Goal Line

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- It was the ultimate in cautious play-calling, the nadir of offensive strategy.Penn State had just covered 79 yards of prime Beaver Stadium real estate in nine plays and two pass interference penalties. Three straight runs by Mike Archie produced a first down inches from the goal line.A touchdown here would erase Michigan's 14-10 third-quarter lead and shift momentum to Penn State. The alternative, for the Nittany Lions, was utterly unthinkable.Yesterday, Penn State learned to live with the utterly unthinkable.

It was nearly an hour after the game had ended, and Oakland Raiders quarterback Donald Hollas still hadn't seen the replay. And from his perspective he didn't have to, knowing exactly what happened on his second-quarter sneak, when -- with the ball extended -- he appeared to break the plane of the goal line on a second-down play from the 1-yard line."

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Since leaving Georgia three years ago after a collegiate career filled with exciting comebacks, quarterback Eric Zeier has had precious few opportunities to re-create his magic.For eight wild minutes down the stretch yesterday at Alltel Stadium, Zeier was a bulldog once again. With starting quarterback Vinny Testaverde watching from the sideline with a knee injury, Zeier shook off the rust that comes with being a backup and brought the Ravens to the brink of a stunning, comeback victory.

Like a Texas twister, the war of attrition has finally touched down in Dallas, whose Cowboys once seemed impervious to injury, player defection and red-zone futility.It actually has been coming for some time now; since those gold-mine drafts turned dry, since the Cowboys' offensive line turned old, since Barry Switzer turned up coach.The Cowboys should have recognized the symptoms. Remember when Tony Dorsett lost a step and Tom Landry's flex defense lost two? Almost overnight, the Cowboys went from a 10-6 playoff team in 1985 to an aging, 7-9 also-ran in 1986.

Long Reach's Chris Smith caught a 34-yard touchdown pass on the first half's final play, and the Lightning's defense made it stand up for a 7-6 victory against visiting Oakland Mills yesterday.The victory was a birthday present for Long Reach coach Pete Hughes."That was a heckuva catch," said Oakland Mills coach Ken Hovet. "We didn't think they could score. That's a game we should have won -- and gave away."Long Reach (5-1 overall, 4-1 league) overcame five turnovers to defeat the Scorpions (3-3, 3-2)

Running backsBam Morris ran for 117 yards on 21 carries, and ran all over the Bengals' defense. Fullback Carwell Gardner, used sparingly, was ineffective.BQuarterbackVinny Testaverde wasn't exceptionally hot, but he was effective, especially on the final drive. Several of his passes were dropped, and one was intercepted when he and receiver Michael Jackson had a miscommunication.C+ReceiversRookie Jermaine Lewis had a successful debut as a starter even though he started slowly by dropping two of three passes on the first series.

PHILADELPHIA -- The rumbling, mind-numbing chorus of "Deeeee-fense, Deeeee-fense" rose from the east end of Veterans Stadium like a thunderstorm for the last stand of linebacker Byron Evans and the relentless Philadelphia Eagles defense.Coach Rich Kotite, pleading with the crowd of 63,922 to turn up the volume, banged on his clipboard. Randall Cunningham, who had just fumbled to give the Green Bay Packers unexpected life, prayed.Packers quarterback Brett Favre had three shots from the Eagles' 6 to win the game.

After all, strange things happen on Friday the 13th.Last night, the Blast battled back from a 4-1 deficit in the third quarter to take a 7-5 victory in an important game against the Cleveland Crunch.It was the first time the Blast had scored five goals in a quarter since the last time it played on a Friday the 13th. That was in Cleveland in December, when the Blast rallied from a 7-4 deficit in the fourth quarter to win, 8-7, in overtime."No doubt we knew we could score," said Blast forward Rusty Troy.

The North Carroll High gridiron Wednesday night showcased the sport that gave birth to American football.There, before some 250 chilled spectators, England's Royal Air Force Wildenrath Stags, currently touring the United States, tangled with the Westminster-based Mason-Dixon Rugby Club.The visitors won, 13-0.That might be expected. After all, thegame was invented in England, and those folks have played it a lot longer than we have.Stag team captain Chris Davis said rugby is aspopular in many parts of the United Kingdom as baseball is here, andyoungsters there start just as early.

The New Haven Nighthawks defeated the Baltimore Skipjacks, 3-2, at the Baltimore Arena last night, and two disallowed goals were the center of controversy after the game.Referee Dave Jackson disallowed a goal by Tyler Larter in the first period and another by Tim Taylor with 11 seconds remaining in the American Hockey League contest before 2,463. Jackson disallowed three goals in two nights by Baltimore. He ruled a goal by Alfie Turcotte in Hershey, Pa., on Saturday night did not count."Our goal judge, in Jackson's judgment, isn't good enough for him," said an angry Skipjacks coach Rob Laird.

