Rob Johnson

SWARTHMORE, Pa. -- Senior Rob Johnson (Westminster) ran for 161 yards and two touchdowns, as Western Maryland (2-5-1, 1-5) ended a six-game winless streak with a 36-27 Centennial Conference win over Swarthmore (3-6, 2-5) yesterday.Johnson opened the scoring on the game's second play from scrimmage with a 37-yard run.Swarthmore 7 7 13 0 -- 27Western Maryland 14 13 7 2 -- 36

Saturday Ravens at Tampa Bay RAVENS: Doubtful: CB James Trapp (groin). Questionable: G Bennie Anderson (shoulder); RB Jason Brookins (foot); DE Rob Burnett (low leg); OLB Brad Jackson (low leg); DT Tony Siragusa (low leg, knee). Probable: DT Sam Adams (knee); OLB Peter Boulware (ankle); WR Qadry Ismail (low leg, back); C Joe Maese (leg); TE Shannon Sharpe (leg). BUCCANEERS: Doubtful: S Eric Vance (knee). Questionable: K Martin Gramatica (hamstring); C-G Todd Washington (knee). Probable: CB Ronde Barber (hamstring)

Bill Sedgwick rushed for a school-record 306 yards and scored three touchdowns yesterday to lead Ursinus to a 42-33 Centennial Conference win over host Western Maryland.Sedgwick put Ursinus ahead for good with his first touchdown, a 53-yard run with 4:03 left in the first quarter that gave the Bears a 14-7 advantage.The senior running back then added scoring runs of 28 yards in the second quarter and 57 yards in the fourth period. He carried the ball 29 times and broke his own Ursinus single-game rushing record of 227 yards, set last season against Johns Hopkins.

Oakland (1-0) at Indianapolis (1-0) Time: 1 p.m. Line: Colts by 6 1/2 . Vs. spread: Raiders 0-1; Colts 1-0. Series: Raiders lead 5-2. Last meeting: Raiders won, 30-17, on Oct. 22, 1995, at Oakland. Outlook: This won't be 2-0 at the end of three quarters, as it was last week in the Raiders-Chargers game. But a win by Oakland by any score would be a major step toward getting off the .500 cycle the Raiders have been on for a decade. Jeff Burris' interception return that broke open Indianapolis' win in Kansas City was just what the Colts need - a big defensive play to take pressure off QB Peyton Manning and friends.

WAYNESBURG, Pa. -- Senior quarterback Mike Jones passed for 131 yards and rushed for 64, and the Frostburg State (5-3-1) defense recorded its second shutout in three weeks and its third of the season in a 14-0 defeat of Waynesburg yesterday.The Bobcats enjoyed a 364-192 edge in total yardage over the Yellow Jackets (2-7). Frostburg State got a 5-yard touchdown run in the first quarter from freshman fullback Andre Lofton, who gained 75 yards. In the second quarter, Jones and Ariel Bell connected on a 12-yard scoring pass.

After a one-year absence from football, former Green Terrors coach Dale Sprague was named head coach at Blackburn College this week.Blackburn, a Division III school in Carlinville, Ill., that competes in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, has had a football program for five years and finished 4-4-1 under Don Flowers in 1993.Sprague coached for seven years at Western Maryland before resigning after the 1992 season.He was 20-48-2 and helped rejuvenate a program that had lost 25 straight games at one point.

Coach: Doug RennerAssistant coaches: Mike Whitmore, Becky Martin, Sam Case.Last year's record: MEN -- 2-5 in dual meets, 15th of 16 in the Middle Atlantic Conference meet. WOMEN -- 1-4 in dual meets, did not score in the Middle Atlantic Conference meetTop returnees: MEN -- Seniors, Ben Cling (throws), Chris Campbell (throws), Matt Brown (sprints); juniors, Joe Embrey (middle distance), Guido Stubenrauch (middle distance); sophomore, Rob Johnson (sprints). WOMEN -- Seniors, Tracey Snyder (middle distance)

For all of the talk about emotional rivalries, winning it for the seniors and trick plays, Johns Hopkins' 21-9 victory over Western Maryland came down to two basics yesterday: The Blue Jays were able to run the ball and the Green Terrors weren't.Western Maryland's Rob Johnson came in as the No. 4 rusher in Division III, and while he got 101 yards on 29 carries, it was his second-lowest yardage of the season. Hopkins slowed him early, went ahead in the second quarter andmade two freshman quarterbacks throw.

While Ravens officials were preparing to open serious talks with the Jacksonville Jaguars on the signing of backup Rob Johnson as the team's franchise quarterback, former Buffalo Bills quarterback Jim Kelly indicated yesterday that he has decided to come out of retirement and play for the Ravens.The stage is set for one of the team's biggest decisions since it moved to Baltimore two years ago and probably will create more in-fighting in the Ravens' front office over the team's future leader.

