Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Gamecocks blitz vj l) ' ?WK r?^W?*"" ' '' ' *v ,*>.,/> . V 5>; ;* ^\ yv ?>%< ?' Up and over... photo b*j0* J?*** USC running back Kent Hagood soars over the Southern California defense for his one-yard touchdown run. Hagood finished the night with 63 yards on 10 carries. r*_iE ja. oenuui crowa voices opinic By Johnny Boggs "I KNEW we could plaj USC fans were what Southern Cal quarterback Sean Mike Durrah said, "but Salisbury called "the 12th man" as the Gamecocks upset the Southern Cal and kicked tl Trojans in a college football game Saturday night. Carolina scored 24 second-half points to embarrass peren- "We knew we could pla; nial power University of Southern California 38-14 before a that we totallv dominated sellout crowd of 74,200 at Williams-Brice Stadium. "Take nothing away from South Carolina. They beat us y f|n? fair and square. Their (the Gamecocks') crowd was the 12th man, ana tne noise maae it anncuit to can auaioies," MANY USC football players agreed. "Our fans were great,'' said senior linebacker J.D. Fuller, who had six tackles including one sack. JpfHMPji|jM "They got behind us and made Southern Cal's quarterback ||^:d4Hp|s|^g back out a couple of times. Of the 72,400 fans, 1 think 70,000 Hk< ^^HS^HIKF<?aI0 were ours and it sounded like it. DEFENSIVE BACK Earl Johnson, who had seven tackles, a fumble recovery and an interception, said he agreed with HHP k i mJ% Fuller, adding, "I thought the crowd was the rowdiest ever at p ii/frfi Williams-Brice. They were backing us 100 percent." Senior offensive tackle Rusty Russell said this year's fan am | support has been a far cry from that in 1982, when the Pf mm Gamecocks, under the direction of head coach Richard Bell, La mgm/ were booed by the Carolina crowd. SHHSEr i "Thd fane Qrp a faMnr I act war tuhon thou ui*r? Hmun ah Ws AIIV IUIIJ Ml X/ M 1UVVV/A / VMI ) TT M Ivl A illVJ Tf VI V UUYf II V/11 jgK us, it affected my performance. This year, they seemed to be pleased with us and pleased with coach (Joe) Morrison," Russell said. "I think coach Morrison has done a lot for us. He's got an air of winning about him, and it's rubbing off on us. And it's BEATING THE Trojans was a dream come true, Russell || , "I didn't get to play against them in 1980 (Southern Cal ' V A won 23-13 in Los Angeles) because I was a freshman. Now I'm fifth. ; /y mt, a senior, so I want to go out a winner. illlp^ *iibB?Iv ,.y "Hey, we beat Southern Cal. Right now, I'm on top of the ^yj Many of the football players said they thought they had a chance to beat the Pacific 10 Conference powerhouse before Going (lilts the game. The Trojans entered the game with a 1-1-1 record, The Gamecocks defeated J coming off a 26-20 upset by Kansas Sept. 24. Carolina players said the crt >ortS :: ; I i ... f QnufKor wu iiiyi By Tracy Mixson It's been said a junkyard dog will fight harder in his own back yard. USC's football team proved that adage correct Saturday night, as the Gamecocks upset the University of Southern California 38-14 before a capacity crowd of 74,200 at Williams-Brice Stadium. Coming off this past week's 26-20 upset loss to Kansas, Southern Cal was determined 10 oounce oack and roll over underdog Carolina. But instead the Trojans found a brick wall of garnet-clad defenders. "I THOUGHT our defensive unit played really well," USC head coach Joe Morrison said. "Our defense did a good job with getting to the ball, and we didn't have many missed tackles. I was really pleased when we started blitzing a little bit and disrupted Southern Cal's tempo." Southern Cal head coach Ted Tollner said USC's blitzing attack stifled the Trojans throughout the game. "Their defense surnrised 11s hv hlitrinc more," he said. "They were much more aggressive than they were against Georgia. They often sent in four, five or six men on the rush." Morrison said, "It was kind of something we got from Kansas. We thought that if we could put pressure on (Southern Cal quarterback Sean) Salisbury, then it would be to our advantage." ... ? THE GAMECOCK defense accounted for five Trojan turnovers, three coming by sacks and two on interceptions by defensive back Earl Johnson and Bryant Gilliard. "South Carolina's defense played an aggressive game and forced several turnovers," Tollner said. "Of course, we're disappointed with the number we committed. Turnovers can put points on the board in a hurry." Carolina jumped to its lead early, scoring - on its first possession on a right side option to running back Thomas Dendy. Dendy received the pitch from quarterback Allen Mitchell and rushed 12 yards for the , first score of the ball game. It was the first time this season the Gamecocks scored on its first possession of a game. in in win over S f against them," senior linebacker The Gamecoc I think it's unreal that we beat yards 318-194. I heir ass like we owned them. back Allen Mite "You couldn' y with Southern Cal, but I'm awed complete only t\ them like we did." Mitchell said. ~?js M JIN? :^gh&2s,s l^Ki. By" M^;/;; flH; . v'f\??? k? fflnr ;tfL ^ Southern California 38-14 before a sellout crowd of 72,400 >wd was a factor during the game. n Cal CAROLINA HELD off a Southern Cal drive early in the second quarter, and with 9:24 left in the half, scored on a keeper by Mitchell. "We knew it would be important for us to put some points on the board early," Morrison said. It proved important to Carolina, as the Trojans surged back on the next possession to score on a carry by tailback Michael Harper. With the score, the Trojans tied Oklahoma for the National Collegiate Athletic Association record for scoring in consecutive games. The school has not been shut out in 181 con secutive attempts. ONE MINUTE later, the Trojans tied the game after recovering a fumble by USC running back Quinton Lewis. Southern Cal tailback Fred Crutcher scored from five yards out and the first half ended at a 14-14 deadlock. "I thought we played pretty good football the first half," Morrison said. "We made a few mistakes that Southern Cal took advantage of and got some points on the board, but we didn't really feel bad about going into the second half with the score tied." Carolina came out of the half and threatened to score on a 53-yard field goal attempt by kicker Mark Fleetwood. The kick missed, but on their next possession the Gamecocks marched 94 yards downfield for the longest scoring drive of the season. USC sealed the victory with an outside pitch to Dendy for his second touchdown of the night with 2:06 left in the third quarter. THE GAMECOCKS put the game out of reach in the fourth with a two-yard dive up the middle by running back Kent Hagood to make it 28-14. Less than three minutes later Fleetwood, who connected on all of Carolina's six extra points, added a field goal to put the Gamecocks up 31-14. A fumble by Southern Cal second-string quarterback Tim Green with 10:21 left in the game led to a two-yard carry into the end zone by Lewis for Carolina's final score of the night. sBe "Morrison," page 18 j.b n b uuinern bai :ks outgained the Trojans in total offense JSC picked up 292 yards rushing, as quarterhell completed two passes. t have told me before the game that I would vo passes (for 26 yards) and we would win," tesfcoH jy^MHv Z 4m Ptete ky Jw Jecitsen at WilliamsBrice Stadium Saturday night. Many