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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 16, 1977)
football Making it work the second time around Tom Cafferty gave it up once - but stuck it out and made good By MIKE MARINO Of the Emerald Their tales have been chroni cled in every barroom yarn, bed time story and movie script. Time and time again, it’s a case of the guy who gives up the sport he loves football — only to re turn as the hero in the big game, and be carried off on his teammate s shoulders. That's one kind of hero. Then there's Tom Cafferty. He, too, left football and for a while it looked like he wasn't com ing back When he did, there wasn't much fanfare. For Cafferty, the memories are painful. I quit school my sophomore year — I was frustrated.' he said I had broken my ankle at the end of my freshman year, and then had to redshirt the next season At the first of the year, I quit school and got married — that lasted nine months Up to then he d been playing quarterback for Oregon, a position he d played in high school but not his favorite ‘ My idol was Hay berry (the Colts’ great end of the 50s and 60s)," Cafferty said. "I always wanted to be an end My brother was a quarterback, and I always caught his passes. But in high school we had a good receiver al ready, and they needed a quar terback." Such was the case for Cafferty with the 75 Ducks. With the quar terbacking corps devastated by in juries, he was forced into a back up role behind then-sophomore Jack Henderson. And in a 34-7 loss to Cal that year it came to a head — Cafferty fumbled twice to set up Bear scores while calling the signals "I ended the year switching from wide receiver back to quar terback," he added. "It wasn't too fun.” For Tom Cafferty, it's been five long years. Like Bruce Jensen, Reggie Grant and Keith Gunther. Cafferty came to Oregon five years ago Before that he d been a star at Borah High in Boise. Idaho, and his teams lost but three games during his career. Then came the Ducks. "It was tough getting used to it, he admitted. "But that wasn’t why I came here. Not only for football, anyway. “In Boise there was nothing green at all. In the summer it was brown and in the winter it was white When I came here, I fell in love with this place The commun ity was beautiful.” In 1973, that was about it. Dick Enright fell victim at the end of the season, and Don Read fared no better Through all that Cafferty and the others suffered. Then came Rich Brooks, and everyone felt a whole lot better about where things were headed. But as a senior, Cafferty wasn't going to be around for the results. “It’s frustrating that this year hasn t been a winning year, he admitted, "but it's more frustrating that I won't be around later be cause these are good coaches They II win here It won't be a total loss, though. "If I can do my job well, then I can leave with some posi tive memories One memory that Cafferty would like to forget happened in the first game of *he season this year against Georgia. Showing some tricks in the offense, the coaches sent Cafferty on an "end around" — to pass. But it didn't turn out that way. I saw that the receiver was co vered so I just wanted to throw the ball out of bounds,'' he recalled. But their linebacker hit me as I tried to get rid of the ball, the other (Georgia) guy was just there to catch it." It didn’t help that Georgia went on to win the game All I wanted to do was get the ball away. I didn't want to take the loss. It really made me feel bad I d never made a mistake like that before " By now he s been forgiven. Al though he's yet to score a touch down, the guy they call "Blade has hauled in 27 passes for 347 yards, surpassing his total of 21 last year, his first as a fulltime re ceiver. And he's done it without great physical tools I ve always been skinny, Caf ferty grinned "And I don't have much speed What, then? "Playing quarterback helped me learn a lot about pass de fenses. And I can jump and catch the ball." "Basketball is my first love though. I played it in high school ****** +++++++++++++++++*++ ************** ^MMHHMHHH^******^ THETA CHI CAR RALLY November 18 15th and Moss 7:00 pm CELEBRATION Sponsors: The Jeanery Mr. Steak Hickory Farms Sun Shop Clark Jr. Come early-limit 200 cars - - « - - m mmx ** »..****.¥ ♦*♦♦♦**♦**♦*♦** r-v..'/- ■■ PUoto by Mark Stewart Holding for kicker Roy Geiger is the lone remnant of Tom Cafferty's career as a quarterback. It takes sure hands, and he's got them either spotting the ball or catching a pass. Says Cafferty, “It also gives me a chance to control what's going on." The results of the kicking game would tend to say he does that well. and still do when I can." His sure hands have lent him to another job, that of holding the ball for Roy Geiger on extra points and field goals. And in recent weeks he's gutted it out with a sore finger — the one that holds the ball. I didn t want to hold at first," he smiled, ' because I didn t want all that responsibility. I had such long legs, too. and I could see some big linemen flying in and tearing my knee or breaking something. CROSS COUNTRY -ROSSIGNOL NOWAX ROSSI GNOL NOWAX Rossignol Skis 6500 Adidas or Fels boot 39 95 Fiberglass Pole 1100 Pacer Binding 8 95 Mounting 500 129.90 $109.95 Package Price This Thanksgiving weekend RENT-a-TRAK or FISCHER nowax ski package from. SUGAR PINE RIDGE Specialists Devoted To The Promotion & Development of Nordic Skiing 877 E. 13tti .345-5584 (next to UO Bookstore, upstairs) Through it ail he s held up fine, thank you. Even through this sea son. ‘ There have been a lot of positive things — like some long drives and big scoring plays. You didn't see that last year.” Only once. That was against Washington in Seattle, a 54 yard touchdown pass — to Cafferty. “It’s been worth it,” he con cluded. “A lot of these guys will be my friends for the rest of my life. I might not have met them if I'd left for good. “And I'd be kicking myself in the pants for a long time.” Some things are worth coming back for. Tom Cafferty would agree. 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