European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 25, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse Sabers by Rob Staggenborg staff writer Welcome to the Continental sports conference sponsored soap opera a was the football spirals a starring the Char lev Harris powered Rhein main rockets and the Deluca Thurmond led Span Dah Lem sabers. This weeks episode a the final at can Dahlem at High noon subtitled a who will choke this time a. Admission to the live version is $3. In the last episode Harris and Crew surprised the Sembach tigers 12-8 in last sundays semifinal to make a return trip to the conference championship. The rockets Are two time defending Safe champions. Also last weekend Thurmond watched As his sabers almost let a 31-7 Lead turn into a 34-31 defeat at the hands of the Ramstein rams. Instead Thurmond found receiver Ken Sneed from 25 Yards out with a Little More than three minutes left to give the sabers a 38-38 win and their first trip to the conference championship game. In other developments upper Heyford shocked no. 2 Ben Waters 12-8, while Lakenheath pounded Greenham common 66-0 in the . Sports conference semis last weekend. We join this week in Progress. By most measures the Csc title game just needs to be played to make it official. Scores of coaches players and fans Are betting the farm that Spang will whip Rhein main soundly. The Winner goes to the England to play the . Sports conference Champion on nov. 4. But ask the coaches and players actually involved in the game and a no ones talking or b say the game is going to be closer than any stat Sheet can predict. Thursday october 25, 1990 the stars and stripes a a a Page 19 to rattle rockets on paper Span Dahlem 8-2 has the upper hand while Rhein main just got to the .500 Point with the Sembach win. The rockets Are 5-5 and find themselves in the conference final for the third straight year. The rockets playoff Road to the title game featured a Nail biter at Hahn which Rhein main won 21-20 on oct. 14. The a amps Ken George Span Dahlem a a Deluca Thurmond. Sparked Semi win at Ramstein Sembach game came As a Surprise to the tigers who were looking to the championship game even before the Rhein main Kickoff. On sept. 8, Rhein main lost the Only meeting with Span Dahlem this season a a 38-28 affair a under first year coach Jose Valentin. The rockets stood at 1-3 after the loss and would slosh through the rest of the regular season at 3-5, hardly Safe championship Caliper. Under the Oft criticized Csc playoff format adopted this year eight of the nine Csc teams made it to the playoffs. The rockets took the free meal ticket and raided the salad bar. Leading the charge is Valentin an first sergeant assigned to the base who took Over in week 3. The Hahn quarterfinal started the con Tidence building process and the win Over Sembach gave the rockets real Hope of tying the Safe record of three straight titles. Counting them out is nothing new. They lost to we Brucken 40-0 the first game of the year and the rest of the season has been like a Riding a Seesaw. The rockets Seesaw had splinters. First there was desert shield which took Jay Gregson an All Csc linebacker. The rockets also missed Tor Hill and Butch Watkins stars from the 1988 and s9 teams who were booted from the air Force and head coach Warren Stanley who stepped Down last Winter to pursue other interests. Suddenly the invincible rockets were crashing to the Earth we Call reality. Then came help. Terry Maki a former air Force Academy linebacker joined the Force in mid season and has been nothing Short of spectacular. Quarterback Kuiawa Thia Porter has come on Strong of late tailback Harris is hot these Days and fullback Greg Booker has Given the rockets a formidable one two punch in the Baek Field. Then there s Span Dahlem. The sabers have been the whipping boys of the Csc for years largely because of coach Dave Lockwood a inability to a in the big game. He lost a pair of finals w Hen he coached Pitburg in 1983 and 1984, hacked uncontrollably in the Csc semifinals the last three years and nearly lost to Ramstein last saturday. Lockwood a largest liability can be his greatest asset. Its Thurmond a the flashy on the Field unusually reserved off of it quarterback. Thurmond can be the Toast of the town As he was in the semifinal when he completed 22 of 45, including several crucial ropes late in the game that kept Spang awake and alive. But Thurmond can be bad As he was when the sabers played Ramstein on sept. 16 and won 26-16. The kid known simply As Deluca around the league tossed five interceptions in that game and was pulled in favor of backup Warren Rogers in the sabers 21-13 come from be hinder Over Pitburg in the first round of the playoffs. Rogers rallied the sabers air Force football playoffs a Rhein