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I GAME SCHEDULE 0 MEN’S SOCCER at Wake Forest, 7 p.m. Fage 8 VOLLEYBALL vs. Mississippi St., 7 p.m. Friday, September 24, 2004 WOMEN’S SOCCER at Auburn, 8 p.m. I I_l___▼"*.. _.i&ssi:____m--SL.-a—««*£-m-a CHARLIE DAVENPORT/THE GAMECOCK The Gamecocks run out of the tunnel prior to Saturday’s game against South Florida. USC will face the Troy University Trojans on Saturday at Williams-Brice Stadium. 4 USC to press Troy’s luck By ALEX RILEY THE GAMECOCK The Troy Trojans (2-1) are no strangers to the stiff competition of the SEC. The Trojans have played SEC teams around for years and have found little success in the face of difficult competition. Saturday’s game is no different, as the Gamecocks try to remind the Trojans what life is like in SEC play. Troy is playing its first season in the Sun Belt Conference after being independent for three years. The Trojans’ season has turned heads around the country, as they won their opening game at Marshall. Marshall, considered one of the best non-BCS conference teams, played both Georgia and Ohio State down to the wire on the road before coming up just short. Troy’s biggest win of the season came over then-No. 16 Missouri and Heisman candidate Brad Smith. After Smith and the Tiger offense jumped out to an early lead, the Trojans battled back and won 24-14. The Troy team swept the all conference honors that week as offensive lineman Junior Louissant was offensive player of the week, linebacker Bernard Davis was defensive player of the week and kicker Thomas Olmstead was special teams player of the week. But Saturday, things didn’t go so well for the Trojans, who lost their conference opener on the road to New Mexico State, 22-18. Troy managed to regain the lead from the Aggies late in the fourth quarter on a Greg Whibbs 34-yard field goal, but New Mexico State rallied with a late drive to take the contest. The most impressive thing about Troy might be its astounding secondary. The Trojans have forced at least one interception in each of their first three games. What’s even more impressive is that last fall’s interception “It’s not like he and I are competing against one another. The main thing we want to do is win.” DONDRIAL PINKINS ON SYVELLE NEWTON leader Derrick Ansley — nine interceptions in 2003 — hasn’t had a pick this season. Instead, four different players each have at least one interception, with Johjiny Faulk leading the way with two interceptions. Seniors Aaron Leak, quarterback, and DeWitt Betterson, running back, lead the Trojan offense. Leak has put up a great ratio thus far — 30 for 65, for 455 yards — but he’s only thrown two touchdowns. Betterson has also been a bit off track. After postiog a career-best 1,161 yards last fall, Betterson’s only 100-yard game this season came against New Mexico State for 137 yards. Betterson has only 256 yards through three games this season. “It will be a physical game on Saturday,” USC head coach Lou Holtz said. “They (Troy) will run their big back and then hit you with the play action pass.” USC comes in riding a blowout win over South Florida, in which back-up quarterback Syvelle Newton put up astounding numbers. His 324-yard day was the one of the best debuts as a starter in Carolina history, and he has impressed the coaching staff enough to get time at the quarterback spot against Troy. “Syvelle came in and did a nice job last week,” assistant head coach Skip Holtz said. “(Dondrial Pinkins and Syvelle Newton) will play. They have both handled this situation extremely well. In the meeting room and on the field, alike. Both understand that we need both of them.” “Syvelle came in and did a great job, and I was proud of him,” quarterback Dondrial Pinkins said. “It’s not like he and I are competing against one another. The main thing we want to do is win.” While Pinkins and Newton will both get their playing time Saturday, running back Demetris Summers can’t make that claim. Summers, along with wide receiver Sidney Rice, are doubtful for Saturday’s game. Wide receiver Tim “Pops” Frisby, a 39-year-old Army veteran, got good news from the NCAA. Clearinghouse Thursday, as they granted him eligibility to play. Saturday’s game, part of Parents Weekend, is sold out. The game will air on ESPN’s College GamePlan on Pay Per View. Comments on this stoiy? E-mail gamecockspo7is@gwm.sc. edu Surprising Trojans look for upset at Carolina By STEPHEN FASTENAU THE GAMECOCK The Gamecocks’ next opponents will have an upset on their minds when they visit Williams-Brice Stadium on Saturday. After beating a respectable Marshall team in their first game, the Troy Trojans knocked off the No. 17 Missouri Tigers 24-14 on ESPN2. The record 26,574 fans in attendance tore down both goalposts and rolled the campus with toilet paper. “(Troy) opened up and beat Marshall at Marshall,” USC head coach Lou Holtz said. “You saw what Marshall did against Ohio State and Georgia so that was impressive. “Then they beat Missouri, which I think has a great football team. I cannot believe the way they manhandled Missouri.” The Tigeri led 14-0 after the first quarter but watched Troy blow by them with a 17-point explosion in the second quarter. Trojan receiver Jason Samples started the scoring by taking a lateral from quarterback Aaron Leak and throwing a 27-yard touchdown pass. “I cannot believe the way they manhandled Missouri.” LOU HOLTZ USC HEAD COACH The next touchdown was likely the early candidate for play of the year.' After coming up with a defensive stop, the. Trojan offense again took the field. Running back DeWhitt Betterson ran up the middle for eight yards before being stripped of the ball. Offensive lineman Junior Louissaint picked up the fumble and outran the entire Missouri defense for 63 yards and the touchdown. Troy added a field goal