Church crucifies Ray-less secondary

By Mark Snyder

Daily Sports Editor

On Saturday, as Michigan throttled Eastern Michigan 59-20, the Wolverines realized how important suspended safety Marcus Ray is to the secondary.

His absence - Ray was declared ineligible by Michigan coach Lloyd Carr after allegations of 'improper contact with a sports agent' - left a huge hole that Eastern quarterback Walt Church seized with a vengeance.

As if he were going after the last few pieces of a turkey on Thanksgiving, Church mercilessly picked away at the helpless Michigan defense.

"There were some things they gave to us," Eastern coach Rick Rasnick said. Church "laid the ball out there real nice."

MARGARET MYERS/Daily Eastern Michigan wide receiver Jermaine Sheffield used his 6-foot-5 frame to his advantage over Michigan's smaller defensive backs. Sheffield's height advantage allowed him to catch five passes - many of which were simply lofted in his direction by quarterback Walt Church - for 111 yards.

Rasnick had reason to be pleased with Church's performance. The quarterback threw for 343 yards and two touchdowns as he completed 32 passes.

"We had some nice deep balls that were certainly good for us also," Rasnick said.

The recipient of most of those bombs - the longest of which went for a 71-yard touchdown - was wide receiver Jermaine Sheffield. At 6-foot-5, Sheffield, who has three inches on Michigan's tallest defensive back - Tommy Hendricks - snagged just five passes but made them count.

Embarrassing Michigan's defense came easily for Sheffield. On a sideline route in the second quarter, he ran his pattern and glanced over his shoulder at the ball. Traditional defensive positioning would have had Andre Weathers defending the pass, but instead, he defended Sheffield and never saw the pass arrive.

"Sheffield is an outstanding receiver," Carr said. "He could play anywhere."

His game-high 111 yards receiving led to increased attention by Michigan as the game progressed.

But mental errors like Weathers' doomed the Wolverines.

"We gave up too many big plays," Carr said. "And we didn't tackle well."

Another of those big plays came when Church passed to Brandon Campbell for a 71-yard touchdown in the first quarter. After Campbell had clearly outraced the Wolverines, their only option was to reach him however they could, finally forcing him down at the one-yard line.

Excuses for the secondary's ineffectiveness are numerous, and following the game, multiple theories emerged.

Carr blamed the problems generally on "a very young football team at a lot of positions," and specifically on Weathers' breathing problems.

DeWayne Patmon, starting in Ray's position at strong safety, attributed the problems to jitters.

"I think we were worried about making mistakes," he said.

Though linebacker Dhani Jones dismissed the suggestion when asked, Charles Woodson's absence on the defense may be a determining factor.

Three weeks of games may not be enough for the players to adjust to covering the entire field - as opposed to the half Woodson left them last year.

But, as with any unit, cohesiveness may override all other conspiracies. Cornerback William Peterson played for the first time this season and Ray did not. So the four-man unit (two safeties and two corners) has varied weekly.

"Each team has a different time factor," Jones said.

With Michigan State's bombing Bill Burke just five days away, Michigan's time factor is running short.

09-21-98