European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 22, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Saturday september 22, 1990 the stars and stripes a a a Page 25 commentary Deprez Spang s choke suppressant Mark Deprez sat on the curb cradling his warm Heineken for dear life. Him tember. A him on the grass and his two Little girls munched on shop Pette fare in the driveway. A you know the bus ride is no fun when you lose a he said. Sundays Ramstein to Span Dahlem Jaunt must be been the quickest the Lucan minn., native has had since he first suited up in a red and Blue Saber football uniform four years ago. Four seasons. Four years of Continental sports conference Battles. Not much to show for it other than a few cuts scrapes and first team selection As a stars and stripes Csc All Star in 1989. Deprez pronounced de Pray basked in the sheer moment of it All. Twenty minutes earlier the 6-foot, 225-Pounder led the Saber defense in Shackel ing Ramstein a potent offence in route to Spang a 26-16 Victory. The win gave the sabers sole Possession of first place in the Csc dropping Ramstein to second place. The Victory also ended Spang Dahlem a Long drought within the confines of Ramstein a Donald s. Greene memorial Field. Spang coach Dave Lockwood erased a heavy of Fer six Streak at Ramstein. The last time Deprez sat in the Ramstein parking lot things were different. Much much different. It was the 1989 Csc playoffs. Ramstein routed the sabers 26-9. It Wasny to pretty. In fact it was downright ugly. Check it Ramstein Rolls to 411 Yards on offence. Spang squeezes out just 53 Rushing Yards. Goliath kicks the tar out of poor Little David. Last sunday was the game to forget last years playoff fiasco. Spang coach Dave Lockwood was mobbed by throngs of Saber faithful. Doused with a water Jug Bill Parcells style and nearly knocked Over by his wife who was hysterical at the Prospect of finally winning at Ramstein and grinning a Smirk As wide As the Eifel Region Lockwood was in heaven. A few generations away Deprez skilled warm Heineken played with his kids and joked with his wife. He partied. Deprez finds himself As the second Best Tacker in the Csc with 41 solos eight assists and three Fumble recoveries. Only ram Stem a Darrell Scott is better Rob Staggenborg Deprez seemed bothered by the attention he was getting. His Day in the Salt mines included Only five Solo tackles a handful of hurried passes two crucial sacks and a blocked punt. What a the fuss quiet with an a Law shucks attitude toward football Deprez localizes on the turf. Publicity who needs it interviews Why me a shucks. A Marks Good a Lockwood said Point Blank. A the was on Ramstein a a . Johnson All game Long Wasny the Marks had a few big games for us this year. In be seen him play better and in be seen him play worse. A we see Mark Day in and Day out. We be got three or four other Guys who Arentt that far away from  at defensive tackle Deprez has made an Impact on Span Dah Mark Deprez Lem football. This is his final year unless a reprieve from the big personnel office in the sky keeps him at Spang for another year. Deprez a four seasons As a Saber have been less than satisfying. Span Dahlem has been the Cleveland Browns of the Csc. Like Cleveland Spang has had trouble breathing in the big game. Lockwood is 1-6 in the Csc playoffs with Pitburg and Spang. The sabers live with the stigma of crumbling under in the big games. Can you say choke Deprez said the 1990 version of Span Dahlem is trying to get rid of that stigma. A i think we be got a championship team a Deprez said Between swigs. A a we be got an offence that can score some Points. We re making some Gutsy Calls like the one Lockwood made today. Fourth and 2 inside our own 15, and coach keeps the offence in. That a a Gutsy  then again the sabers never ran a play. They Drew Ramstein offside. Spang a gut Check comes in the final weeks of the season. A Day of rest this weekend then the sabers chug out the Back Gate to nearby Pitburg to play the streaking Barons in the season finale sept. 29. The Csc playoffs begin oct. 13. The sabers Hopes of advancing through the Csc playoffs rest on the Arm of one Deluca Thurmond who won starting a a duties in a preseason Battle with Warren Rogers. Thurmond a Ramstein Day was less than olympian. The atlantean threw five interceptions in the game but the Deprez led defense made him a Winner. A England Here we come a Thurmond proclaimed referring to the Safe title game on nov. 4 at the Home of the . Champions. Spang