Lansford Gets Another Life for Rams : His Kick in Overtime Beats 49ers, 16-13, After Blocked Attempts

As exhibitions go, Saturday night’s American Bowl ’89 at the Tokyo Dome wasn’t worth the price of admission, but then, game programs were selling for more than $14.

You couldn’t tell the players without a program, for 2,000 yen. Yet, a standing-room-only crowd of 43,896, some of whom paid $200 a seat for the privilege, seemed equally amused and impressed by the Rams’ 16-13 overtime victory over the San Francisco 49ers.

On his fourth chance, kicker Mike Lansford kicked a 29-yard field game as time expired in overtime.

The fans here, who haven’t seen a professional football game played on home soil in 13 years, reacted mightily to every moment and movement, from violent collisions on the field to the acrobatics of the Rams’ baton twirler.

“I think they’re a great crowd and were excited to see American football,” Ram quarterback Jim Everett said. “As players, we were excited to get the chance to play in front of them.”

Too excited, as it turned out. The game actually spilled into extra minutes, the last thing either team wanted with Typhoon No. 13 sweeping toward Tokyo and chartered flights awaiting them at the airport.

Lansford had a chance to win it for the Rams with 5:48 left in overtime, but his 27-yard field-goal attempt was blocked by Wesley Walls.

He had another shot with less than a minute remaining, but Walls again blocked his attempt, this one from 24 yards. However, Ram tackle Kevin Robbins was called for a false start before the block, and Lansford set up again from 29 yards.

A third attempt was also blocked, but both teams were called for false starts, and the down was replayed.

Finally, Lansford connected and sent the Rams to the airport. But the Rams and 49ers did their best to mess up complicated logistics that were months in the planning.

Late in the third quarter, with the 49ers on the Rams’ goal line with a 13-6 lead, rookie Frank Stams recovered a Terrence Flagler fumble at the seven and sent the momentum the other way.

The Rams drove 93 yards from there and scored on Robert Delpino’s one-yard run that tied the score with 8:18 remaining.

Starting quarterbacks Everett and Joe Montana were long gone by then, having finished up their tuneups in the second quarter. Both were sharper than might have been expected so early in the season.

Montana completed eight of 13 passes for 81 yards, while Everett finished with five of nine for 69 yards and an interception.

“It’s a start in the right direction,” Everett said. “I didn’t like the way my performance ended with a pass interception, but again, it’s only our first preseason game.”

And a time to shake the rust from a few Rams. In fact, some would be hard-pressed to name the Rams’ backup quarterback last year.

He attempted only five passes all season, completing four for 38 yards. His name is Mark Herrmann, and he was impressive in his longest stint since joining the Rams as a free agent last summer. To give you a hint of how well Everett was going in 1988, Herrmann didn’t appear in the team’s last eight games last season.

Saturday night, he stepped in and looked at home in the offense, exactly what offensive coordinator Ernie Zampese had in mind when he suggested that the Rams rescue Herrmann from football’s unemployment line. He had learned Zampese’s complicated offense in San Diego, and the Rams’ figured it was easier to bring in Herrmann than to break in a new quarterback.

Herrmann completed 16 of 29 passes for 186 yards.

The other star of the night was tailback Gaston Green, the team’s first-round draft choice a year ago, who shook off some heavy cobwebs. He shared the tailback spot with Delpino and finished with 28 carries for 116 yards, nearly surpassing in one game his totals for the entire 1988 season, when Green carried 35 times for 117 yards.

In the first half, Montana and Everett exchanged enough fire to get their teams into kickingrange.

The 49ers scored on a 33-yard field goal by Mike Cofer with 6:03 left in the quarter, capping a nine-play, 41-yard drive. The Rams came back and tied the score during their next possession on a 32-yarder by Lansford.

Montana then picked his way up the field, hitting Jerry Rice for 18 yards and John Taylor for 19 on successive completions. The 49ers stalled at the Ram 22, and Cofer’s 39-yard field goal gave San Francisco a 6-3 lead with 11:15 left in the first half.

Steve Young replaced Montana on the 49ers’ first possession of the second quarter. On first down from his own 36, Young took off on a 41-yard run.

After escaping the rush, he cut his way through the middle before breaking down the right sideline. The biggest collision on the run was Young crashing into a Japanese photographer as he was forced out of bounds at the Ram 19.

The 49ers scored two plays after Young’s run. Flagler broke left from the 15 and had the ball stripped from his arms by safety James Washington at the three, the ball bounding toward the end zone. Ram cornerback Clifford Hicks had the ball in his hands before it squirted free and into the arms of receiver Terry Greer, who recovered in the end zone, giving the 49ers a 13-3 lead.

Herrmann, who replaced Everett in the second quarter, then drove the Rams 68 yards in eight plays into field-goal range. Lansford’s 25-yarder with 2:11 left cut the deficit to seven before the half. On the drive, Herrmann completed three of four passes, including a 47-yard play to rookie Mike Williams, the team’s 10th-round pick.

The only other NFL game in Asia was in Tokyo in 1976, when St. Louis beat San Diego, 20-10.