South Mountaineer Volume 37, Issue 24

              SPORTS
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Contents
Page 13
♦Spring sports updates
and schedules
Page 14
♦ Men's Lacrosse: Better
than record indicates
♦ Wrestlers shine in
University Nationals
Page 15
♦ Olympic Sports: Week
in review
♦ Jill Altshuler and Kim
Miller lead nation
SOUTH
MOUNTAINEER
Volume 37, Issue 24
April 26,1995
Owens drafted by NFL's Redskins
Former QB Scott Semptimphelter signs with Cowboys
By CORKY BLAKE
The Express-Times
BETHLEHEM — Being a native of Philadelphia and an Eagles fan, Rich Owens admits he's
unfamiliar with the roster ofthe rival Washington
Redskins.
"I'll definitely be learning in a hurry," Owens
said laughing.
The defensive end from Lehigh University was
selected in the NFL draft Sunday in the fifth round
by the Redskins. The fifth-year senior was the
154th pick overall.
Owens wasn't the only Engineer to land a spot
in an NFL camp. Scott Semptimphelter, who was
Lehigh's starting quarter-
1992-93, signed a
Owens will report Thursday for a Redskins' rookie camp
and then will return June 1 for
another session.
"He (Karmelowicz) told me
to be ready to play and know
the difference between playing
with pain and being injured,"
Owens said.
Owens is the highest
Lehigh draft pick since quarterback Kim McQuilken was
picked by Atlanta in the third
in
back
free-agent contract with the
Dallas Cowboys.
Semptimphelter's
chances of latching on with
an NFL team after his senior season in '93 were curtailed when he ruptured his
Achilles' Tendon in the last
game against Lafayette.
When did Owens know
he was in the Redskins'
plans?
"About two-to-three minutes before they drafted me
they called me and told me,"
said Owens, who was contacted in his East Sixth
Street apartment by
Redskins defensive line
coach Bob Karmelowicz.
Owens said he was watchingthe draft on ESPN2
with his girlfriend Alison Shields, and his younger
brother, Terry, a defensive back at Kutztown University.
Owens said about two seconds after his name
was announced, his former Lehigh roommate Kevin
Jefferson, now a linebacker with the Cincinnati
Bengals, stopped by.
"He was very happy," Owens said. "I don't
know if the Redskins and Bengals play each other,
but we were kidding each other how we'd go after
each other on special teams. We've always been
pretty competitive."
The 6-foot-6, 250-pound Owens started one
season at defensive end for Lehigh. He came on late
in the 1991 season as a sophomore when the Engineers went 9-2. Academics sidelined him in '92 and
a knee injury forced him to sit out the '93 campaign.
Still, more than a dozen NFL scouts passed
through Lehigh to test Owens. His running and
jumping numbers were as good or better than many
of the Division I defensive linemen selected ahead
of him.
"A lot of it is all about which school you go to,"
said Owens, who was tested by Karmelowicz.
Rich Owens (above right) became the second highest Lehigh draft pick when he was picked in the fifth round by the Washington Redskins on Sunday.
Scott Semptimphelter joins Kevin Jefferson (Cincinnati Bengals) as the second free agent signee from the 1993 Patriot League Champions.
round in 1974. Wide receiver Steve Kreider, center
John Hill and quarterback Mike Rieker were all
sixth-round choices.
Semptimphelter leaves the Arena for NFL
Former Patriot League MVP Scott
Semptimphelter might have had to put his professional football hopes on hold following his senior
season, but the wait was well worth it.
Semptimphelter was ready to sign a contract
with the Arena Football League's Connecticut Coyotes, and was leaving practice on Sunday afternoon
when he got a message to call his agent.
"When I found out today I was shocked," said
Semptimphelter from his home in Florence, N.J. on
Sunday evening. "I was so excited that I couldn't
move. I can't describe the feeling. This is the dream
of my life."
"Sempti" threw for over 300 yards in six games
during the 1993 campaign, including a school record
six touchdown, 373-yard performance vs. Lafayette
to clinch the league title in the season finale.
He finished the '93 season ranked eighth nationally in I-AA with a 147.8 passing efficiency
rating, and fourth in total offense after averaging
320.7 yards per game.
Semptimphelter's 50 career touchdown passes
places him second on the all-time list of Lehigh
quartebacks. He is also second in interception
percentage (3.28), and third in completion percentage (59.80), and rating points (141.28) in Lehigh
history.
Engineers Taken in the
NFL Draft
(In the top seven rounds)
Third Round
Kim McQuilken Atlanta 1973
Fifth Round
Rich Owens Washington 1995
Sixth Round
John Hill N.Y. Giants 1975
Steve Kreider Cincinnati 1979