Unbeaten Frostburg State, the only collegiate football team in Maryland with a legitimate chance for a postseason appearance, will end its most successful regular season at Waynesburg State Saturday.The Bobcats (9-0) are No. 3 in the South Region of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division III rankings. They need a victory over Waynesburg (5-4) to ensure their first postseason appearance."We have to treat the Waynesburg game as a playoff game," said coach Dennis Riccio, who came to Frostburg four years ago and has raised the program at Maryland's westernmost four-year college from the doldrums.

BUFFALO BILLS Last season: 11-5, second, lost to Tennessee in wild-card round, 22-16. Coach: Wade Phillips (37-27), third season with Bills, fifth in NFL. Strength of schedule: first. Starting quarterback: Rob Johnson (4-3). Best move: Making the team younger, faster and more cap-friendly by saying goodbye to aging veterans like DE Bruce Smith, WR Andre Reed and RB Thurman Thomas, then addressing the defensive needs by drafting players like DE Erik Flowers, S Travares Tillman and LB Corey Moore.

EastBuffalo BillsLast season: 10-6, tie for second. Lost wild-card game at Miami, 24-17.Coach: Wade Phillips (27-25), second season with Bills, fifth in NFL.Strength of schedule: Tie for 25th.Starting quarterback: Doug Flutie (16-8) or Rob Johnson (4-3).Best move: Rebuilding the team through the draft and selective free-agent signings. The Bills drafted starters LG Ruben Brown, WR Eric Moulds, RB Antowain Smith and ILB Sam Cowart (second round) with their top picks the previous four years and took promising CB Antoine Winfield in the first round this year.

CINCINNATI -- The lame-duck Ravens did some quacking yesterday.Because coach Ted Marchibroda and his staff figure to be victims of a third straight losing season, the players who want to return need to leave a calling card when the next coach evaluates them.The Ravens left some positive impressions with a 20-13 victory over the Bengals that boosted their record to 4-7 and cost the next coach field position in the draft. They're now ahead of the seven teams that have three or fewer victories.

While Ravens officials were preparing to open serious talks with the Jacksonville Jaguars on the signing of backup Rob Johnson as the team's franchise quarterback, former Buffalo Bills quarterback Jim Kelly indicated yesterday that he has decided to come out of retirement and play for the Ravens.The stage is set for one of the team's biggest decisions since it moved to Baltimore two years ago and probably will create more in-fighting in the Ravens' front office over the team's future leader.

Although he is only a second-year player, Ravens cornerback Donny Brady understands the trappings of his position.Cornerbacks thrive largely by eliminating the long-range pass play. They survive by learning from their mistakes, forgetting about them and gaining confidence as they improve on them.Brady and the rest of the Ravens' secondary still have some learning, forgetting and improving to do.A glance back at last week's season-opening, 28-27 loss to Jacksonville illustrates their struggle.

CarolinaThe expansion Panthers, drafting for the first time, have a lot of holes to fill, so the logical thing to do is take the best player on the board -- running back Ki-Jana Carter -- even though he'll have problems finding running room behind their patchwork line. They'll entertain offers for the pick, but likely will keep it. With their other first-round pick, they figure to go for an offensive lineman to block for Carter.JacksonvilleExpansion teams have to build an offensive line, so the Jaguars can start with USC's Tony Boselli, who's rated the second-best player in the draft.

Despite Western Maryland's 38-17 loss at Gettysburg on Saturday, there was reason to be optimistic about the potential of Tim Keating's pro-style offense led by sophomore quarterback Brian Van Deusen.The Atholton graduate threw the ball 52 times, completing 29 (both school and Centennial Conference records) for 337 yards.Five turnovers (three interceptions and two fumbles) doomed th Green Terrors, but mistakes will come early on as the offense adjusts to the new system.After Western Maryland's 16-14 win against Juniata in thseason opener, Keating said the team would need to get the ball more to senior wide receiver Paul McCord.

Smaller leagues may get bigger chancesNCAA plan: Expand the tournamentsConference championships are often the end of the line for teams from minor Division I leagues, but that could change next season.Mainly in response to calls for gender equity, but also with an eye toward tournament fields that reflect participation rates and a fairer distribution of its revenue, the executive committee of the NCAA has recommended the expansion of several of its Division I tournaments.The executive committee has proposed the following expansions of tournament fields, effective for 1993-94: women's basketball from 48 to 64 teams, women's volleyball from 32 to 48, men's soccer from 28 to 32, softball from 20 to 32 and women's soccer from 12 to 16.In addition, volleyball, softball and men's soccer champions from weaker conferences would benefit from the play-in concept, which was used to accommodate an excess of eligible leagues in men's basketball in 1991.