the championship of district 1-AAA at James Stadium.Ruston ended its season with an overall record of 5-3 and went undefeated in five league games...,the team's final five games were all in l-AAA.one yard for another score.Scott Wilkins returned a fumble recovery for Ruston’s other touchdown, while Tony Gibson added a two-point conversion and Young accounted for four extra points via runs.Jerome Dean, David Nadraehal, and Darrell Mills also had fumble recoveries and Scott intercepted a pass.Other leading players on defense for the Bearcats included Duncan Robinson, Chris Vonner, A1 Lazarus, Randy Ross, and Gibson.IitIAGreg showed Robert he could do it, too, ” laughed Robinson. It was probably the most important play ofthe day for us.”* ■The defenses took over for the remainder of the afternoon, however, and Grambling got enough key plays to claim the victory.... junior linebacker Guy Prather of Gaithersburg, Md., returned a pass interception 32 yards for a touchdown and junior linebacker Aldrich Allen ofBaton Rouge and senior defensive back Keith Lewis of Baton Rouge added pass thefts.Grambling allowed a total of 186 yards to a team that entered the game with an average of 38 points and over 411 total yards per game.... Jackson State, ranked No. 2 in last week’s NCAA Division 1-AA poll, has been dominating offensive and defensive statistics for SWAC.If we could ever get a consistent offense going, ” said Robinson, “ we could really be tough. We just don’t have any consistency and we’re making a lot of execution mistakes.One of these days, we’re going to put everything together.”Grambling, which has compiled 18 consecutive winning seasons, is the only undefeated team remaining in Louisiana.We are ?” replied Robinson Sunday afternoon, I didn’t realize that, but that’s a good feeling. It’s a credit to my assistants. They’ve done a great job of getting us prepared for the games,We were happy to beat Jackson State because they’re such a fine team, well coached, and well disciplined. They’ve got a lot of talent.”Grambling cornered much of that talent, however, Saturday afternoon.Running backs Perry Harrington and JeffreyMoore, who had been averaging over 100 yards rushing each and included in the national statistics before game time, were limited to a total of 28 yards.Quarterback Tony Harris was able to complete only one out of 14 passes.The Tigers’ linebackers did most of the rushing damage, with Allen finishing with 10 tackles and junior Eugene Hall of Monroe constantly charging into theMississippians’ backfield.Grambling’s defense shut down our offense, ” said head coach W.C. Gordon of the Staters, “ and we made too many mistakes. Grambling has a fine defensive team. They shut both our running and passing games down today.”Senior fullback Edwin Hall of Sicily Island led Gram-bling’s running attack with 49 yards on 15 carries, while junior wingback Mike Smithof Bastrop added 33 yards on eight assignments.Smith was also the leading receiver for the Tigers with two catches for 26 yards, but Grambling quarterbacks were able to complete only three passes in 16 attempts,. freshman Thomas “Skippy” Ezell of Houma had two of those connections for 19 yards and sophomore Mike Williams of Zachary had the other for nine yards.We’re still looking for some leadership at quarterback, ” said Robinson. We’ve got some quarterbacks who can get the football to our receivers, but we need more leadership,We’re going to keep on experimenting and see who can do the job for us.”That means that the Tigers’ signal-calling duties could be geared around one of ■ three players: Ezell, Williams, and season-opening starter Robert Ambers.Despite its undefeated success, the Tigers weren’t even mentioned in the recent national Division 1-AA poll.But after what happened here Saturday afternoon, that may all change this week.Grambling Senior Defensive Back Greg Wilson 94-Yard Kickoff Return Sparked Tigers To Victory Photo by O.K, Davis
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