strip to the . May rest on the Arm and legs of Thurmond and the Banshee defensive tactics of Deprez. Thurmond leads the Csc this week in scoring is third in Rushing with 324 Yards on 89 carries and ranks third in passing percentage. His passing numbers include 78 completions in 189 attempts for 1,321 Yards and 13 touchdowns with an ugly 16 interceptions. The Ramstein match was far from being the game to end All games. But to beat the tar out of Goliath is Worth a charge on occasion. A we knew we were going to win this game a said Thurmond. A i knew the defense would give me the Ball Back after the five interceptions. Mark Deprez played just a great  the Praise for Deprez does no to just originate from the Span Dahlem locker room. Deprez is a nameless figure around the Csc. He is merely known As that damned no. 62 by Csc offensive linemen. Johnson after getting sacked twice a number 62 is a stallion. Man he a Good. A couple of times he was in the Backfield even before i was. The boy was  Ramstein coach Larry Bolden who watched Deprez and co. Snap the rams bid for an undefeated season said of the kid with an s on his Chest and a 62 on his Back a they Are a Well prepared defensive team. Man that 62 played the game of his life Deprez smiled devilishly upon hearing the Praise bestowed on this big old Minnesota boy. His wife grinned As his daughters finished off chocolate bars unmoved by their daddy a new found celebrity. True to form he gave Boldens comments a silent yet approving a Law  the stars and 8tripsnext for no by Jeff Holyfield East Lansing Mich. Apr notre Dame coach Lou Holtz says being no. 1 does no to have any fringe benefits other than making his team a King sized target. A when we became no. 1 for the first time in 1988, i called the Mcaa to ask them what it meant a he said. A they told me there were no real differences to being no. 1 other than being asked about it All the time. A your touchdowns Only counted six Points not seven. We still had to go 10 Yards for a first Down not 8 or 9. And if we fumbled we did no to get the Ball  the top ranked fighting Irish will be playing by the same old rules when they take on no. 24 Michigan state at sold out spartan stadium 9 30 . Saturday on an radio. Michigan state coach George Perles said he a just Happy to have the Rule that stops Talent Laden notre Dame from putting More than 11 players on the Field. A a they re an awfully talented group of football players. Thank god for that Rule a Perles said. Notre Dame coming off a 28-24 come from behind Victory Over Michigan seeks its 12th Victory in a Row against big ten opponents and fourth straight Over the spartans. Michigan state was the last big ten team to beat the loci118 notching a 20-15 Victory at Home in 1986, Holtzm a first Road game at notre Dame. Holtz is 15-1 at notre Dame when his team is ranked no. 1. Overall notre Dame is 59-9-3 in games when it has held the top spot in the National rankings,1 Irish Mill including a 21-13 decision Over Michigan state last year. However Michigan rolled up 443 Yards last saturday against the usually sturdy notre Dame defense including 190 Yards and two touchdowns through the air. Perles said Michigan state quarterback Dan Enos turned in a pro level performance last weekend in a final drive that allowed the spartans to escape from Syracuse with a 23-23 tie. A defense has been Michigan states Strong Point historically but this might be one of their Best offensive teams in be seen. Dan Enos makes them go and he played Well for them last year against us a Holtz said. Enos hit 18 of 28 passes last year against notre Dame for 200 Yards and two touchdowns. This year hell be throwing into an inexperienced secondary which will be without Star comeback Todd Lyght. Lyght is out with a hamstring injury. His Likely replacement will be freshman Greg Lane. Perles said going against the top team in the nation is an Honor and a privilege and he expects his team to Rise to the Challenge. A when you play the Best you usually play your Best. We think they deserve to be no. 1,�?� he said. A the stadium will be sold out they will play with great emotion against us and we be got some improvements to make a Holtz said. A a we be got some problems to address and How Well we Deal with them will determine where we go from  Perles who also serves As Michigan states athletic director said the crowd could break the record of 80,383 for the 1975 Ohio state game. The buckeyes won that game 21-0. Igan state file notre Dame is streaking past big ten under Lou Holtz