South Mountaineer Volume 27, Special Issue

              SPECIAL EDITION
SEPTEMBER 24, 1984
BETHLEHEM, PA.
Weaver Wins Olympic Gold
Copyright — Call-Chronicle Newspapers
Photo by Pete Shaheen.
BOBBY WEAVER
Pride of Lehigh
Lehigh's Bobby Weaver became the
first Olympic medalist in the University's history when he captured the gold
medal in freestyle wrestling at 105.5
pounds.
Wrestling in the Anaheim Convention Center, Weaver electrified the
crowd and worldwide TV audience
with a dominant finals performance,
pinning Japan's Takashi Irie in 2:58 of
the first period. The victor's reaction
was equally spectacular—he leaped
straight into the air, then turned a
back somersault and soared through a
victory lap before having his hand
raised by the referee. After jumping
into the arms of Olympic Coach Dan
Gable, Weaver then ran to his wife,
Lori, and mother, Jackie, before gathering up his son, Bobby Jr., for their
now-famous victory lap.
Despite the distance covered, Bobby-
moved through this elation as quickly
as he did his three bouts in copping the
gold. None of his opponents lasted
through the first period, with Weaver's attacks piling up 13 points in each
bout. He was unscored upon in his first
two—pinning West Germany's Reiner
Heugabel in 2:56, then winning by
superiority, 13-0, in just 2:32 against
China's Gao Wenhe. In the finals his
efforts were awesome enough (4 takedowns and 3 tilts), that Gable was
quoted as saying, "That's as tough as
I've seen anybody look in a long time.
Boy, was he physical." Other veteran
observers marvelled at his ability to
score points in a variety of ways.
For Weaver the gold medal represented the fruition of 19 years of wrestling dedication. A three-time PI A A
state champ at Easton H.S. (at 98 and
105). By then, he had already earned a
spot as an alternate on the 1976 U.S.
Olympic team, joining Lehigh's Ben
Bishop, the first LU athlete to gain that
honor during the 1936 Olympic team
trials.
Weighing at most 117 to 120 lbs. at
Lehigh, Weaver nonetheless managed
a standout record at 118, going 57-14-1
while winning two EIWA titles in '82 &
'83 and placing third in the 1982
NCAAs. He graduated in 1983 with a
bachelor of arts degree, majoring in
social relations.
After receiving his degree, Bobby-
served as a graduate assistant coach
under Thad Turner and successfully
earned his second straight Olympic
lst-team berth in June. He was one of
only two U.S. freestyle wrestlers to
repeat from the 1980 squad. Among his
former freestyle honors are included
four national AAU crowns, ('78, '79, '80
and '82), two World Cup titles ('80 &
'84) and a second and a fifth in the
World Championships ('79 & '83). Just
as significantly during this year's
Communist bloc boycott, Bobby is one
of the few wrestlers in the world claiming a winning record against Russian
opposition.
He is worthy of this ultimate honor
and has recently indicated that the '88
Olympics may remain on his horizon.
"I'm only 25, and 29 isn't that old. It all
depends on being able to find a job that
will provide for my family and allow
me the time to train."
All of which makes for exciting news
for those infected with "Weaver
Fever".
EXTRA NOTE: Despite wire service
releases to the contrary, Bobby Weaver is a
native of Easton, PA and currently a resident of Bethlehem, PA.
101st Football Season Nears
Last season, the 100th year of
Lehigh football^iaw^ return to
winning ways for the Engineers, following a snake-bitten
plunge to 4-6 in 1982. That campaign marked the only time in'
John Whitehead's1 tenure as
head coach (and^tiift. first time
since 1972) that^jpugh did not
win more than* it lost. Last
year's 8-3 performance probably exceeded expectations, in
light of the experienced players
who had graduaged. But in 1984
the Engineers have a lot of people returning at a lot of positions, and a winning season—
Whitehead's eighth in nine
years at the helm—may be in
the cards again.
The team is currently
engaged in pre-season drills, in
preparation for opening day,
Sept. 8 at Massachusetts.
Three All-America juniors
will play key roles. Nose guard
Wes Walton, an Associated
Press second-team  pick,  will
:■ anchor the defense, while quarterback Marty Horn and split
end Rennie Benn, AP honorable
mention choices, will launch
Lehigh football into the second
century with a "Space Shuttle"
aerial attack.
*' Horn and Benn, both from
Short Hills, N.J. and Millburn
High School, have been a sensational pitch-and-catch team for
the Brown and White. In two
seasons Horn has completed 278
of. 54F-attempts (51%) for 3540
yards and 29 touchdowns. Benn
haiif hauled in 87 passes for 1426
:,,ya'rds and 20 TD's. All indications point to a thorough rewrit-
igg^of the Lehigh record book
before these two are through.
In 1983 Horn was 178-for-337
(53%) for 2165 yards and 18
touchdowns. The Engineer
passing offense ranked No. 13 in
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Div. 1-AA, with 219 yards per
game. Horn was No. 15 in the
nation in total offense, with 187.1
yards per contest.
Meanwhile, his favorite
target, Benn, shattered three
Engineer standards en route to
a 65-reception, 1114-yard season
with 15 TD's. Benn's 15 touchdowns led the nation in Div. I-
AA, and tied the all-time I-AA
mark set in 1981 by Northern
Iowa's Ken Harvey. The Horn-
to-Benn combination of 15 scoring strikes tied the national
record for TD's from one passer
to one receiver.
