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f , Page 10 ? October 8, 1984 Sports _ THE GAMECOCK > IV Ma^if*^^ - flk I .^|WH^||M|^^^^Bp;, Mpgypgp^^^^.ha.p. On his way Ph0,?bv Joe Ricker Tight end Chris Corley races toward the end zone Saturday. USC, 4-0, defeated Kansas State 49-17 at Williams-Brice Stadium. Carolina running backs carry By Bob Lang -nff.n. wi iviuiwi; ??^/laiiutu IU j Many preseason crystal ball gazers foresaw USC's offense attack them from the outside, dominated in 1984 by the running backs Kent Hagood and than we are, we figured that Thomas Dendy. But after four games and 980 yards of net wouldn't be able to handle 01 rushing, the forecasters have proven to be only half correct. that's what happened." They forgot about Raynard Brown and Quinton Lewis. Hagood said going to the out "I feel comfortable with Quinton and Reynard in there," to get State's defense "outside said quarterback Allen Mitchell. "1 think we have four running backs that could be starters." THEN WHEN we start goinj ger hole than if we started attac IN SATURDAY'S 49-17 trouncing of Kansas State, the said. Gamecocks accumulated a season high 350 net rushing yards. Kansas State defensive tackle And 261 of those yards came from combined efforts of T Hagood, Dendy, Brown and Lewis. W "There's no one star," said Brown, who rushed for 72 } yards Saturday. "We have four backs, and I feel we all do a JL.. very good job." ? Brown said he likes the way the coaches alternate the backs RMHpUHBSfl^Kv2ijj|^9 the games. "When you alternate backs all the time, it gives the other I 5 backs a chance to rest ? then come in and do really well," he said. I JmEQ& ^SS oacKs out, Because you'll have fresh backs in there every IT \\ ^WBBllllllS^ time." . ml The Kansas State game was the first this season in which Hagood and Dendy started together. "It's a nice feeling," Dendy said about starting with Hagood. "But no matter who is back there you have to play either w;iv Rnf Kr?nt't n nroat lio^l ntiA I ? ; ? l- - 'SSi ?... ...... .. bivui um-n unu > v-njwy I 111111111JJ; 111 II1C back field with him." Hagood, with 78 yards Saturday, said he was glad to start but, "It really doesn't matter. If I'm not starting I know that Quinton will be in there, and he'll do the job." I.HWIS SAIl) any two of the four backs can be in the Ib^uPflpifF wo| well td^etlMf '' h?> '?! W \k <!??! JP ISiwis, who'did not nlav much of the second h;?lf hpranQp r?f jJmEBB Agreeing with Lewis about the four backs working well together, Brown added that each helps the other out. "When Lewis and I go in," he said, "we are cheered on, \ and when we come out we cheer Kent and Tom on." *''v" SUPPORT AND cooperation among the running backs were not the only reasons Carolina's rushing game worked so wen againsi Kansas state. noma urn puuii "I think we had a good game plan," Dendy said. USC quarterback Allen Mitchell p fl o motf*rbnE#c UQIIIUUUUK?: Kansas St? By Tracy Mixson USC's football team rode the "wave" Saturday, thrashing Kansas State 49-17 at Williams-Brice Stadium. The Gamecocks blew the Wildcats back to Kansas with the help of crowd enthusiasm, big plays and two blocked punts in the second half to give Carolina its tenth consecutive Homecoming victory. USC, ranked twentieth in the nation last week by United Press International, raised its record to 4-0 for its best start since 1928. "IT WAS a good ball game for us," head coach Joe Morrison said. "(The team) played with a lot of intensity. "It was interesting to us to see what would happen this week (after last week's 17-10 upset over Georgia). The kids were able to sustain the intensity from last week. Now we'll just have to see how it goes through the remaining seven games." USC's running back crew of Kent Hagood, Thomas Dendy, Quinton Lewis and Raynard Brown led Carolina's ground game to 40K varrK rii?ihino nnrl thron The running back attack put the Gamecocks ahead early, as USC scored twice on long runs five minutes into the game. "VVE HAVE a goal on offense and that is to score on the first possession of the game," Brown said. "It is a big advantage to score first (because) it puts the other team at a disadvantnpe ? thpv havp ?r* nlou " Kansas State responded to the challenge, coming back on the next possession to score. As the Wildcats threatened to score, fullback Rick Lewis recovered a fumble in the endzone for the touchdown. But USC's own first quarter scoring wasn't finished, and with good field position, the Gamecocks drove 60 yards in five plays. Quarterback Allen Mitchell hit tight end Chris Corley for USC's third touchdown ' Gamecocks t get on them from the start and Carolina's spee Because they're much bigger against the whc they'd wear down and they State's head ( jr speed on the corners. And tackling by his c "Especially > side a lot early in the game was have to be able conscious." WHETHER ? to the inside we'll have a big- poor tackling th :king the inside first," Hagood times ? three c Dendy scored 1 Les Miller was impressed with within the first BMBBI* M^U M|>-r-"^^3 tJM gp i - || Wf i *WI mr wn|t ?r mh H^^SHeL 3| itches the ball to running back Thomas Dendy in the Gamt i trnnnro ate, 49-17 of the period, enough to put the game out of reach for the Wildcats. GAMECOCK DEFENSIVE lineman Glen Woodlcy said USC s quick scores increased the team's momentum. "We went out there with one thought in mind ? that they would have a long way to go to beat us," he said. "They tried to run a lot off tackle but we knew it was up to us, the defensive linemen, to hang tough in the trenches." Thn Hpfpncivp unit hplH t hp 1^ qhcqc Qf offense in the second quarter, as Wildcat placekicker Steve Willis could only add a field goal to the score hoard. While the Wildcats struggled, USC continued to roll, as backup quarterback Mike Hold replaced Mitchell with seconds left in the half. COMING OFF the bench last week to lead the Gamecocks past Georgia with a desperation nass. Hold nulled a reneat performance Saturday. A 58-yard attempt to wide reciever trie Poole at the goal line looked promising, but Poole was tripped up and face-masked by Wildcat cornei back Brad Lambert. Interference was called and a 15-yard penalty assessed. With no time on the clock Hold tried it again and conected to Poole in the end/one to put USC on top, 21-10. "We ran the same play both times on the interference and touchdown," Morrison said. "Mike did an excellent job and Eric made a fine catch as well." POOLE SAID the play made the Gamecocks all the more enthusiastic. "Going into halftime, we were all excited about the score, and the play," he said. "It was a big turning point in the game." See "Trounce," page 14. o fourth win d. "Their backs were the quickest I've played >le year," he said. :oach Jim Dickey blamed "terrible" open field iefensive backs in failing to stop USC's attack. A-ith the backs like South Carolina has, you to make some open field tackles," he said. IT was Carolina's game plan or Kansas State's le Gamecocks put the ball in the endzone seven )f which came from Hagood and Dendy. I his first and second touchdowns of the season five minutes of the game. bbIV'"<jl jflBHMffJBF^BWi ' \fB ^I itwiw w| aww )cocks' 49-17 victory over Kansas State Saturday.