European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 31, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 30 a the stars and stripes tuesday december 31, 1991falcons Rush past bulldogs 38-15 Mississippi stale a a sleepy Robinson is brought Down by air Force s Rod Stephan. By skip la it Memphis Tenn. A air Force and Rob Perez gave Mississippi state a lesson in Ball control sunday night. The Falcons converted a 14-minute advantage in Possession time into a 38-15 Victory Over the bulldogs in the Liberty bowl sunday night. A we did pretty Well. We took it to a pretty Good defensive Ball club. We ran Down the Field and put Points on the Board. We stuck the Ball Down their throats and won the game pretty handily a said Perez a senior who won game map honors for the second year in a Row by scoring once and Rushing for 114 Yards on 26 carries with Perez at the Helm the Falcons kept the Ball for 37 minutes 37 seconds to Mississippi state s 22 23. A this was a tremendous Victory for the Falcons Quot said air Force coach Fisher Deberry after guiding his team to a 10-3 season. A to win 10 games in a season and to Cap it off with a Liberty bowl Victory is just fantastic. I can t say enough about this team and How they played a and not just tonight but the entire  the Victory came in predictable fashion for the Falcons the no. 2 Rushing team in the country. The Falcons ran for 328 Yards Only 10 below their regular season average and threw Only two passes. First year Mississippi state coach Jackie Sherrill said his team could t get unt racked. A tonight we just did t get it done a Sherrill said. A they did some things inside that gave us problems and then we got too far behind. They played their style of football and we just did not play  air forces defense complemented the offence by scoring two ads of its own a a 35-Yard Fumble return by safety Shanon Yates and an end zone Fumble recovery by Virgil Simpson. The Falcons built a 14-0 first Quarter Lead on 1-Yard scoring runs by fullback Jason Jones and Perez. Air Force a member of the Western athletic conference pushed the Lead to 21-0 on Yates Heads up play with 6 12 Liberty bowl left in the half. Coming up to defend against the option Yates arrived just As Mississippi state s Karl Williamson hobbled a pitch from quarterback sleepy Robinson. Yates grabbed the Ball out of the air and raced uncontested to the end zone. The bowl Victory before a record crowd of 61,497 was the second in a Row for air Force the Host team of the game the last three years. The Falcons beat Ohio state 23-11 in last year s game after falling 4229 to Mississippi in 1989. The loss by Mississippi state 7-5 of the Southeastern conference ended Sherrill s rebuilding Job on a sour note. The bulldogs had Only one winning season 6-5 in 1986 in the past decade before this season. The Liberty bowl was the school s first postseason appearance since defeating Kansas pm in the 1981 Hall of Fame bowl Mississippi state kept the game within reach by driving 76 Yards for a touchdown alter Yates Fumble return. The bulldogs pulled within 21-7 with 35 seconds left in the half when Robinson hit Trenell Edwards with a 4-Yard touchdown pass. The Falcons got Only a 20-Yard Field goal from Joe Wood in the third Quarter but still dominated the period controlling the Ball for 13 minutes 12 seconds. Woods Field goal capped a 17-play drive that covered 67 Yards and consumed 9 03. The Falcons put the game away on the second play of the fourth Quarter when Perez rolled left drawing the bulldog defense with him and then handed off to wide receiver Scott Hufford on a reverse. Hufford was t challenged As he skirted right end on a 31-Yard touchdown run. The bulldogs pulled within 31-15 with 7 23 to play on a 7-Yard burst up the Middle by Michael Davis and Toda Jordan s two Point pass to Robinson. The air Force defense got those Points Back 78 seconds later when Chris James knocked the Ball Loose from Jordan and Simpson recovered in the end zone. Bills Thomas runaway Winner of a offensive player award by Barry Wilner new York apr once there were doubts about Thurman Thomas. Was he big enough to make it in the nil what shape were his Knees in could he catch the Hall now the Only question about Thomas seems to be Quot what can t he do Quot the Buffalo Bills running Hack was selected sunday As the nil offensive player of the year in voting conducted by the associated press. Thomas was a runaway Winner Over teammate Jim Kelly in balloting by 82 Media members. For the third straight year Thomas led the nil in combined Rushing and receiving Yards. His 2,038 Yards from scrimmage this year gives him 5,780 Over the past three seasons. Quot he a a devastating player Quot said Kelly perhaps Thomas biggest admirer. �?o1 Haven t seen anybody Able to Stop him  Thomas won the acc Rushing title even though he Sal out the final game with an ankle injury. His 1,407 Yards ranked third in the nil. He tied with Miami s Mark Clayton for the acc touchdown Lead with 12. His 62 receptions tied with Philadelphia s Keith Byars for most by any running Back and his 631 Yards receiving beat All players at his position. While Thomas might gel lots of credit from his teammates coaches and opposing players who find it impossible to Stop him he still feels under appreciated. A i think what probably would make me Happy is. With this year getting a lot of awards and hopefully next year and the year after that will probably satisfy me and probably earn me the respect i think i deserve Quot he said. One team that certainly respects Thomas is the new York jets. He had 13 receptions for 112 Yards against them in week 3, then rushed for 124 Yards in the rematch. A you plan All week to Stop the Guy then he goes out there and beats you All Over the Field Quot jets defensive end Jeff Lageman says. A Thurman is a great Back who can do  oddly Thomas was just a second round draft pick in 1988 despite an All american career at Oklahoma state where he played ahead of a Guy named Barry Sanders for one season. After a sensational Sophomore year in which he had 1,650 Yards Rushing Thomas Hurt his knee in a pickup basketball game and was slowed throughout his Junior year. But he had a big senior season still there were doubts about the knee and his size 5-fool 11, 198 pounds and his pass catching ability 81 receptions in four seasons at Oklahoma state. Quot As a running Back you have to have Good vision Quot he says in his own defense. A it s nothing you can learn. 1 just think that 1 can look so far  Kelly was runner up with 15 Voles. Detroit s Sanders was third with 12, followed by Washington quarterback Mark Rypien with seven and Dallas receiver Michael Irvin with one. Last year s Winner was Houston quarterback Warren Moon. Thurman Thomas running earned him nil Honor