European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - October 9, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 22 the stars and stripes thursday october 9,1988 Smith is Navy s new Backfield weapon by Dave sell the Washington Post Annapolis my. The Chuck Smith Story is one thai could have been told through the painting of Norman Rockwell Young boy grows up in working class family in Middle America dreaming of being a football player and an astronaut. Son of a teacher and a general manager at a corrugated Box factory who used to play football himself Smith is polite Lis tens to Bruce Springsteen writes letters and works out in the weight room. A lot the Little boy from Strongsville Ohio 20 minutes South of Cleveland in t so Little anymore and he has partially accomplished the first of his boyhood goals. The naval Academy football team is 3-1,due in a Large pan to its 21-year-old Junior tailback who has 627 Yards Rushing on 104 carries 6.0 Yards per haul for seven touchdowns and leads the midship men in receiving with 1s catches for 217 Yards and two touchdowns. Those numbers mean that Smith this Wick leads the nation in Rushing with156.75 Yards per game is first in the nation in All purpose yardage 226.0 and also is. First in scoring 13.5 Point per game. The space travel will have to Wail. Chuck Smith is kind of Busy. A tailback without Speed is like a ship without an engine it won t go any where fast. Smith runs 4.5 in the 40-Yarddash, but to look at his s-foot-10, 200 Pound body you would expect the Speed of an tugboat and not a destroyer. He s not built like a sprinter but he so very Strong said Bill Haushalter. Navy s running Back coach. He s one of our is ranges Guys and biggest lifters. People Don t realize he s that fast and ladders dont Lime it right. He has another gear that he kicks into something that truly great backs seem to have. I Don t want to compare him to Tony Dorset who played against us for four years but he has that kind of an example of the acceleration came in the first Quarter in the 41-0 Victory Over Lehigh on sept. 27. Smith was deep in the formation and look a Pilch from quarterback Bill Byrne. Once he got to the Omer. Smith burst through a Hole and barely was touched on the last 15 Yards of the 21-Yard touchdown. The line docs the Job opening a Hole but then it closes Smith said either you gel through it or you Don t. Look at me and you Don t think i m that fast maybe the defender is thinking the same he s one of the most dedicated and hardest working people on anything he doing academics football. But he works out really hard. He has kind of a rainbo image sort of a crazy Man in that sense said Romaie Chad Watson. Smith is not that much like his predecessor at tailback Napoleon Mccallum in running style. And while Smith in t Likely to approach Mccallum s career numbers he is Likely to improve because although Smith played tailback at prep school he spent his first two seasons i Annapolis playing fullback. I know the offence but i have to react to the defense better and know where the blocks Are coming from Smith you know where the blocks Are Corning from you can feel them without seeing them and you la know where to nary fullback Chuck Smith displays his ability to accelerate into the Hole. You get him outside and let his Natu ral abilities Lake Over Haushalter said. But inside running is a Little bit More intricate and it comes from knowing the keys. He s not a Novice but he does t have a lot of in 14 years at Navy Haushalter has coached the Academy s top five career Rush ers including Mccalum and Eddie Mey ers. Nil action dominated by Strong defences by Dave Goldbe Gap football writer defense is Back in Vogue in the National football league. Five weeks into the 1986 season scoring is Down 7.6percent from last year 20.77 Points per team per game compared to 22.35 at this Point last year. Yardage is also Down and the Low scoring game is in the 13-6, 14-6, 15-0, 23-0 and 14-13 games of last sunday seem More the Norm than the 50-28, 38-36 and 51-45 shootouts earlier in the season. The san Diego chargers Kings of the fallen victim to Good defense. After their 50-28 Victory Over Miami in the season opener they have scored just 54 Points in four losses. We re not playing very Well but we be played some very Good defences quarterback Dan Fouts said. True those losses were to four of the league s belter defensive teams the new York giants Washington inc los Angeles raiders and Seattle but the league leaders in total defense Are none other than the St. Louis cardinals 0-5, and the Houston oilers 1-4, even the chargers have gotten into the act allowing 20 fewer Points than after five games last year. Why some football people feel it s just a Cycle he defense catching up with he wide open passing game that developed after the series of rules changes