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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 21, 1973)
Photo by Norman Cho> Freshman Ernie Kent (35) vs. Stu Jackson The Green beats the Gold in basketball preview By DON CHAPMAN Of the Emerald Intra-squad games aren’t supposed to prove much. But last night’s Oregon Varsity Preview game proved enough to make it worthwhile. Coach Dick Harter and his assistants learned last night Oregon’s basketball team is far from ready for Pac-8 competition. For the fans who came expecting a game of precision basketball, the error-filled contest may have been a disappointment. But neither coaches nor players expected perfection in the first outing of the year for the young Ducks. By every measure, the game was a success. “What I liked best,” said assistant coach Dick Stewart amid autograph-hungry fans after the game, “was that it got better as the game went on. They started out really tight at the beginning, but everything loosened up some as we went along. I’m glad we played the game just for that reason.” The Green team defeated the Gold team, 68-47. Although Dick Harter thought the two teams would be evenly matched, the Green team used their combination of experienced veterans and shaky freshmen to win decisively. Both Harter and Stewart had words of praise for veterans Ken Stringer, who led all scorers with 19 points, Bruce Coldren, and Ronnie Lee, all of the Green team “We were especially pleased with the in telligent play of some of our veterans,” said Stewart. “The experience they picked up last year was very evident tonight Their experience is going to pay off for us this year.” The combination of Stringer, Coldren, and Lee totaled 45 points, just two points less than the entire Gold team scored. The Green team veterans did not do the job alone. Freshman Greg Graham played well and displayed a cool hand under pressure. Ernie Kent, outstanding freshman for the Gold team, also played well and will give the Ducks an aggressive back court combination when teamed with Ronnie Lee or Mark Barwig. The game was far from a potent offensive show, especially in the early going Both teams appeared nervous and tight before the game. The opening minutes saw much in the way of fouls, turnovers, dropped passes, and missed shots, but little scoring. After seven minutes the score was tied at 8-8. At that point Ronnie Lee stole the ball and raced the length of the court for a lay-in. He was fouled, made his free throw, and the Green team was off. They never trailed again, although Kent brought the Gold team to within four points at the half on two consecutive steals which led to easy baskets. The early game jitters did not affect only the freshmen. Gerald Willett, starting center and no stranger to varsity competition, said he missed three lay-ins early in the game because of nervousness. “I have to get used to playing in front of people again,” said Willett. Willett, who again seems to have the inside track on starting center, played 34 minutes, more than any other player and should be well on the way to adjusting to playing before an audience. Although Dick Harter was not pleased with the number of turnovers—both teams combined for 49 turnovers in the game—he did like the aggressive and enthusiastic play the Ducks showed But getting an optimistic word from Harter is more difficult than churning home-made ice cream with a broken arm ‘‘We’re not where I had hoped we would be. I would have liked to have been further along at this point,” said Harter Dick Stewart, himself no popcorn popper of optimism, did see a few encouraging things. While noting the deluge of mistakes (“You could write 8000 pages about what we didn’t do right.”), Stewart would say, “Everybody played super at times tonight, and everybody also made some bad mistakes. The best thing I saw tonight was the enthusiasm everyone showed We were so tight at the beginning of the game because everyone wanted to play perfectly. That made us tight and we made some bad mistakes.” Harter and his staff will spend Thanksgiving vacation studying films of the game. The coaches will see the many mistakes many times. They know how far their team is from being a good team. Now they settle down to putting the lessons of the Preview game to practical use. 1 Reynolds, Hackenbruck on opposite teams, this time By BOB WELCH Of the Emerald Three years ago Oregon State defensive tackle Jerry Hackenbruck was opening holes for Donnie Reynolds as Corvallis High School marched to the State AAA football championship. But this Saturday at Autzen Stadium he’ll be trying to close holes for Reynolds as Oregon and Oregon State clash once again in their yearly battle. Hackenbruck and Reynolds have been close friends since the days of Bob Berry, Mel Renfro, Pete Pifer. real grass and $4 reserve seat tickets. It was in 1964 — the same year that Oregon State beat Oregon 7-6 to begin their eight-game win streak — when the two met up “We were pretty close,” Hackenbruck remembers. “We used to bum around together a lot. We were always playing football at Parker Stadium or watching the Beavers practice or stealing tape from the locker room Donnie