Raiders Win as Allen Takes Over in Overtime : His 28-Yard Touchdown Run Thwarts Charger Surge, 37-31

Pushed back toward the wasteland of the news-hour slot, an old showman saved a last dance for prime time. Beaten up, held to 50 yards in 19 carries in regulation, intending to leave the game and rest his throbbing ankle back when it was a 31-10 Raider rout, and guess who pops up at the end.

You’ve got it, Marcus Allen.

He went 10 yards on his next-to-last carry, after which the Chargers’ Kevin Wyatt put a little extra on the gang tackle and appeared to be taunting him. Allen then went 28 yards for the game-winning touchdown, breaking several tackles and dragging a Charger defender across the goal line at 8:33 of the 15-minute sudden-death overtime as the Raiders won, 37-31, Thursday night.

“I guess I just wanted the goal line more than they wanted to stop me,” Allen said. “I haven’t been in there in quite some time.”

Several teammates, including fellow San Diego County native Dokie Williams and Todd Christensen, mobbed Allen in the end zone, lying on him for 30 seconds.

“I tell you, it was so exciting seeing that weave again,” said Christensen, whose own numbers read 11 catches for 173 yards. “We haven’t seen it or a few weeks. Gosh, if we get him back healthy, we’ll really be dynamic. Only thing I don’t like, I might not get as many catches.

“I think it’s important people realize how tough he is. Obviously, a superstar, a player of his caliber, a guy making a million dollars--things are tough, his ankle hurts, why not let the rookie (Napoleon McCallum) finish up? When we were up, 31-10, he was going to call it a day. His ankle’s bugging him. But we need him, and back he comes.”

The big play went down at 9:03 p.m., the game having been shown live after all in Los Angeles by Channel 7, which had asked viewers if they wanted it shown on tape delay. They didn’t, it wasn’t, and the National Football League’s television contract says it couldn’t have been, anyway.

The Raiders had a 14-0 lead by the time that Jerry would normally have been saying something cute to Tawny before they threw it over to Dr. George on the 5 o’clock. By three minutes into the third period, it was 31-10. Jim Plunkett had two touchdown passes. Lester Hayes had a touchdown on a return of a fumble caused by Jerry Robinson, and Robinson had a touchdown after Hayes blocked a punt.

The Chargers then proceeded to tie it behind No. 3 quarterback Mark Herrmann, who’d relieved the No. 2, Tom Flick, in the absence of the injured No. 1, Dan Fouts. With 1:01 left in regulation, Herrmann threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to Charlie Joiner running a hook on Mike Haynes. When Flick jerked a very high snap down and Rolf Benirschke kicked the extra point, it was 31-31.

Plunkett then came back and drove the Raiders into range for a 35-yard field goal try with six seconds left and third down. Chris Bahr, five for six this season in the 30s, who had earlier kicked a 52-yarder, the longest of his career, appeared to kick this one low. The Chargers’ Jeff Walker blocked it, and, after some confusion on a Raider recovery of the block, they were headed for overtime.

You remember what happens in overtimes down here. They had one last season, and the Chargers took the opening kick and marched it right into the end zone, part of their 593 yards, the record against any Raider team.

This time the Raiders won the coin toss, but McCallum only got back to the 13 and Steve Strachan was called for an illegal block. The Raiders were back on their seven. They wound up having to punt, as did the Chargers.

San Diego punter Ralf Mojsiejenko, back after being hurt on Hayes’ block, got off a wobbly 31-yarder, and the Raiders had the ball at their 44.

Two plays later, after a holding call on Allen, they had it at their 34, second and 20. Then Plunkett threw a lovely floater over the middle to Christensen, who beat safety Jeffrey Dale for about the 10th time of the evening. This one went for 28 yards.

Up jumped the Inimitable Todd to talk to a Charger on the sideline before returning to his own huddle. Who was it? Fouts.

“I told him, ‘Norval Turner would have played,’ ” said Christensen.

Turner was an old Oregon quarterback. Fouts played at Oregon when Christensen was growing up in Eugene.

The Raiders had a first down at the Charger 38. Allen slammed off the left side for 10 yards, his longest gain to that point. Wyatt, helping on the tackle, appeared to bend him over backward, and there was conversation.

“He said he was trying to help me up,” Allen said. “I thought he was trying to rough me up. It’s an emotional game. It happens.”

On first down, Plunkett took a shot deep to Jesse Hester, who’d already caught 3 passes for 82 yards. This one wasn’t there, and it was second down.

Allen went off the right side, turned the corner, broke a tackle, picked up a Charger hitchhiker and carried him across the goal line. Turn out the lights, the party’s over.

“Killer (Henry Lawrence) made a great, great block,” Christensen said. “He came down, hit a guy and carried Jeff Dale with him. Hawk (Frank Hawkins, another returnee who’d been injured earlier) came across on Billy Ray Smith.”

Those of you who want to see this game, call Channel 7 and see about that tape delay.

Raider Notes KABC-TV’s Ted Dawson said on the air Wednesday that Al Davis had said that it was OK with the Raiders to show the game, which started at 5 p.m., on a tape delay at 7:30. Raider executive assistant Al LoCasale said there was no conversation he knew about. “We weren’t involved,” LoCasale said. “This was between them (KABC) and the league.” . . . And Val Pinchbeck, NFL broadcast coordinator, asked if he’d talked to anyone from KABC, said: “They didn’t call anyone.” . . . The Raiders are now 8-4, with three of their final four games at home. Since opening the season with losses at Denver and Washington, they’ve won five straight away games. . . . Jim Plunkett threw for 348 yards and two touchdowns, giving him five in five halves since returning to No. 1 quarterback. The Raiders held the Charger rush, which had sacked John Elway four times and Steve Pelluer 12 in the preceding games, to three sacks. . . . Plunkett also threw his first interception in five halves. It was a perfect throw to Dokie Williams, who was open on a fly pattern behind Kenny Taylor but juggled the ball. Taylor then caught up to the play and caught the ball.