before the half and capped the scoring with a 33-yard touchdown pass from Leak to Samples in the fourth quarter. The win was odd in the sense that Missouri led nearly every statistical category. The Tigers rolled up 336 yards of offense as quarterback Brad Smith threw for 224 yards. The time of possession was also in favor of Missouri, as they held the ball for nine minutes longer than the Trojans. The Tigers were victimized by turnovers. Smith threw three interceptions and Missouri fumbled three times, losing one. ♦ Please see TROY, page 9 Men’s soccer team prepares offense :or Wake Forest By CHARLIE WALKER THE GAMECOCK After a disappointing performance in Philadelphia at the Penn Classic this past weekend, the Gamecocks look to rebound Friday night at Wake Forest. The Gamecocks managed a tie and a loss in the two-day weekend event against two perennial Ivy League powers as they were defeated in the tournament by the University of Pennsylvania 2-1 one day one and tied Princeton on the final day, 2-2. “Our team has worked very hard this week to improve on a number of things we saw last weekend at Pennsylvania,” USC head coach Mark Berson said. “Our objective going into this game is to eliminate mistakes and improve on our strengths. I feel like our team is making great strides, and we’ll be ready for a great opportunity on Friday.” Having not played in five days, the Gamecocks should be fresh to take on a Demon Deacons team that is No. 16 nationally in the College Coaches Poll, boasting a 3-2-1 record against extremely tough competition. Both teams are searching for their first win in a week as Wake Forest dropped its last two home games to Virginia and UNC-Greensboro, losing back-to-back home matches for the first time since 1997. Wake Forest lost some key players from last season, Berson said, “and I think they’re still trying to cope with some of those losses. They are playing a tough schedule and have learned a lot from those matches heading into Friday.” The Gamecocks, while young, boast the talent to compete with the more experienced Deacons. Led offensively by two outstanding forwards in sophomore Ayo Akinsete and freshman Sebastian Lindholm, USC hopes to put intense pressure on a Wake Forest defense that has given up six goals in its past three games. Wake Forest counters with two brilliant forwards of its own in seniors Scott Sealy and former USC recruit Stephen Keel. Defensively, the Gamecocks have a decided advantage in sophomore goalkeeper Brad Guzan, who has played in every minute of every game this season. Wake Forest’s young goalkeeper, sophomore Brian Edwards, inherits goalkeeping duties from All American William Hesmer, who graduated last year. Both young defenses will be tested, as the forwards for both South Carolina and Wake Forest are some of the best in the country. The Gamecocks also have the tough task of playing away from home for the third-straight time. Wake Forest usually plays well in Winston-Salem, and coming off of back-to-back losses, the Deacons will most certainly play with an increased sense of urgency. However, ♦ Please see MEN’S SOCCER, page 9 KI-1UIU SrtOIAL IU I Mt <j«MLOUUI\ Tim Frisby, a 39-year-old walk-on for USC, goes through a drill during practice this week. Frisby, a former Army Ranger, has been grahted eligibility by the NCAA to play for the Gamecocks. U. S. Army vet cleared to play ■ 39-year-old walk-on granted eligibility by NCAA By JONATHAN HILLYARD THE GAMECOCK Tim Frisby, a 39-year-old walk-on football player, is officially eligible to play for the Gamecocks this season. “To say that I’m excited would be an understatement,” Frisby said. “I’m just so thankful that this request had a happy conclusion.” Frisby was notified in an NCAA conference call Thursday that he had been granted eligibility to partake in collegiate athletics. USC head coach Lou Holtz said Frisby would dress Saturday against Troy University in the Gamecocks’ fourth game of the season. He dressed for the Georgia game two weeks ago but did not see any playing time. “His desire is incredible,” Holtz said. “He has never once asked for any leniency or said, T can’t be here,’ or, ‘I can’t do that,’ never once.” The question of Frisby’s eligibility was in large part because the NCAA Clearinghouse did not exist when he graduated from high school. “He graduated just a couple of years after coach (Ron) Cooper,” Holtz said Thursday. Before enrolling in USC last year, Frisby spent 20 years in the U.S. Army as a member of the army’s elite Ranger division. rrisDy nas maae 11 Known mat he became a Gamecock fan while stationed in Columbia at Fort Jackson and said he has always had a dream to play college football. “It’s an amazing story about him and he’s got a marvelous attitude,” Holtz said. “He comes out, he really does some nice things.” Prior to entering the military, Frisby graduated high school in 1983 in Allentown, Pa. The NCAA has spent about a month digging up high school transcripts for Frisby, leaving him waiting helplessly for an answer. The rest of the Gamecock football program, including Holtz, has become fond of Frisby saying his story is really an inspiration to them. Frisby, who has been nicknamed by his fellow teammates “Pops,” has been looking forward to this day for a long time and is happy to have the technical details behind him. Despite his 39-year-old body, Frisby has made it clear that this is not just an act for him, and coach Holtz agrees. “I’m not out here just to stay in shape,” Frisby insisted. “I’ve given 100 percent on the practice field, and hopefully it will pay off on the game field.” “He comes out, he really does some nice things,” Holtz said. “He’s not out of place for a 39-year-old. He will play this year.” Off the football field, Frisby faces much tougher challenges, as the former ♦ Please see FRISBY, page 9