Oregon daily emerald., November 17, 1980, Image 1

Emerald
VoL 82, No. 53
Eugene, Oregon 97403
Monday, November 17. 1980
Oregon quarterback Reggie Ogburn scampered for 173 of the Ducks’ 337 yards rushing in Saturday's 40-21 Civil-War win over OSU.
Ducks trap Beavers, seize Civil War lead
By JODY MURRAY
Of the Emerald
With 84 games down, the
Oregon Ducks are now one up
on the Oregon State Beavers.
Oregon set the football Civil
War series mark Saturday at 38
Duck wins, 37 Beaver victories
and nine ties after a 40-21 win
before a record crowd of 41,600
at Parker'Stadium in Corvallis.
It would have been hard to
find many fans in that crowd
who really, deep down in their
hearts, believed the winless
Beavers could snap Oregon's
five-game winning streak over
OSU. Oregon State’s only
chance, it seemed, would be if
the Ducks came to Corvallis
with the same emotional funk
that victimized them in Berkeley,
where Oregon lost 31-6 to a
winless California team.
They almost did. At least, one
half of the Oregon squad did.
The defensive unit, ranked first
against the pass in the
Pacific-10 Conference going in
to Saturday’s game, relin
quished 260 yards in the air to
OSU quarterback Ed Singler.
“We just weren’t crisp on
defense,’’ admitted Oregon
coach Rich Brooks. “We were
n’t breaking on the ball.”
“They seemed to have us
down a bit,” said Oregon
Lane County district attorney questions
lower court’s coercion-charges ruling
By RICHARD WAGONER
Of the Emerald
The Lane County District
Attorney’s Office will appeal
the decision that dismissed
coercion charges against
University football player
Dwight Robertson and former
player Reggie Young.
Lane County Circuit Court
Judge James Hargreaves dis
missed the charges last month
after ruling that part of the
Oregon coercion statute used
in charging Robertson and
Young is unconstitutional.
But Lane County District At
torney Pat Horton says he is in
the process of appealing the
ruling to the Oregon Court of
Appeals.
"We don’t quarrel with the
authority of the court to make
the decision,” Horton says.
“But when a local court
decides a state statute is un
constitutional, it has statewide
effect.
“We just want a higher court
to look at it.”
Charges of sodomy still
stand against the two players.
Trials on those charges are
scheduled for January.
Former players Andrew
Page and Rick Ward also are
charged with sodomy and
coercion, but the two are
fighting extradition from the
states where they currently at
tend school. Page is in Hawaii,
and Ward is in Colorado.
"We have been trying for a
long time to pursue extradition
on those two players," Horton
says. "But it is up to the state
when they decide to extradite
them.
"I don’t want to sound too
cynical about the system, but
as soon as football season is
over in those states, I think
these people will be making
appearances here.”
Horton says he also will
challenge the constitutionality
of a law that resulted in the
dismissal of theft charges
against three other players.
Charges of unlawful use of
telephone services against
Dwight Ford, James Nutt and
Terrance Jones were dis
missed because of an Oregon
law that allows a judge to drop
theft ch&rges after defendants
repay their victims.
Horton says the so-called
“civil compromise” law is dis
criminatory against poor peo
ple.
“Wealthy people can pay off
the victim and use that in court
to have charges dismissed.'1
Deciding if repaying a victim
constitutes civil compromise is
completely subjective, Horton
says.
“A judge can make up his
own rules and guidelines. In
one case they can rule civil
compromise and in another
case, if they don’t like the
defendant, they don’t have
to.”
In related cases, Eugene
Young was aquitted earlier
this month for telephone ser
vice theft charges, and a trial
for sophomore running back
Harry Billups on similar
charges is scheduled for Nov.
25.
The trial of former player
Darren Cooper, also charged
with telephone service theft,
has not been scheduled.
defensive guard Vince Gold
smith.
But as punt return specialist
Eugene “Choo-choo” Young
put it, “The defense has been
pulling us through all year long.
It was time the offense did the
ob.”
Oregon's offense did do the
job, to the tune qf 415 yards, 337
of them on the ground. Quar
terback Reggie Ogburn con
tributed 173 yards to the rushing
total, including a 59-yard
touchdown run in the first
quarter.
Tailback Reggie Brown pulled
some weight of his own, drag
ging along Oregon State
defenders for 96 yards on 21
carries.
Oregon found the rushing
very easy and very lengthy
along the Parker Stadium
sidelines, where the Ducks' op
tion offense tends to go Most of
Ogburn’s yardage and some
long punt returns by Young
were taken along the sidelines.
“Last year, we lined up with
two tight ends and ran at them,”
Brooks said. "We opened it up a
little more this year.”
In addition to the oft-men
tioned bragging rights the win
gives the 6-2-2 Ducks, Oregon
now can also claim the mythical
Northwest championship (beat
ing OSU, Washington and Wa
shington State) for the first time
since 1954.
“That really feels good after
four hard, struggling years,”
Brooks said.
See related story on Page 9