European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 2, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Saturday november 2, 1991 the stars and stripes b Page 25 Safe football eagles in 5th straight title game by Meridith Winder . Bureau Raf Lakenheath England the Laken Heath eagles Are ready to defend their Safe football title when they meet Rhein main for the fourth straight time according to the Lakenheath coach and players. The eagles earned the right to face Rhein main after capturing their recording tying fifth straight United kingdom sports conference. Upper Heyford had held the record for 17 years. Pitburg a Germany holds the Safe record for most consecutive conference championships with six from 1976 to 1981. In meetings Between Lakenheath and a Lien main for the Safe title Rhein main leads the series 2-1. And in this next meeting set for 1 . Sunday at Rhein main the rockets appear to have a size advantage. But the Lakenheath players Arentt worried about that As the team appears in the Safe championship game for the fifth straight year. A compared to England the Guys in Germany Are bigger a said Middle linebacker Darrell Scott. He a the leading Tacker for the eagles. He also spent 4vz years at Ramstein and is familiar with the Continental sport conference. A they have a larger Pool of players to pick from including some army so they can get bigger  but he feels the teams attitude will go a Long ways towards ensuring the eagles repeat As champions. A a people a attitude on this team is different from those in Germany a he said. A a there a a lot of team spirit and cohesion. The players Are a lot  he attributes the family like atmosphere to the location of the base. There Are no Large communities close to the base. But Ramstein and Rhein main the Csc a big twos Are fairly close. He believes that can be distracting to the players. Scott along with another top defensive player thinks the eagles preparations will pay off. A what it will come Down to is who a better prepared a said Ray Mclaughlin Middle linebacker nose guard. A they might have a size advantage but our conditioning will   Winder Lakenheath a linebacker guard Ray Mclaughlin a what it will come Down to is who s better  Mclaughlin was the second leading Tacker for the eagles during the regular season. He a been on tie team three years and spent one at Alconbury. Playing at Lakenheath is like being at Home for Mclaughlin. He not Only played for the Lakenheath High school football team he also was born at the base Hospital. Both players Are impressed with Rhein main s offensive punch. A a in a impressed with Charley Harris Speed and Power a Mclaughlin said a they got a Good talented team. In a looking Forward to going up against  the eagles offensive team is also ready for the meeting. A a we feel pretty Good going into this contest a said Rico Johnson one of two Eagle quarterbacks. A we lost our last game of the season at Home to Milden Hall. Now that everybody knows what it feels like to lose we re using that to give us extra  Troy Lockman could t agree More. A that loss against Mildenhall has made us More aggressive and More hungry a Lockman said. Lockman a tailback was the leagues leading ground gainer amassing 1.114 Yards on 192 carries averaging 5.8 Yards per carry with 13 touchdowns. Johnson who shared quarterbacking duties with John Rudy completed 71 of 152 passed for 1,226 Yards and 13 touchdowns. Rudy went 31 of 57 for 4s2 Yards and six ads. But Rudy was quarterback for last year s championship meet. A your potential is outstanding a he said. A we Don t think of ourselves As the underdogs. To know their line backing corps is smart and reads the offence Well. But remember championship teams Aren t  some of the eagles strength May lie in a couple of clutch receivers. Keith Jones and Tim Graeter were the big targets for eagles quarterbacks. Jones hauled in 37 passes for 558 Yards and 10 i is while Grater grabbed 32 passed for 406 Yards and three ads. On special teams Mark Gutknecht scored 37 Points on 28 Point of tar ads and three Fields goals lie also selves As punter and averages 35 Yards per Point. Despite this Bevy of Talent coach Van Poindexter plans on mounting a balanced attack with an arcs Sive defense. Quot their offence s biggest threat is their running game a Poindexter said. A they have fast Strong backs. Our defense has played the run Well. We re going to try to shut them  looking at their defense he particularly worried about their linebackers. A they have three linebackers that Are extremely Good Quot he said. A they play the pass Well and Are Girod tacklers. One seems to have a sixth sense and always knows where the Ball  but he agreed with what his players said. Quot it s going to boil Down to who prepared the Best Quot said Poindexter. A a there a a pretty Good mix on both teams. Whoever executes the Best will  goes offensive in big Way by Mike Bowers staff writer football players often make the change from defense to offence. But few have done it with the flair of Lakenheath a Troy Lockman. Last year in the Safe championship game against Rhein main Lockman intercepted two passes from his cornerback position one for a 55-Yard touchdown. A year later he emerges As a Safe a Only 1000-Yard rusher from the tailback spot. He gained 1,114 Yards for the season averaged an impressive 5.8 Yards per carry and scored 13 touchdowns. Lockman leads the defending Safe Champion eagles against Csc Champion Rhein main on sunday at Rhein main. Game time is 1 . Lockman came to Lakenheath on his fight duty assignment last season and joined the team with two games remaining. �?o1 wanted to play offence last year a said Lockman. A however the coaches told me it was too late to learn the system. A so they tried me at defensive Back. After a one on one session against one of our better receivers they decided that was the place for  playing defense is second nature for the 21-year-old who also played some cornerback while attending Denbigh High school in Newport news a. He mainly served As flanker and punt return specialist. A if i had to choose. Id rather be on offence a Lockman admitted. A at run Ning Back the entire defense knows you la get the Ball. I like the Challenge of outsmarting  Lockman thinks elusiveness is one of his better assets. A i feel i m Good at making defenders miss me. My other assets Are Speed and the ability to take a hit. In a a lot stronger than i appear to be a he said. Walter Payton Roger Craig and to Jackson Are Lockmann a favorite pro running backs. A they Call me a boy around Here a said the 5-foot-9 Lockman who tips the Scales at 180 pounds. Van Poindexter Lakenheath a coach said he expects to use Lockman at various positions in sundays title game. Quot there Isnit a certain look for our offence a Poindexter said. A a we la probably use him at tailback receiver and on kick returns. I wont even count out him playing a Little  during Lakenheath a regular season Lockman often played multiple positions. He was still a Model of consistency Rushing for More than 100 Yard in five of 10 games with the highest being 203 against Mildenhall on 22 carries. His lowest output was 40 against Alcon Bury Early in the season. A i never worry about fatigue or taking hard hits a said Lockman. A a in be watched films of Rhein main. Yes they re physical. But no More than the Guys i play against in practice. If i can handle them i can handle  Lockman has a ritual of thanking his offensive linemen each game whether j sets Marti wonders Troy Lockman of Lakenheath takes a break from practice at Lindsey As Friday. He is the Only running Back in Safe to gain More than 1,000 Yards this season. He rushes for a 100 Yards or not. Quot some of them Are relatively new to our system but they have come a Long Way. They re very Good at opening up holes for me to run  Lockman predicted hell need to Rush for More than a 100 Yards against Rhein main for his eagles to stand a Chance of winning. �?o1 just want to have a Good game a he said. A atm coming to play and so Are the rest of the Fellows. It will be a clean hard hitting Tough Ball