Newspaper Page Text
PANTHER NOVEMBER, 1977
Page 6
SPORTS ROUNDUP
By Rita Twinkle Campbell j
1TAKE THE BLAME
i
Atlanta Falcons Head Coach Leeman Bennet took full
blame for his team’s 3-0 loss to Buffalo. Bennet said he should have
s’uck to basics and took the field goal in the fourth quarter. He took
'he blame and deserved it....
W/NWWVWW
ALI TO FIGHT FOR KIDS
Muhammad Ali, the world’s heavyweight champion has
agreed 'o s'age another exhibition match with proceeds going to the
children's Ins'itute for Developmental Disabilities.
WWWWWWYS.
MILLION DOLLAR SMILE
S'ar center Bob Lanier signed a five-year contract with the
De'roit pistons wor’h $2 Million. The 6’11” center has led the
Pis'ins in scoring and rebounding for the past six years and is the
NBA’s 7'h leading shoo'er. Lanier could only smile after signing the
con'rac'.
vuwwwvwwv
HAWKS SIGN ROBERTSON, TABLE LAUREL
The A'lan'a Hawks picked rookie Tony Robertson from Los
Angeles and placed ano'her rookie Rich Laurel on injuried list.
Laurel was selec'ed No. 1 by the world champion Portland Trail
Blazers in 'his year’s draft.
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QUOTABLE
“I jus' don’' worry about getting hurt. When you start
worrying abou' i', i' happens.” Panther football player Phillip Me
Crary.
IUWWWVVWW
FACT
Fac's are no' always the easiest things in the world to face.
JWWWWW/A
OPINION
Do you 'hink 'ha' 'he Morehouse Maroon Tigers will make
< 'he conference championship?
Who should be Clark’s starting quarterback?
Go' a commen'? Wri'e Opinion. The Clark College Panther
Spor's Dep'., P.O. Box, Atlan'a, Ga. 30314.
Letson Fits in Well
By Charles Anderson
Being the only minority
member on an athletic squad is
no big deal to LaRue Letson. At
Brown High, a predominantly
black Atlanta school, he was the
inly white player on the football
.earn.
In his junior and senior
years, he was the team captain
and outstanding lineman. Now a
Clark College junior, Letson is
repeating his pattern of being
'he only white player on a team.
After starting on the fresh
man team for the University of
Georgia in Athens, Letson
decided he should transfer if he
wanted extensive playing time
on a varsity team. Head coach
Jessie McClardy helped him to
re'urn home to play for the
Pan'hers.
“I was basically 'oo small
'o play for them (U. of GA.)
anyway,” admitted 'he 5’1J”,
205-pound Letson. "As a walk
on. 1 was trying to earn some
financial aid, which they didn’t
gran' me. I also learned that
'here’s more to football than
jus' 'he abili'y to play. Much of
■he game involves politics,” he
added, “meaning the best man
doesn’’ always get the op-
por'uni'y 'o play.”
Le'son has gotten ample
playing 'ime on 'he gridiron for
'he Pan'hers, al’hough this is
'he middle linebackers’ first
year of competing for Clark.
Because Le'son 'ransfered, he
was no' eligible 'o play during
his sophomore year. He spent
las' season as a trainer and
s'udcn' a'hlete.
This season, Letson has
been a dependable and con-
sis'en' defender for Clark.^ He
leads 'he 'earn in tackles after
five games. Letson is rated
among 'he best linebackers in
'he Southern Intercolligiate
A'hle'ic Conference (SIAC).
"LaRue has good speed,
lateral movement, and is a very
intelligent thinker,” said
McClardy. “He knows where
the ball is and goes to it not
minding the contact.”
By pro standards, Letson is
considered much too small for
the linebacker position.
‘‘To be an effective
linebacker on any level,” said
Letson, “one must combine
knowledge of the game, in
telligence, and quickness. You
also have to be aggressive and
down right nasty. You have to
get furious and act like the
en'ire offense has slapped your
mother.