main 5-5 at Span Dahlem 8-2 noon saturday . Anal upper Heyford 4-3 at Lakenheath 7-0 12 30 . Sunday ass Susan hams from a 13-7 deficit in route to Victory. While Thurmond can be self destructive at times. Spang has the reassurance that the Fleet footed Rogers is ready to step in at any moment. A i know Delucas the starter and that s Fine a Rogers said after sundays win at Ramstein. A a in a just Here to help Settle him Down and come in out of the Bullop if the Span Dahlem receiving corps makes Thurmond and Rogers look like Genii. There a we Illie Lawson and Sneed two lethal weapons who give Spang an extra dimension with the Long Ball. On defense there a Mark Del re stud lineman who strikes fear in hearts of opposing runners. Then there a Lockwood himself a a shrewd manipulator who will do anything within the boundaries of common decency to gain the extra Edge. A a we re playing this one to w lie said in a Telephone interview on sunday. No emotion in that voice. Just cold haul words. The postscript to this tussle will he written into the history Hooks this weekend. Either Lockwo Ood will finally prove i sceptics wrong by winning the lug one or Rhein main will continue to Send shockwave through the conference. Stay tuned. This one could get Naso. The the Calendar oct. 25-31 unless otherwise dated basketball the 21st Talcom Champion Kaiserslautern panthers have been added to the we Brucken Community a fourth annual top gun menus basketball tournament bringing the third of four major command champions from last season into the tournament. The 7th training come representative is the Only command level Winner not represented. The tournament runs thursday through sunday at the Kreuzberg gym in we Brucken. Niernberg the Vii corps Champion and Winner of the european championships last april joins v corps Winner Baum older in the tournament. a and air Force teams the York towners and warriors open the tourney at 5 30 . admission of $2 will be charged daily. For More information Call Mario Garden at 494-7253/6381. Preseason tournaments for men and rrlx00�?T sponsored by Kaiserslautern and 21st Taa cum will be held next week starting wednesday. Cuties Are scheduled from 1-9 . Daily at Lan Stuhl and Kleber Cavern in Kaiserslautern. For More information Contact l. Thilo Williams at 483-8289 or 0631411-7469.marathon the v corps championships will be run in conjunct a with the Frankfurt City Marathon sunday. Starting a in. Near the Haupt Bohnhof. V corps competitors can pick up their starting num ers at the Frankfurt fest Halle Between noon and 6 . Saturday and at 7 . Sunday. More information can be obtained by calling the v corps sports office ets 320-5503.Cross country the 10-Kilometer european championships take place saturday at Neureul Cavern in Karlsruhe. Registration is 8-10 ., and the race begins at 11 .boxing w1ldflecken will have a fight night saturday. Weigh ins Are scheduled Between 10 . And noon with fights beginning at 6 . There will be a $2 admission fee. Point of Contact is the Wil Flecken sports office at 3263-884. A a North sea Battle of no. 9 St. Pauli i lambing at no. 4 Bremen and no. 12 Al b Stuttgart at no. 8 bochum. Other 3 30 . Saturday kick Oil is a ones for which there Are available tickets a Are no. 6 Wattenscheid at no. 2 Kaiserslautern no. 16 Niernberg at no. 13 Hamburg no. 17 Karlsruhe at no. 15 Dusseldorf no. 11 Uerdingen at no. 5 Cologne no. 7 Leve Kusen at no. 14 monchengladbach and no. 18 Berlin fresh Oil its first Victory of the season at no. 10 Dortmund. In second division games near americans. Freiburg is at Stuttgart kickers Darmstadt visits Schweinfurt and Fortuna Cologne goes to Mannheim All at 3 . Saturday. At the same time on sunday Hanover plays at 1 the armed forces Lee hockey tub hosts 1 he Kaiserslautern at 2 . Sunday at the we Brucken ice Arena. This weekends freestyle and Greco roman programs will be staged saturday and sunday at Vilseck. Weigh ins both Days will be from 8-10 ., with the Competition beginning at 11 . There is a $5 entry tee that covers both Days. Call the Vilseck sports Tolice at 476-2500 for More Back on top and seemingly Back on track after last weeks 6-1 thrashing of Hamburg Munich invades no. 3 Frankfurt at 3 30 . Saturday in the German first divisions Glamour matchup of the week. The game will follow a pair of 8 . Friday contests Auto racing in Germany there is Long distance racing for touring cars saturday at the curb urging with the action scheduled for 8 . To 5 . T he first International War Steiner adar rally Cross follows on sunday on the a new rally Cross circuit. The program starts at 9 . And ends at racing in Germany Munich and Krefeld will Oiler racing saturday and Frankfurt and Cologne will be operating sunday. First race at Frankfurt starts at noon and 12 3d . At the other tracks
