By LANCE FLEMING
ACU Sports Information Director
MIAMI ? Cle Montgomery still remembers everything about the Los Angeles Raiders' Super Bowl XVIII win over the Washington Redskins in January 1984.
He remembers the introductions before the game, key plays during the game and the feeling he had after the Raiders won the game, 38-9, over the defending world champions.
What he remembers most, though, is the circus atmosphere of the two weeks leading up to the game, as well as on game day itself.
"There were so many people around us, and everybody was trying to make a deal to get tickets," said the former ACU wide receiver, who was an NAIA Division I all-America in 1977. "It was difficult to get focused on the game because we had two weeks between the (AFC Championship) game and the Super Bowl, and the media just descended upon us. It was a circus, especially when we got to Tampa, Fla., for the game. Eventually we had to have security to escort us to the facility for meetings and practices."
And after spending the last half of Super Bowl week in a fairly normal game-preparation mode, Montgomery said the nerves of playing in the biggest game on the biggest stage hit everyone just before kickoff.
"When you come out of the tunnel for the introductions and you see all of the people and everything that goes with the Super Bowl, you have goosebumps like never before," said Montgomery, who was the Raiders' primary kick return specialist in 1983. "Just knowing that millions of people were watching you made them worse than ever before.
"The thing I remember most about that moment, though, is that it was like I was running on air," Montgomery said. "I thought it was just me, but everyone else had the same comment. It didn't feel like we had pads or a helmet on. It was a very strange feeling; one I had never before experienced in a football game."
Shortly after that, however, Montgomery and the Raiders settled into a beatdown of the Redskins, who entered the game with a power running game led by John Riggins and one of the league's best passing attacks with Joe Theismann at the helm. The Redskins had also beaten Los Angeles earlier in the season in Washington, although the Raiders played the game without running back Marcus Allen. One of the key plays in that game ? a screen pass from Theismann to Joe Washington that turned into a big gain late in the first half to set up Washington points ? would play a big role in Super Bowl XVIII.
Montgomery said the Raiders were a confident team entering the Super Bowl, mainly because they had Allen ? who would rush for a then-Super Bowl record 191 yards, 74 of them coming on a legendary third-quarter touchdown run that sealed the game ? back in their lineup.
"We were confident going into the game," said Montgomery, who is the only former Wildcat to be on a Super Bowl-winning team. "We had them beaten earlier in the year in Washington, only to see them come back and beat us. We felt that if we could get Marcus back and get them on a neutral field we would beat them."
One of the keys in the game was the Raiders' ability to use their two All-Pro cornerbacks, Lester Hayes and Mike Haynes, to single cover Washington receivers Art Monk and Alvin Garrett. The Redskins' two leading receivers on the season combined to catch just two passes for 43 yards because of the stifling coverage provided by the two cornerbacks. That allowed the Raiders' safeties to play the run, and Los Angeles limited Riggins and the Redskins' running game to just 90 yards on the ground.
Los Angeles seized early momentum when Derek Jensen recovered a blocked punt for a touchdown late in the first quarter. But the game changed dramatically with seven seconds left in the first half when the Redskins went back to the play that worked so well for them in the regular season game in Washington. And Raiders' defensive coordinator Charlie Sumner was waiting for the call.
Anticipating the Redskins would try the screen pass to Washington late in the first half, Sumner replaced Matt Millen with backup Jack Squirek (a better pass defender) on the hunch that the Redskins would try to get the ball to Washington. They did, and just before Washington could gather in Theismann's pass, Squirek intercepted it and went into the end zone from five yards out to give the Raiders a stunning 21-3 halftime lead.
"That just took so much momentum away from (the Redskins)," Montgomery said. "You could just tell that they were totally deflated by that play."
The second half was more coronation than ballgame as the Raiders turned the game into a rout, winning the franchise's third NFL championship. And it's a win that Montgomery will never forget.
"Winning the Super Bowl is the ultimate goal that everyone's trying to achieve," he said. "I've had the chance to visit with other guys who had great careers but never made it to the Super Bowl, even though they might have won rushing titles or MVP awards. They've told me their career doesn't feel complete because they never won a Super Bowl.
"Other than the birth of my two daughters, I haven't had a feeling that's similar to what it was like to win the Super Bowl," Montgomery said. "I had won a state championship in high school and national championship in college, and going into that game I wanted to win a world championship. I was able to do that and cap off my career at every level with a championship."