“I always get into my
mind,” con’inued Letson, “that
no one is better or can beat me.
I'.’s important to have a positive
a'ti'ude towards what you are
doing. With the right attitude
and desire, anyone can ac
complish what they want to,”
added Letson.
Off the field, Letson ap
pears complacent and mild-
mannered in contrast to the
savage appearance he displays
on the field. Letson has the
keen abili'y to get along with
everyone.
“I can get along with
people period,” said Letson. “It
doesn’t make any difference
who they are. It’s the mental
aspect that really counts, not the
physical makeup. As long as I
can coincide with an individuals
men’al attitude, everything’s
alright.”
"I’ve never looked" at dim
as being one white player I have
on the team,” declared
McClardy. “To me, he is one
s’uden'-athlete here at Clark
who is doing an outstanding job>
LaRue jus’ fits real well into our
program.”
Being the only white player
has not hindered Letson’s
performance. In fact, he has
visions of becoming a small
college all-America.
Homecoming Game Typifies Clark's Season
By Robert A. Richardson
The Clark College Panthers
lost their homecoming game to
Knoxville College Oct. 15th by
>he score of 16-15. This was a
game in which the Panthers out-
hi', out-bustled and out-played
Knoxville only to come up one
point short.
Walter Landers and Ken
S'andifer played extremely well
on offense and Darryl Wells
('wo interceptions, one field
goal and four tackles), Johnny
Wilder (seven tackles), and
Charles Cheeks (six tackles)
were the defensive anchors.
The loss left Clark with a
won-lost record of 2 and 3 but
many players feel the team
should be at the very least 4 and
1.
The three defeats seem to
follow a pattern in which Clark
played as well as or better than
i's opponents. But mistakes,
penalties, and mental lapses
have cost them victories.
Againsi Miles College, Clark’s
offense had possession of the
ball inside Miles’ 10-yard line
seven times. Four drives ended
on fumbles, one ended with an
interce and the other two
were s tcold.
■: ■
Photo by Jerome Bailey
Walter Landers handles ball for Clark during Clark-Knoxville game.
Clark’s lone touchdown
came on a 41-yard run by
halfback Walter Landers.
Against Fort Valley State, Clark
scored three touchdowns.
However, two were called back
because of penalties
In fac*, if was penalties and
not 'he Fort Valley State
defense that made Clark’s
offense ineffective. As a result,
Clark’s defense was forced to
spend far too much time on the
playing field and was too
fatigued near the end as Fort
Valley scored an “insurance”
touchdown.
What happened agaipst^;'
Knoxville College was best,
termed by Coach Jesse
McClardy when he said, “My
defense just had a total mental
letdown’.’ Clark’s offense scored
the go-ahead touchdown with
1:18 left in the game only to
witness a Knoxville drive of 55
yards in a little less than a
minute to get the tying touch
down and the winning extra
point.
McClardx hasized that
although his .cfense was
disappointing down the stretch,
“The defense shouldn’t be
blamed for this or any other
loss.” In fact, there are those
who believe that Clark’s defense
could be the best in the con
ference provided they could get
some rest.
The offense, on the other
hand, is a different story.
Specifically, the offensive line.
As McClardy puts it, “The guys
are simply not carrying out their
blocking assignments.” With
receivers like Phil McCrary,
Charles Gammage, and Kenny
Ellison, and runners like Walter
Landers and Charles Metts, it is
very distressing to see Clark’s
offense averaging only , 14.4
points per game. Because of the
lack of pass protection and
“down” blocking, a notentially
great offense is jtist an average,
and sometimes ineffective one.
And whe the offense
is ineffective, the defense has to
spend more time on the field
than it should. It is here where
Clark’s poor won-lost record
lies.
Clark is not a two &.:id three
football team. And with
McClardy making the necessary
adjustments, Clark may be able
to bounce back and finish at
least five-hundred.