taught me how to sneak into Gill Coliseum to watch basketball games.” Hackenbruck and Reynolds played on the same Junior High team for three years and the same high school team for three years. As juniors, Corvallis was second in the state. As seniors, they were the best in Oregon. “Hack was a real good high school athelete,” says Reynolds “He was one good tight end. He’s so strong, he just moved people out of the way. If we were running to his side I was sure there’d be a hole,” There were enough holes to enable Reynolds to gain 1227 yards, average 9.5 yards per carry and score eight touchdowns of 50 yards or more his senior year. But after warming the bench together in basketball during the winter and receiving diplomas in the spring, Hackenbruck signed with the Beavers and Reynolds decided on Oregon because of the Duck’s baseball program. Both would have liked to have gone to the same college. But things didn’t work out. They split for the first time in seven years. As freshmen, Hackenbruck played tight end for Oregon State’s freshman team while Reynolds was at tailback for the Duck frosh. But Jerry did get to tackle Donnie once on a kick return. “He was a little off balance to start with but I got him,” says Hackenbruck. “1 think I said something like, ‘Hey, how’s it going?’ to him after I tackled him.” “I remember going back to the huddle laughing," recalls Reynolds. “It was a typical Hack comment. You'd have to know him to appreciate it. Shoot, it was funny, we’d been friends for so long and there he was tackling me.” Hackenbruck knows Donnie can run, even if he didn’t get to tackle him but once. “I remember him breaking three tackles before anyone could bring him down. Of course, he’s been doing that all his life.” Last year Reynolds made his homecoming unforgettable, breaking a 60-yard touchdown run on the first play from scrimmage, the beginning of the Duck’s first win in nine years, 30-3. It was nothing new for Reynolds to be in the Parka- Stadium end zone, holding a ball in the air after a touchdown. In high school he had spent more time on Friday nights in the end zones than he did between them. “It’s the kind erf run you dream about,” Reynolds says about last year’s jaunt. “But last year was last year. If the game has any effect it will probably be on Oregon State. They know the pain of losing to us. And Coach Andros will be remem bering last year’s game.” So will Hackenbruck. “It hurt bad losing to Oregon for the first time in nine years and we’ll be out for revenge. The Ducks will be remembering how good it was to beat us and we’ll be remembering how bad it was to lose. It should be one of the more emotion-laden games in recent years.” Both teams have committed enough miscues to make fans wonda if the split ends are bringing in plays or mistakes. In the battle between Oregon (2 8) and Oregon State (1-9), that’ll be the key. “Whoever limits their mistakes to a minimum and capitalizes on the other team’s will win it,” says Reynolds. “Mistakes have been a problem for both teams,” says Hackenbruck, “and that should make the difference The team with the most poise will win.” Reynolds has gained 896 yards this season, averaged 4.4 per carry and scored six touchdowns Hackenbruck, who only saw limited action last year as a sophomore, is the Beaver’s third leading tackier with 79 stops The 6-3, 205-pounder has been around enough to know he can run. “We’ve played a lot of good teams this year and faced a lot of good backs but Reynolds is right up thereat the top.He’s very comparable to Anthony Davis. He relies on quickness and balance which enables him to spin off tackles.” And Reynolds has been around Hackenbruck enough to know that he can tackle. “He’ll hit me as hard as anyone else they’ve got, maybe even harder. He’s really strong.” Neither feel that the fact that they’re old friends will hamper their playing, physically or psychologically. “I’ll be thinking about him but I won’t let up just cuz we’re friends,” says Hackenbruck. “If he’s got a chance to get by me, he’s gonna try his hardest. If I’ve got a chance to get him, I’m gonna try my hardest.” “I don’t think I’ll have much time to be thinking about Hack,” says Reynolds “I just want to be ready for any white shirts no matter who they are.” Reynolds will be ready. But will his injured ankle? “I hope it will be ready by game time. It hurt against Stanford, but I didn’t reinjure it. It’s feeling better.” Both know that a win in this season finale could make a poor season look a whole lot better. And the winter a whole lot shorter. “Beating Oregon’s not going to make a 2-9 season sound great," says Hackenbruck. “But at least it will put a bright spot in it.” “This is my most important game to date,” says Reynolds. “Our season hasn’t been great and it’d be nice to end on a winning note.” Only the college football season will end for Reynolds and Hackenbruck Saturday. They’ve got a full slate of rugged, weekend touch football games scheduled for this winter with a group of Corvallis High graduates. “It’ll be fun not to have to worry about all the pressure,” says Reynolds. “And it would be kinda nice to be playin’ on the same team as Hack again.”
