Schroeder Brings Redskins Back, 14-9

Jay Schroeder of UCLA and the Redskins, tall, broad-shouldered, so blonde he looks like he might have just surfed in for the afternoon, had one of those All-American homecomings Sunday, with the Raiders getting to play the role of the extras chasing him.

Even if this was just the exhibition season, Raider Coach Tom Flores decided this was a move in the wrong direction.

The Raiders had two long touchdown passes called back and lost, 14-9, when Schroeder marched the Redskins 70 yards in a drive that ate up 4:30 of the middle of the fourth quarter before 48,004 in the Coliseum.

That makes the Raiders 0-2 in exhibitions. Their last two practice seasons may have gone 1-3, 1-3 and they may have had one winning exhibition season in the last seven, but Flores didn’t care for several of the things he had seen.

Such as:

--A holding penalty that nullified Jim Plunkett’s 56-yard touchdown pass play to Jessie Hester early in the second period.

--An illegal formation call that wiped out Marc Wilson’s 49-yard scoring strike to Dokie Williams early in the fourth quarter.

--An interception of a Raider option pass late in the first half, which was run back 24 yards, resulting in a 46-yard drive for the first Redskin touchdown.

“It’s always frustrating and disappointing to lose,” Flores said. “Even if it is pre-season. We’re not geared to losing at all. Everything is geared to winning, even with the second and third unit.

“It’s still early,” he added, smiling. “But, it’s gradually getting late.”

The Raiders were never behind Sunday until the decisive Redskin drive. The Raiders scored on their first possession after Cle Montgomery’s 27-yard punt return set them up at the Washington 34, Plunkett tearing loose from two Redskins on a third-down scramble for a first down at the 12, Allen slicing through the middle for the last yard.

It became 9-0 early in the second period when the top Redskin draft pick, Tory Nixon of San Diego State, was called for holding Quency Williams in the end zone while Jeff Hayes was punting out of it. Nixon grabbed Williams with both arms and waltzed him to the turf, resulting in an automatic safety.

But . . .

--On the very next play from scrimmage, Plunkett’s deep shot to Hester, which would have made it 16-0, was called back when tackle Shelby Jordan was flagged for holding.

--Allen threw a high wobbler over the middle on an option pass from the Washington 48 that Barry Wilburn, a rookie safety from Mississippi, picked off and returned 24 yards with 1:11 left in the half.

--Joe Theismann, held to 65 yards passing to that point, then drove the Redskins for their first score, helped by one more error, a 25-yard pass interference call against Raider rookie cornerback Stefon Adams. With a first-and-goal at the eight, Theismann looked right, saw nothing, looked left, spotted Don Warren on the goal line and zipped a quick one into him for the score. Mark Moseley kicked the extra point and suddenly the Raider lead was a mere 9-7 at the half.

--It would have been 16-7 early in the fourth quarter, when Wilson hit Williams on the other re-called deep TD strike. Tight end Joe McCall had lined up on the wrong side of the formation, so another yellow hankie fluttered to the ground while the fans cheered and Williams collected congratulations from his teammates.

So it was still the same old Raider lead, 9-7, when Schroeder went back to quarterback his fourth possession with 10:50 left in the game.

For Schroeder, this was his first Coliseum appearance since 1980, when he came off the Bruin bench and combined with Freeman McNeil on the 58-yard touchdown pass play that beat USC, 20-17. Back then Schroeder was also regarded as the second coming of Johnny Bench, and the Toronto Blue Jays made him the third pick in the ’79 draft out of Palisades High.

His bat disappeared in the Jays’ minor league system, and now he’s dueling Babe Laufenberg of Crespi High and Indiana University for the No. 2 Redskin quarterback spot. Sunday, the battle started slowly.

On Schroeder’s second play, he hit tight end Anthony Jones, who was promptly run over by Raider safety Stacey Toran, prompting Jones to leave the ball behind. Adams picked up the fumble and returned it 27 yards to the Redskin 26.

Schroeder’s second possession resulted in a 62-yard drive, from his 20 to the Raider 18. That came to nothing when Moseley missed a 35-yard field goal.

Nothing happened on Schroeder’s third try, but his fourth went 70 yards to glory. Schroeder completed four of his five passes en route, including an 11-yarder to rookie wide receiver Joe Phillips on third-and-11 at the Raider 23.

Three plays later, Michael Morton swept left end untouched for the last three yards. Moseley kicked the extra point and that was the day’s scoring.

“I never knew (that he’d play ahead of Laufenberg, who didn’t get in),” Schroeder said. “He (Redskin Coach Joe Gibbs) never told us. We came in at halftime and he said, ‘Jay, we’re not going to change the game plan.’ That was the first I knew.

“That (Jones’ fumble after the reception) was a hard way to start. But we just had to re-group the offense. We put together quite a drive then.

“It was fun coming back here and doing well. It was what I needed. . . . The last time I was here, we played SC. We had a pretty good outing. I under threw that pass and (USC defensive back) Jeff Fisher tipped it up and Freeman McNeil made a one-handed catch and ran the rest of the way into the end zone.”

