First Night for Raiders, Marinovich : Pro football: Quarterback makes his NFL exhibition debut and leads a scoring drive. Team gets in the winning column with 17-12 victory over Cowboys.

By CHRIS DUFRESNE

Aug. 13, 1991 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

IRVING, Tex. — Seeking answers for this season and well beyond, the Raiders ushered in the quarterbacks of present and future Monday night, liking what they saw in a 17-12 exhibition victory over the Dallas Cowboys before 55,981 at Texas Stadium.

For now, it was Jay Schroeder, shaking off the rust of two previous exhibitions with a nine-for-13, 87-yard performance in which he displayed veteran patience against a defense determined not to allow the long pass.

As Cowboy cornerbacks gave away room in deference to the speed of Willie Gault and Mervyn Fernandez, Schroeder gladly accepted the 10-yard out pattern at his disposal.

“You can make a real good living doing that,” he said. “You just take what they give you.”

For later, it was rookie Todd Marinovich, timid in early training camp practices, who made his Raider debut with 15 minutes remaining. With 14:15 left, he had completed his first NFL pass, an eight-yard pass to Mike Alexander. By the end of the drive, he was already swaggering some, regretting a pass-interference penalty that had deprived him a 29-yard scoring pass to Sam Graddy.

Two plays later, though, stealing a play-action rollout play from USC, Marinovich flicked a soft two-yard scoring pass to Greg Bell, putting his team up 17-9 and sealing the Raiders’ victory.

A month ago, Marinovich was scattering farm animals in Oxnard with errant passes. Monday, he completed three of four for 16 yards, engineered a scoring drive, and savored the moment in a national spotlight.

“I’m glad I didn’t play in Tokyo,” he said of last week’s exhibition. “I don’t think anybody saw that one. If I could write the script, it would be to open up on Monday night, with all my family and friends watching.”

The Raiders gave Marinovich a limited package, hoping he could successfully execute a center snap. He exceeded expectations.

“I thought Todd, for the first time out, did a good job,” Coach Art Shell said. “He had good command of the huddle and threw the ball well when he had to throw it.”

Marinovich said he was nervous before his first professional snap. He loosened up a bit when Bell took his maiden delivery and ran nine yards.

“Once I started, it wasn’t different from the football game I’ve played my whole life,” Marinovich said.

Marinovich was robbed of three completions because of defensive pass-interference calls. All three figured to be catches otherwise. Graddy was ready to snag a 29-yarder for touchdown until Dallas cornerback Robert Williams wrapped up his arm illegally.

Sandwiched between the Raiders’ present and future, the battle for No. 2 quarterback continued, with a notable twist. Steve Beuerlein, list as No. 3 in practice, jumped ahead of Vince Evans in Monday’s game, starting the third quarter. Beuerlein, in two series of work, completed four of five passes for 46 yards.

Evans did not play.

“They told me a couple days before we left,” Evans said. “They wanted to look at Todd tonight.”

Although a desperation pass by the Cowboys into the end zone at game’s end almost spoiled the night, the Raiders escaped with their first exhibition victory and some promising signs.

Three games deep into the exhibition season, the Raiders welcomed back the first-team offense, outscored 16-3 the first two games, 67-6 in the last three dating back to the playoff embarrassment in Buffalo.

This time, Schroeder left the game with a 10-9 lead at the half.

The first-team offense scored its first touchdown of 1991 (again, dating back to Buffalo) on a six-yard Marcus Allen run around left end on the last play of the first quarter. The 64-yard drive was made possible by Schroeder passes of seven yards to Steve Smith and 12 to Gault, and a 24-yard pass-interference penalty, Issiac Holt on Fernandez, setting the Raiders up with first and 10 at the Dallas 12.

Schroeder’s best moments came on a 61-yard drive that led to the go-ahead field goal in the first half.

With the Dallas cornerbacks sagging on Gault and Fernandez, Schroeder plucked away on the short routes, completing four of five passes for 50 yards. His only incompletion was caught out of bounds by tight end Andrew Glover in the back of the end zone.

“Coming in, we wanted to get it going,” Schroeder said. “We wanted to get it geared up for the regular season.”

Gault, who played the first half, finished with 50 yards in four receptions.

The running game also had some pop. Allen gained only 11 yards in four carries, but had an 18-yard run called back because of a penalty. Roger Craig moved ahead of Bell in the tailback rotation and wasted little time proving his worth, rushing for 29 yards in six carries, his best work coming on a 16-yard blast up the middle near the end of the half.

Craig finished with 37 yards in eight carries.