Beuerlein Makes Mark as Raiders Lose to 49ers : Football: He throws a touchdown pass, leads another scoring drive in 24-17 defeat after spending last season in limbo.

The Coliseum provided more comeback stories Saturday than Richard Nixon.

Ronnie Lott and Roger Craig tried to prove to former teammates that they are not washouts. Todd Marinovich, starting his NFL career, returned to USC’s home stadium during the summer that would have preceded his junior season as a Trojan.

There was 49er quarterback Steve Young, who played some of the greatest games never seen at the Coliseum while a member of the Los Angeles Express. There was Raider nose tackle Bob Golic, who ended his holdout at 1 a.m. Saturday, then burst into the locker room hours later and yelled, “Honey, I’m home.”

But in the aftermath of San Francisco’s 24-17 victory over the Raiders before 45,365, the center of attention was quarterback Steve Beuerlein, who came off the bench to lead the Raiders to two touchdowns.

He wasn’t even allowed to suit up last season after a contract dispute with team owner Al Davis. Beuerlein had not thrown a pass that counted since December of 1989 until he dropped back from his 21 on the first play of the fourth quarter and found Mike Alexander on a 14-yard completion.

“I felt the hairs standing up on the back of my neck on that first pass,” Beuerlein said.

He said he dreamed every night this week of leading the Raiders on a scoring drive with the roar of the crowd behind him.

Beuerlein then had consecutive completions of 13 and 26 yards, leading the Raiders on a 79-yard scoring drive in nine plays that ended with a one-yard run by Doug Lloyd.

That cut the 49er lead to 24-10. Beuerlein added a 10-yard scoring pass to Jamie Holland with 15 seconds left. Beuerlein finished having completed seven of 12 for 95 yards, more than the five other quarterbacks who played in the game.

Beuerlein, who played at Servite High in Anaheim, received a warm reception from the crowd when he entered the game with the Raiders trailing, 24-3.

“You know, local boy, all that stuff,” Beuerlein said of the crowd’s response. “All that stuff works. I think people may be sympathetic about what happened last year.”

Beuerlein was careful not to get too excited. He’s still the No. 3 quarterback behind Jay Schroeder and Vince Evans and did most of his damage against 49er backups.

“I’m not slighting the fact it was a positive performance,” he said. “But even some of the catches, I made it hard on the receivers. But it was fun.”

After both Raider touchdowns, Schroeder was the first to greet Beuerlein.

“The guy has been through a lot the last year and a half,” Schroeder said. “For him to be able to go in and play well is a compliment to him. I am really happy for him.”

Raider Coach Art Shell was asked if Beuerlein’s performance might produce a quarterback controversy.

“Only in your mind,” Shell said.

Other than Beuerlein’s success, the Raiders had little to show for their day’s work . The Ronnie Lott/Roger Craig debut suffered somewhat, although both had their moments.

Lott officially was christened a Raider at 1:10 p.m. when he made a bone-jarring tackle of tailback Dexter Carter. Lott played only the first quarter.

Craig, who didn’t enter the game until the third quarter, committed a fumble that led to the winning touchdown. He finished with 34 yards in six carries.

It brought back memories on the opposing sidelines.

“It was weird,” San Francisco quarterback Young said of watching Craig and Lott making plays for the Raiders.

“It just looked weird. It looked wrong, like ‘What’s wrong with this picture?’ It was like I wanted Roger to come over and run for us. Sports is a weird deal.”

Schroeder played the first half, completing four of 10 passes for 42 yards. He also was sacked three times.

“We’ve got four more games to go. There’s no reason to panic,” Schroeder said. “We’ll be ready when the season starts.”

Evans played the third quarter and did not complete his only pass attempt. He also fumbled during on a 13-yard sack, leading to a San Francisco touchdown in the third quarter.

“We did some (good) things,” Shell said. “It wasn’t totally disastrous.”

The Raiders played the 49er starters about even. The problem came when Young replaced Joe Montana in the second quarter. Young, the $2-million reserve, doesn’t pass up rare opportunities to shine. When he gave way to third-stringer Steve Bono in the third quarter, the 49ers had a 17-3 lead. Young completed eight of 10 passes for 86 yards and had one carry for another 12.

Raider Notes

Nose tackle Bob Golic signed a two-year deal early Saturday and dressed for the game. He did not play. “I’ll be the first player ever to be paid by the hour,” Golic quipped. San Francisco quarterback Joe Montana played the first quarter and completed five of six passes for 24 yards. . . . Todd Marinovich, the Raiders’ No. 1 draft choice, did not play.

In his Raider debut, second-round draft choice Nick Bell gained 14 yards in four carries. Greg Bell was supposed to play most of the second quarter, but his time was cut short because the 49ers used up more than 11 minutes. Greg Bell did not get a carry. . . . Napoleon McCallum returned punts for the Raiders and had one return of 29 yards.