August 15, 1974
By Michael Strauss
In the shadows of the Triborough Bridge, the New York Stars swept to their fourth straight World Football League victory last night.
Their latest victim was the Portland Storm, which finally scored twice in the last two minutes but still finished on the short end of a 38-16 score.
A crowd of 16,222 (1,380 of the fans were freebies) took in the proceedings at Downing Stadium and saw a game that was one-sided from the start. The home team, beaten twice this season, gained the lead on a break in the opening minutes.
Thereafter, they spent the night dominating the play. Tom Sherman, the Stars' quarterback - and George Sauer, the wide receiver, provided the big moments. The 6-foot, 200-pound signal caller threw two touchdown passes to Sauer and tallied one.
The break that set the game's theme came in the first five minutes. A fumbled punt by Darrell Mitchell on Portland's 5-yard line set up the Stars' first touchdown. A roll-out to the right by Sherman for 4 yards two plays later resulted in the score.
The Stars staged a 74-yard march in eight plays to tally again late in the first period. A 20-yard pass to Sauer in the left corner of the end zone ended the drive with only 15 seconds remaining in the session.
The Stars scored once in each of the three other quarters. It was the third touchdown that showed the potential of the Stars running attack.
Bob Gladieux and Andy Huff ran for 43 of the 69 yards on the drive. Huff registered from 4 yards out.
The Storm finally got its offense untracked after most of the crowd had left. Able to penetrate only once to the Stars' 10-yard line, early in the game, the visitors finally struck quickly twice with telling effect.
With 1 minute and 43 seconds remaining, the Storm wide receiver, Jim Krieg caught a 15-yard pass from Greg Barton. A blocked punt moments later paved the way for Portland's other touchdown. This time, Barton, who had replaced an ineffective Ken Johnson as quarterback, found Ken Matthews with a 12-yard aerial.
The crowd made up mostly late arrivals, was the second largest since the Stars started playing at the difficult-to-reach Downing Stadium.
The lighting system, criticized for its antiquity and its ineffectiveness, was bolstered by a new battery of 36 lights mounted on a tower at midfield. It helped only slightly.