Western Maryland

With his record-setting quarterback on the sideline trying to remember his last meal, Western Maryland coach Tim Keating had what seemed like the perfect excuse for yesterday's 33-7 loss to Dickinson College.But, after watching the visiting Red Devils from Carlisle, Pa., rack up 452 yards rushing at Bair Stadium, Keating wasn't about to use Brian Van Deusen's concussion as an alibi for his team's sub-par performance on Homecoming Day."With Brian in the game the score may have been different but the outcome probably would have been the same," said Keating.

Western Maryland junior quarterback Brian Van Deusen had another 300-yard day. A young Green Terror defense stepped up when needed and the special teams made some special plays.It was one of those solid team efforts that gave Western Maryland College a 23-13 victory over visiting Muhlenberg yesterday at Bair Stadium in Westminster."The overall effort was great," said second-year coach Tim Keating. "We're still making some sophomoric mistakes, but this one was definitely a team win. A lot of different people stepped up, and they all deserve a pat on the back."

What ever happened to Western Maryland?Four weeks ago, the Green Terrors were 4-1, 3-0 in the Centennial Football Conference and heading into a showdown matchup with Dickinson. They lost.Today, Western Maryland is 4-5, 3-3 in the CFC, and preparing for a game against Johns Hopkins with nothing but pride on the line. Coach Dale Sprague has a simple explanation."There isn't any problem," Sprague said. "We're young. We played way over our heads early in the year. I went into the year thinking if we could go .500, we've done well.

Melvin Delmar Palmer has been named the Distinguished Teacher at Western Maryland College.He was honored at the Senior Investiture and Honors Convocation held May 2 at the liberal arts college in Westminster.This is the third time Dr. Palmer has won the award since joining the faculty in 1965.He was previously honored in 1970 and 1979.Dr. Palmer earned his bachelor of arts, master of arts and doctor of philosophy degrees from the University of Maryland.His scholarly interests are French and English prose fiction and American sports fiction.

CUMBERLAND -- More than 5,000 customers in Allegany and Garrett counties remained without power yesterday as a result of a severe storm that came through Western Maryland Tuesday night, a spokesman for Potomac Edison said.The storm, with winds measured up to 75 mph, knocked down power lines, trees and caused damage to numerous businesses and homes in the area.After the storm, about 10,000 customers were without power, said John Hollis, Potomac Edison spokesman. He said power was restored to about half of those customers yesterday, with most of the remainder to be back on line today.

College basketball is here.The Western Maryland men will play host to a tip-off tournament on Friday, while the women will travel to York (Pa.) College this weekend to compete in the Lady Spartan Invitational.Men's coach Nick Zoulias has nine lettermen returning led by 6-foot-3 junior forward Daeviid St. Rose, a second-team All-Centennial Conference selection who averaged 15.6 points and 5.7 rebounds last season. Sophomore guard Kris Shuck, senior forward Jeff Daniels and sophomore Wil Marshall averaged double figures in scoring last season.

Western Maryland College has welcomed eight full-time and three half-time undergraduate and graduate faculty for the 1998-1999 academic year, announced Joan Develin Coley, dean and provost of the college.New full-time staff members are:Robert Kachur, assistant professor, English. Kachur, who will teach British literature, earned master's and doctoral degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a bachelor's degree from the University of Virginia.He taught at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The preseason outlook was one of cautious optimism for Western Maryland football fortunes. After all, the team had been 3-32 in its previous five Centennial Conference seasons.Conference coaches picked the team for sixth in the eight-team league, but coach Dale Sprague had 16 returning starters. The only problem was they were starters from a 2-8 team, so who could tell how well they'd perform?Through seven games, the Green Terrors have performed very well, thank you. There was a 28-25 loss to Gettysburg in the home opener, and a 14-14 tie at Randolph-Macon, but the other games have been wins.

The answering machine on George Dix's telephone says it all: "Proud coach of the 1993 MAC champion Western Maryland College softball team."In five years, the Green Terrors went from winning just three games in 1989 -- Dix's first -- to going 15-6 with their first-ever Middle Atlantic Conference championships.This season brings new territory to conquer. The Green Terrors will be competing in the new Centennial Conference and Dix is looking for similar results with just about everyone returning from last year's squad.