Schroeder had 20 relatives in the stands so someone enjoyed the afternoon. Win some, lose some and before you know it the regular season will be here.

Raider Notes The heralded Redskin kicking battle continues, such as it is. Mark Moseley, who was 22 of 24 inside the 40-yard line last season, missed from 35 yards. Tony Zendejas, the highly regarded ex-Expressman once considered automatic inside the 45, missed from 39 and had a 47-yarder blocked. So far, Moseley is 1 for 3 and Zendejas is 0 for 3. At this rate, the next man to kick one gets the job. . . . Joe Gibbs on Jay Schroeder: “He’s a real talented guy. What he gives you is a great athlete like Joe (Theismann.) . . . But what I liked about him, for a guy who hasn’t played very much, he is very poised. He shows no excitement. He seems to know what you’re talking about.” . . . Stacey Toran, the second-year safety from Notre Dame, led Raider tacklers with six, plus two assists and the forced fumble. Rookie inside linebacker Jamie Kimmel had five tackles. . . . Jim Plunkett went the first half, completing 8 of 12 passes for 97 yards. Marc Wilson completed 7 of 14 in the second half. . . . The Raiders’ No. 1 draft pick, Jessie Hester, besides his touchdown catch that was nullified, had two catches that did count for 43 yards.

GAME AT A GLANCE Washington 0 7 0 7--14

Los Angeles 7 2 0 0-- 9

FIRST QUARTER Raiders 7, Redskins 0 Allen, 1-yard run at 7:35. 34-yard drive, 8 plays after Montgomery returned Hayes’ punt 27 yards. Key gain--Allen, 11, pass from Plunkett. Key plays--Plunkett passed 7 yards to Parker on 3rd and 5 at Wash. 29; Plunkett scrambled for 8 yards on 3rd and 8 at Wash. 20. PAT--Bahr (kick).

SECOND QUARTER Raiders 9, Redskins 0 Safety, Nixon holding Q. Williams in end zone on Hayes’ punt attempt at 4:39.

Raiders 9, Redskins 7 Warren, 8-yard pass from Theismann at 14:38. 54-yard drive, 3 plays after Wilburn intercepted Allen’s pass and returned it 24 yards. Key gains--Griffin, 11, pass from Theismann; pass interference (S. Adams on Clark) gave Redskins first down (25-yard penalty).

FOURTH QUARTER Redskins 14, Raiders 9 Morton, 3-yard run at 10:05. 70-yard drive, 11 plays. Key gains--J. Moore, 20; Phillips, 14, 18, passes from Schroeder. Key play--Schroeder passed 11 yards to Phillips on 3rd and 11 at LA 23. PAT--Moseley (kick).

Field goals missed--Zendejas (W) 1 (39); Moseley (W) 1 (36); Bahr (LA) 1 (47)

Attendance--48,004 (8,935 no-shows)

TEAM STATISTICS

Was LA First downs 19 14 Rushes-yards 38-108 28-64 Net. yd. passing 152 135 Sacks-yd lost 1-7 3-30 Passes 18-26-0 15-27-1 Int.-yd. ret. 1-24 0-0 Plays-net yd. 65-311 58-199 Punts-average 4-42.0 6-47.2 Punts ret.-yd. 2-24 3-34 Kickoffs ret.-yd. 2-22 4-71 Fumbles-lost 3-1 4-1 Penalties-yards 1-7 10-80 Time of possession 31:38 28:22 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS Rushing Washington TCB NYG Avg. TD Rogers 10 44 4.40 0 Griffin 11 42 3.82 0 Morton 9 23 2.56 1 Hall 1 1 1.00 0 Wonsley 1 1 1.00 0 Schroeder 3 0 0.00 0 Theismann 2 -1 -0.50 0 Moore 1 -2 -2.00 0 Totals 38 108 2.84 1 Los Angeles TCB NYG Avg. TD Reeder 4 24 6.00 0 Strachan 5 18 3.60 0 Allen 11 11 1.00 1 Plunkett 1 8 8.00 0 Hawkins 2 7 3.50 0 Montgomery 3 3 1.00 0 Johnson 1 -1 -1.00 0 Jensen 1 -6 -6.00 0 Totals 28 64 2.29 1 Passing Washington PA PC PI Yd TD Theismann 14 9 0 89 0 Schroeder 12 9 0 70 0 Totals 26 18 0 159 0 Los Angeles PA PC PI Yd TD Plunkett 12 8 0 97 0 Wilson 14 7 0 68 0 Allen 1 0 1 0 0 Totals 27 15 1 165 0 Receiving Washington No. Yd. TD Phillips 4 41 0 Rogers 3 9 0 Warren 2 16 1 Didier 2 10 0 Monk 1 43 0 DMoore 1 20 0 Griffin 1 11 0 Walker 1 6 0 Harris 1 4 0 Jones 1 1 0 Morton 1 -2 0 Totals 18 159 1 Los Angeles No. Yd. TD Moffett 3 33 0 Hester 2 43 0 Parker 2 21 0 Allen 2 21 0 McCall 2 19 0 Williams 1 9 0 Jensen 1 8 0 Barnwell 1 4 0 Montgomery 1 7 0 Totals 15 165 0