Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!enterpoop.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!americast-post Newsgroups: americast.twt.sports From: americast-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: americast-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: Vaughn takes lead, Patriots win Date: Mon, 23 Nov 92 15:07:21 EST Message-ID: Lines: 62 \SE C;SPORTS;PRO FOOTBALL \SS (WS) \HD Vaughn takes lead, Patriots win \BY ASSOCIATED PRESS \DT FOXBORO, Mass. FOXBORO, Mass. (AP) - The youthful spirit and skill of NFL sophomores Jon Vaughn and Scott Zolak have changed the New England Patriots from hapless to happy. Vaughn rushed for a career-high 110 yards and a touchdown one week after Zolak starred in his first NFL start, and the Patriots whipped the New York Jets 24-3 yesterday for their second win after nine straight losses. "I think we're like the ugly baby," Patriots acting coach Dante Scarnecchia said. "You gotta hold it. It ain't much to look at. Maybe in the first nine games we were ugly to look at. "I think we're getting better looking," he added. "We may be a pretty damn handsome person when it's all over." The Jets (3-8) might find it tough to look in the mirror after gaining just 166 yards in the game and allowing the Patriots 24 points in the first half on a rain-soaked field. "I'm embarrassed for myself, for the team and for the coaches," Jets quarterback Browning Nagle said. "The conditions didn't help. . . . Holding a football in this was like holding a bar of Dial [soap] in your hand." Running backs Vaughn and John Stephens didn't have any trouble. Vaughn did most of the work with Leonard Russell sidelined, and Stephens ran for 51 yards and two touchdowns. The previous week, the Patriots took the wraps off Zolak, and he starred in the a 37-34 overtime win over Indianapolis. Zolak, a fourth-round draft pick last year playing because of injuries to the Patriots' first two quarterbacks, coolly directed the Patriots yesterday. "It was a good time out there again," he said. But it was Vaughn, a fifth-round pick last year, who carried the offensive load. He and Zolak gestured excitedly after big plays. Tight end Marv Cook injected a note of reality into the euphoria. "The difference is we played the Indianapolis Colts and the New York Jets," he said. "Let's not kid ourselves. Not to take anything away from Scott, but I knew we had a chance to win these next four games." The Patriots next two games are against Atlanta and Indianapolis. The Jets must play Kansas City and Buffalo. This article is copyright 1992 The Washington Times. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM