Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Stro4 VPI BY DOUG WILLIAMS Sports Editor BLACKSBURG--Don Strock, all 6-5 of him, leaned wearily against his locker Saturday afternoon, speaking quietly despite the screams of his jubilant teammates. No, the shaggy-haired Virginia Tech quarterback repeatedly told reporters, he was not thinking about winning the Heisman Trophy. And no, he really didn't want to think about next Saturday's opponent, Alabama. All Strock wanted to do, he said, was relax and enjoy the vic tory. The victory was VPI's 45-20 stroll over USC's Gamecocks Saturday afternoon at Lane Stadium in Black sburg. Although he threw only one touchdown pass--his 13th of the season--Strock hit 29-44 passes for 349 yards before retiring midway through the final period with the Gobblers sitting comfortably on a 31-7 advantage. Strock engineered six scoring drives, ranging from a 90-yard march in the first period consuming 8:09 on the clock that resulted in an 18-yard field goal by his brother Dave, to a 48-yard, 1:01 touchdown drive giving VPI a 21-7 halftime lead after USC, behind a rejuvenated Bill Troup, had hit Mike Haggard for 6 yards, narrow ing the gap to a 13-7 with 2:27 left in the half. Using a mediocre ground attack to occassionally offset his brilliant passing, Strock struck with amaz ing accuracy and quickness. By vir tue of some fine protection, he was able to find his secondary receivers when his first choices were covered,- and there always seemed to be someone near virtually every pass he threw. And those someones -Ricky Scales, Craig Valentine, Mike Burnop and Steve Galloway -had a veritable field day against a against a secondary that had really yet to be tested, despite its impres sive statistics against the pass. Dave Strock added another field goal after his first in the opening period. The Gobblers should have put the ball into the end zone both times, failing first after a first and ST 1 Piz2 SPAGI Serving WE Located k ridd flies c goal at the USC two, then later a 9:06 of the second quarter, as three Strock passes fell incomplete, though one was dropped at the Gamecock five. But Tech came right back with scores set up by Strock passes, the first preceeding J. B. Barber's two yard blast, and the second a 13-yard scoring play from Strock to Val Don Strock ...passes pace VPI victory. Trio of 1 fail to e BY STEVE PARKER Asst. Sports Editor BLACKSBURG...Carolina's 45-20 loss to Virginia Tech Saturday afternoon presented a sharp con trast in the success of team passing attacks. While VPI's Don Strock was suc cessfully bombing the Gamecocks to defeat, Carolina unsuccessfully employed a trio of quarterback's in an attempt to get their passing game untracked and stay close on the scoreboard. Strock's performance showed why he is leading the nation in total offense as he connected on 29 of 44 attempts for 349 yards one touchdown, and the setting up of several others. "I thought that Strock was pretty good." said USC Coach Paul Dietzel, "Better than I had thought he was. He doesn't rattle, when you finally put the rush on him, he socks the fire out of you with a quick pass. That boy's a real champion." 1ENT 1 At The IETTL_ ad with garlic, bread and chef s Buy one dinner - get one free dnesday 3 p.m. 't at intersection of 378 oss from the Ramada les sec, ver Ga entine late in the half. In the second half Troup, who had showed signs of the brilliance he displayed against Virginia, couldn't match his play of the first half. After hitting 7-10 for 70 yards after replacing starter Dobby Grossman, he could manage only three com pletions in 15 tries. And when someone like Strock is running the other team, you have to throw to keep up. USC was unable to throw and naturally did not keep up, as Tech added three touchdowns and a field goal in the fourth quarter, mainly behind sophomore Bruce Ariens, who appeared to be interested in adding to his personal marks by trying to run the score up, which he did. Once again, the Gamecocks were unable to generate any semblance of a capable ground game as Jay USC quai qual Str Carolina lirebacker Chan Beas ley explained some of Strock's suc cess, "We made some bad mistakes, px Bill Troup ...engineers first score. IGHT )USe $1.50 alad. il midnight and I-26 Inn ndary mecock Lynn Hodgin gained 19 yards in 11 carries to pace USC. Strock average 23 yards per completion. An apt comparison. Regardless of his team's resound ing victory, VPI head Coach Charlie Coffey agreed that something had to be done about the Tech goal line offense. "I'm definitely concerned John LeHeup "...ln Strock's hair." rterbacks ock had some bad techniques and he is a real good quarterback and took advantage of them. "We tried to stunt and they were picking it up. We finally put on the hard rush and he had that quick release. Their offensive line was very good and smart." Beasley added, "I think Bill Troup could have done what he did with the time he had." Troup came into the contest for the Gamecocks in the second period and for at least one drive appeared to be equaling the performance of Strock. After USC starter Dobby Grossman floundered in the initial stages of the game, hitting on one of six passes for nine yards and suf fering two interceptions, Troup entered and ignited the offense. With Carolina trailing 13-0, Troup immediately began trying to match the aerial show of Strock. The bac kup quarterback hit seven of ten (Please see VPI, p. 7) Welcon, HAP! Micd Sandwl 11 0.rr 634 HARCE at Fi' 3C Is... about it," Coffey said. "It's a frus trating thing. You want to run, and you don't make it, you want to pass and you don't make it. What next?" Coffey didn't particularly appreciate it when one writer jok ingly blurted out "Punt." Coffey did admit that he was sur prised Strock had so much success throwing into the teeth of USC's sec ondary. "Don threw on them much easier than I would have thought. We didn't see anyone throw like we do against them in the films we saw, so I had no real idea how they would cover. "They did mix their coverage well," he continued. "They rushed the passer probably harder than anyone we've faced all year. Don was getting the pass off, but he was also getting up off the ground an awful lot. John LeHeup was always in Don's hair. He's a fine rusher and a fine player." "Their defensive backs disguise coverage well," Strock said. "I was never too sure what they would do. We had to audible a lot. I didn't see any real tendencies, though they were dropping off some. Some teams have been dropping the ends off against us." "South Carolina was a running a zone," Coffey explained, "but when the receiver hit the end of the zone, they'd go man-to-man. The pros do this quite a bit. They were trying to read the patterns. We got the short, quick ones off, and also had some pretty good catches out there." As he took another long drink from his Coke, Strock said he didn't mind being lifted in his last home appearance. "We had a decent enough lead. It could have been a lot worse. We could have kept pour ing it on, but why pour it on? We just won big, and I like to win big." VPI's win was disappointing in one dspect: a good quarterback and ( his untested understudy picked the Carolina secondary apart with monotonous regularity. If one can recall how Florida State's GaryHuff ripped up a secondary comprised of three players who were selected by the pros in the ensuing draft, what will Huff, now a year older and wiser, do to this secondary? One shudders to think. .o Students "Y HOUR 304:30 'elob 30' clhes, Soups, Salads . to 12 p.m. EN STREET ie Points nlampI.on permit No 83