Benn's 14 grabs for 199 yards
vs. Colgate set single-game
records for receptions and
yards gained; and the 15 touchdowns bettered by one the season mark established by Dan
Ryan in 1981. Benn narrowly
missed two more season standards, for receptions (68) and
yards receiving (1181, set by
Steve Kreider, now of the Cincinnati Bengals, in the Div. II
national championship year of
1977). Benn's 92 points, 90 on TD
strikes, tied him for sixth in the
national scoring stats, with 8.4
points per game, while his 5.9
catches per contest ranked him
No. 13.
Wingback Eric Hunsberger
grabbed 19 passes for 257 yards
a year ago, while tailback Peter
Schreck, the team's leading
rusher, had 28 catches for 177
yards.
Every rusher who gained
yardage last year is back,
except Joe Svede (60 carries,
154 yards) and Wilbur Tice
(one, four). Schreck will lead
the way, along with Steve Opet,
and fullback Doug Ertz. There
PRE-SEASON
DEPTH CHART
OFFENSE
DEFENSE
TE
•Bob Jeffries (Sr., 6-4. 230)
LT
• Jim Rovito (Jr., 6-5. 275)
Randy Miller (So., 6-4, 211)
•Mike Kosko (So., 6-4. 234)
LT
•Jim Thompson (Sr., 6-3, 255)
NG
•Wes Walton (Jr., 6-1. 255)
•Brian Hallick (Sr., 6-2, 268)
Charles Baron (So., 6-4, 205)
LG
•Maurice Murphy (Jr., 6-1, 259)
RT
•Kevin Zlock (Jr., 6-6, 271)
Bill Bolton (So.. 6-2, 195)
Kevin Mitchell (Jr.. 6-3. 244)
c
•Dave Whitehead (Jr.. 6-3, 240)
OLB
•Jim Serratelli (Sr., 6-1, 240)
•Jim Snyder (Sr., 6-2, 220)
Carl Horstmann (Jr., 6-3. 215)
RG
•Scott Bear (Sr., 6-5. 250)
OLB
•Eric Williams (Sr.. 6-2. 228)
•Joe Uliana (So., 6-4. 250)
•Scott Theuerkauf (Sr., 6-2, 228)
RT
•Greg Exarchakis (Jr.. 6-2. 265)
ILB
•Mike Ellow (Sr.. 6-0, 230)
Robert Phillips (Jr., 6-6, 255)
•Doug Pearson (Sr., 6-3, 235)
SE
•Rennie Benn (Jr., 6-3, 195)
ILB
•Tim Gillespie (Sr., 6-1. 221)
•Todd Melton (Jr., 6-5, 200)
Jeff Supp (So.. 6-0, 208)
WB
•Eric Hunsberger (Sr.. 6-3, 200)
LC
•Blair Talmadge (Sr., 5-11. 182)
•Dorr, LaSelva (Sr., 5-11, 200)
Donald Hakes (So.. 5-10. 190)
QB
•Marty Horn (Jr., 6-2, 205)
RC
Bob Fithian (So., 5-11, 175)
•Tony Semler (Sr., 6-4. 197)
Mike Muchowski (Jr.. 6-0. 188)
TB
•Peter Schreck (Jr., 6-0, 190)
ss
'Matt Cichocki (So.. 6-0. 200)
•Steve Opet (Sr., 5-10. 193)
Allan Johnson (Sr.. 6-1, 185)
FB
•Doug Ertz (Sr.. 6-2. 225)
FS
•Jim Davidson (Sr.. 6-1. 200)
•Steve Cirucci (Jr.. 6-2. 218)
Doug Petrone (Jr.. 6-1. 185)
K
•Dave Melick (Jr., 5-9, 183)
P
•Scott Theuerkauf (Sr.. 6-2. 228)
David Katz (Jr., 5-9. 150)
Jim Harris (Fr.. 6-3. 190)
•Letterwinners
Returning starters in Bold
is good experience in the Lehigh
backfield.
Schreck and Ertz, both of
West Lawn, Pa., are another
pair or reunited high school
teammates, from Wilson High
School.
Up front, the offensive line
features three returning starters and two other experienced
lettermen. The starters are center Dave Whitehead, guard
Scott Bear and tackle Jim
Thompson. Guard Maurice
Murphy and tackle Greg Exarchakis round out the front five.
The defense will have to make
up for the loss of graduated linebacker John Shigo, who had a
truly outstanding career at
Lehigh. Team leader in tackles
for three straight seasons, Shigo
was named to the Kodak Div.
I-AA All-America first team,
and to the AP second team in
1983. He is now with the USFL's
Philadelphia Stars.
The inside linebacker spot,
vacated by Shigo and Ross San-
tangelo, will be one of the defen
sive question marks, along with
the secondary.
At ILB, lettermen Mike Ellow
and Tim Gillespie are the top
candidates.
The secondary was the position hardest hit by graduation.
Only four lettermen are back,
and one, Jim Davidson, is new
to the position after playing two
varsity seasons at wide receiver
and wingback. Davidson will
take a shot at free safety. The
only starter in the group is
speedster cornerback Blair Talmadge, who picked off eight
passes for 104 return yards and
two TD's in 1983.
The defensive front looks
solid with Walton flanked by
tackles Jim Rovito and Kevin
Zlock. It is a big strong unit that
has seen a lot of action.
At the outside backer spot in
the 5-2 defense are three candidates with starting experience.
Jim Serratelli, Eric Williams
and Scott Theuerkauf will vie
for the top slots.