that made things tougher on defensive backs. Another reason May be injuries to some of the league s top offensive players and there is finally the Model of the Chicago bears who dominated the nil last year and Are dominant again this year with defense. When you win the super bowl a lot of teams look at what you re doing and concentrate on that area says Dallas coach Tom Landry who ran into a Denver defens sunday that looked suspiciously like Chicago s. Anytime you have Success it snowballs says Den ver defensive end Rulon Jones who registered the third safely causing sack of his career on sunday. But the Bear Tike Broncos Aren t the Only ones. Look around the league. Michigan Penn state move up m up poll Miami Alabama remain 1-2 new York up Miami. 5-0, received 47 of 50 first place Voles and totalled 745 of 750 possible Points to hold the no. 1 spot for the second straight week in monday s voting by United press International s Board of coaches. Alabama 5-0, got the remaining three first place Voles and 679 Points to remain no. 2, Michigan and Penn state both 4-0, each moved upon spot to nos. 3 and 4, respectively while Nebraska which needed a touchdown in the final two minutes to overcome a ranked South Carolina fell two spots to no. S. Oklahoma Auburn and Southern Cal Clung to their nos. 6, 7 and b rankings while Arizona and Arkansas traded positions with the wildcats moving up to ninth and the Razorbacks dropping to 10th. The rest of the top 20 Iowa Washington Arizona state Baylor Texas am Louisiana slate Stanford North Carolina stale Indiana and North Carolina. Dropping from the top 20 were Michigan and Fresno stale. In Wisiana. Slate returned after being bumped out two weeks ago and Indian and North Carolina made their first appearances of the year. Auburn and Iowa have remained among the elite despite the loss of two of the nation s finest players. Both teams have 4-0 starts although the tigers lost1985 Heisman trophy winning tailback to Jackson and the Hawk eyes Are without quarterback Chuck Long the Heisman runner up. Auburn has victories Over three division Laa schools and one Over graduation depleted Tennessee. I be never been in a situation where four games into the season we Haven t been tested Yel tigers coach pal Dye said. But i keep telling them it s coming at some Iowa coach Haydun Fry started the year with fifth year senior Mark Hutc at quarterback but he was injured and Fry went with Sophomore Tom Poholsky who completed is of 29 Page Tor 258 Yard and a touchdown in defeating Michigan state 24-21 sat urday. We an surprised at the Pragman that we be made Fry said. Our Guy have really done better than we thought they d be capable of doing this the entire pfc East is solid on defense. Start with the traditionally sound giants and reds Dos add in buddy Ryan s new defense grafted onto Marion Campbell s solid old one in Philadelphia and consider St. Louis statistics. Then conclude that Landry s cowboys May be the weakest defensive team in the division. The bears of course dominate the pfc Central but Minnesota a Sieve in recent years has allowed just 60points tied for the Best in the league with Chicago. The 19ers and rams remain solid in the pfc West and Bot the Falcons and saints Are stubborn. A Young defensive Tine As and Mike Gann has resurgence. _ _ ver Seattle and the raiders plus Kansas City s improving the acc East new England remains one of the league s Best and the jets have been solid despite in jury problems while Buffalo has improved and dolphins have eroded badly. That leaves the acc Central where Cleveland u below last year s defensive level Cincinnati still needs help and Pittsburgh s secondary has betrayed a decent front seven. The Leader is Houston. The 1-4 oilers nil approves Rule changes new York up the nil j Board of Gover nors passed several new Rule changes tuesday inc Ltd Ingan added penalty for the player who starts a fight. The following Rule changes tested during the exhibition season were approved Tor the 1986-87 season in addition to a 5-minute major penalty for Light ing the instigator of a fight will now be assessed with an additional minor major or a game misconduct. A double minor at the discretion of toe referee will be awarded to any player who High Slicks so oppo nent. A player called for a High sticking Penally twice in one game will receive a game misconduct a game misconduct win be awarded to by player who acc mutilates two major slashing penalties. This reduced from three of last season the delayed offside Rule has been altered tallow the Linesman to wave offa delayed offside Call if players on the offending team Clear the zone. A Semi circular goal create tix feet it Nitu will be placed around the current rectangular create. The two linesmen have the Power to area a minor penalty on the player who initiate in Altena lion i a