Last year against Southern Methodist, Navy quarterback Ricky Dobbs ran for 224 yards - the 12th-highest total in program history - and scored four touchdowns to lead the Midshipmen to a 34-7 victory in a driving rainstorm. It was a breakout performance by a third-string quarterback who came into the game having taken a total of 19 snaps in his college career. What Dobbs remembers most about that day, however, is how he felt afterward. "I was as sore as I've ever been," he said. "I had 42 carries.

The noble, sportsmanlike statement to make was the one Ray Lewis made in the most somber post-game Ravens' locker room at M&T Bank Stadium this season. "That," he said, "didn't win or lose the game for us." Except "that" might have done exactly that. Deride the Ravens for allowing the Pittsburgh Steelers to march 92 yards in the final 3 1/2 minutes, with the season on the line, and the record home crowd and a supposedly impenetrable defense on their side. They sure deserve it. Ninety-one and 92 yards, however, are not the same thing.

What went right -- The Ravens' defense rose to the occasion. Safety Ed Reed made a nifty interception when Peyton Manning threw late down the middle of the field. The Ravens should have had a second interception on a Colts field-goal drive, but Ray Lewis tipped the Manning pass and it bounced off Chris McAlister's chest. What went wrong -- The Ravens' offense was unable to cash in after Jamal Lewis' two strong runs and a nicely thrown pass to Daniel Wilcox put them in scoring position.

For all of the improvement the Ravens' offense has made this season, one of the more difficult gains has been moving 3 feet. The Ravens have been inconsistent in situations in which the offense is facing either third-and-one or fourth-and-one this season. When the Titans thwarted Jamal Lewis on third-and-one from Tennessee's 41-yard line in the third quarter of Sunday's 27-26 Ravens win, it marked the second time in three games that the offense was unable to convert a third-and-one. While the Ravens are a combined 5-for-9 on converting third-and-one and fourth-and-one, coach Brian Billick acknowledged that the offense can't afford to leave those opportunities on the field.

With their season on the line -- the goal line to be exact -- the Ravens refused to budge. The defense delivered a vintage stand at M&T Bank Stadium, where the Ravens relied on a smothering performance to notch a desperately-needed first victory of the season, a 13-3 win over the New York Jets yesterday. There was no room to run for reigning NFL rushing champion Curtis Martin. There was no place to hide for first-time starting quarterback Brooks Bollinger. And there was no blinking by the Ravens' defense in the third quarter, when it was backed up against its end zone with the lead hanging in the balance.

COLLEGE PARK - Only two words were needed Wednesday to motivate Maryland's young offensive linemen as they lowered their shoulders and plowed into the red sled, pushing it near the end zone. "Goal line! Goal line! Goal line!" barked offensive line coach Tom Brattan. It's a line the Terrapins have struggled crossing in their two games, missing five touchdown opportunities in the red zone on nine chances. It also has been a focus at practice this week, as Maryland (1-1) prepares to host rival West Virginia (2-0)

THE RAVENS MUST have a ball in their meetings every week, coming up with the most creative ways to bail out their offense. Maybe this week, they gave out some sort of prize, or bonus, or incentive. The stuff they'd been doing had been so routine. Special teams and defense, getting a little stale. Big runbacks off turnovers, yeah, that's OK. Punt returns for touchdowns, not bad. But can't you guys up the ante a little? Yes, they can. And they did. "Guys," the coaches probably start these meetings off, "who wants it this week?

River Hill's Matt Stara, who has a phenomenally long throw-in, twice stung Mount Hebron with it yesterday as the fourth-ranked Hawks defeated the No. 3 Vikings, 2-1, in Ellicott City. The Hawks (9-1, 7-1), who have won four Howard County titles and four state titles since the school opened in 1996, took a big step toward winning their fifth county title. They have two remaining league games, against Howard and Glenelg. Second-place Mount Hebron (10-1-1, 6-1-1) lost to River Hill for the sixth straight time.

St. Paul's Megan Del Monte had a pretty good idea what Archbishop Spalding's field hockey team would use for motivation in yesterday's Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland A Conference game. "We beat them last year in the final," said Del Monte, of the A Conference championship game, "and we knew they were going to be out to get us." Del Monte and her No. 2 Gators teammates proved up to the challenge, using an early goal, superior stick skills and a little bit of luck to make sure the No. 10 Cavaliers did not get revenge.

The Number 777 -- Combined total yard age in Cardinals-49ers game The quote" [The hole] was so big, I could have took my daughter and my wife through there." Corey Dillon, Bengals running back, who stumbled over his blocker and was tackled inches from the goal line.