SHRINE GAME : Nies Does It All in West’s 22-21 Victory

Arizona kicker John Nies found his field-goal touch in the nick of time on Sunday and provided a dramatic ending to the college football season.

Nies booted a 37-yard field goal, his third of the game, with 10 seconds remaining to give the West a 22-21 victory in the East-West Shrine game. The kick, culminating a West rally in front of a record Shrine crowd of 78,000 at Stanford Stadium, produced somewhat of a surprise hero since Nies was chosen for the all-star game based on his punting and kickoffs.

“I’ve been practicing for three weeks and my coach told me I’d only made about two field goals during that time,” he said.

“I had some friends on the other side of the line, and they told me that I was going to choke. But I’m usually the holder, so I’m used to the pressure of getting the ball down.”

Nies, who also connected from 43 and 30 yards, handled both punting and kicking in the game because each team traditionally selects only one player for both duties.

John Friesz of Idaho completed five of six passes for 46 yards in the winning drive as the West overcame five turnovers.

Fresno State cornerback James Williams aided the West cause by blocking field-goal tries in the second and third quarters and was named the game’s outstanding defensive player.

The last-minute heroics upstaged a fine performance by Notre Dame quarterback Tony Rice, who was honored as the top offensive player. Rice, trying to impress NFL scouts who envision him as a wide receiver, completed seven of 12 passes for 153 yards and a touchdown for the East.

“I got a chance to throw, and I think the coaches believed in me and gave me confidence,” Rice said. “I want to play quarterback, and I don’t know what I have to do more to prove to the scouts I can.”

The East’s other top-billed player, Indiana’s record-setting running back Anthony Thompson, rushed for 68 yards in 13 carries, including 60 in the second half.

The East appeared headed for its second consecutive victory in the series when it took a 21-13 lead with 1:11 left in the third quarter on a one-yard touchdown run by Harold Green of South Carolina. The score followed an interception by John Mangum of Alabama.

But California quarterback Troy Taylor drove the West 68 yards and dove in from a yard with 5:13 remaining to make it 21-19. His two-point conversion pass fell incomplete.

The West, aided by Washington nose guard Dennis Brown’s second sack, forced the East to punt and took over on its 27 with 3:39 left.

The win boosted the West’s lead in the series to 33-27-5.

“I thought it was a great game,” said East coach Jack Bicknell of Boston College. “Anthony Thompson and Harold Green are two quality backs, and Tony Rice can play anywhere. We tried to teach him not to rely on his feet so much.”

Thompson, the Heisman Trophy runner-up, gave the East a 7-0 lead on a one-yard touchdown run following a 27-yard interception return by Notre Dame’s Patrick Terrell.

Taylor, alternating with Friesz, tied the score, 7-7, with 3:21 left in the second quarter when he ducked under onrushing lineman Rob Burnett of Syracuse and found UCLA tight end Charles Arbuckle alone in the back of the end zone for a three-yard touchdown.

Rice, roaming out of the pocket often, directed an 80-yard scoring march at the end of the second quarter to give the East a 14-7 lead on a 25-yard touchdown pass to Louisiana State wide receiver Tony Moss with 34 seconds left. He completed all four passes on the drive for 77 yards and had a 26-yard play called back on a penalty.

Taylor was 15 of 23 for 164 yards and Friesz was 15 of 25 for 132 yards.