The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, October 23, 1992, Page 6, Image 6
Sparky
victorie:
By TONY SANTORI ti
Staff Writer tf
In Nashville Saturday the
Gamecock football squad will take S
on the Vanderbilt Commodores in ^
an SEC match. ^
Coach Sparky Woods' team is 1S
coming off their first win of the P<
season last Saturday, wnen tney a*
defeated the previously 15th-ranked 31
Mississippi State Bulldogs by a ^
resounding 21-6 score. This week- D
end they hope to continue to add to di
the count in the "W" column. U
Vanderbilt, led by 1991 SEC
Coach of the Year Gerry DiNardo,
is 2-4 this season so far. Much like
South Carolina, Vandy has had a f(
roller-coaster '92 campaign. The n
Commodores have played well in D
their two wins versus Ole Miss and h
Duke and in their losses to ^
Alabama and Georgia. But they st
were defeated by large scores t
against both Auburn and Wake
Forest. a
Vanderbilt's success Saturday $
will depend on how they hanaie
the football. Vandy has turned the ^
ball over 17 times on the year n:
already, but in the eight games tc
since DiNardo took over in which tl(
the Commodores have caused more
1? -
r usici u i
PLAYER PROFILE ^
When Boomer Foster signed to
play football for the Gamecocks in G
1991, he had no idea that he would L<
play in every game his freshman C;
year.
The 6'4", 240-pound tight end lil
didn't expect much, if any, playing hr
time in 1991. Instead of getting
redshirted like most freshman play- a
ers, Foster was one of only five a?
true freshman to earn his varsity g?
letter. jo
n . r\ i t i
corn on uecemDer zu, iy/z, ne
was given the name Larry Foster M
although his father had another pc
name in mind.
"I've been called Boomer since I in
was about one-year-old. My dad pi
called me that after a hockey player ju
he really liked named Boom Boom
Jefferies. I've gone by that name as pc
long as I can remember," Foster ry
said. St
With a name like Boomer, he
was destined to be an athlete, su
Foster began his football career in ex
the 7th grade and continued to play
for his high school team in pi
Weekend f
COLLEGE FOOTBALL PREVIEW
After last week's amazing num- a
ber of wrong predictions by yours ba
truly, I am sure many of you are th
wondering why I would want to try th
to predict more games. m
To be honest, I am not sure, but cc
my journalistic instinct keeps Vi
telling me to go for it. So here I st;
humbly submit my predictions for
the weekend. ry
The weekend's biggest game is th
in T ne A n rrolac nrhoro T T f"1 tho r\f
ill LvUO VY llvl V U1V v/i
other USC that is, plays host to Te
Washington State. The 13th- hi
ranked Cougars are led by quarterback
Drew Bledsoe. Bledsoe, who it!
is sixth in the nation in total Ti
offense, has the Cougars off to cc
their best start in over 60 years. vi
The Trojans are improving with ar
every game. Their defense, which na
hasn't given up a rushing touchdown
in four games, will be the F1
key to the game. The Cougars bal- A
anced offensive attack hasn't seen a 'E
squad as good as USC all season, tit
If they can keep the pressure off of
Bledsoe, Washington State will Bi
win. O
Clemson plays at N.C. State in in
a pivotal game for both teams. The m;
Tigers and Wolfpack both have 2-2 th
WtlSC-FM/
hopes tc
s on the
irnovers than they have committed sul
tey are 6-2. des
Another factor in Vanderbilt's J
ame plan will be quarterback jun
larcus Wilson. The senior QB led 10<
le ShC in scoring last season and 10,
averaging more than 100 yards <
ix game in total offense. Wilson set
id junior tailback Tony Jackson off
e expected to lead Vandy's "I- >
one" ground attack, a scheme ha\
iNardo helped perfect during his "W
ays on the coaching staff at the '
niversity of Colorado. bal
Free safety Jeff Brothers is the ma
>cus on the defensive side of the (
all for the Commodores. The 6- Ga
iot-1-inch, 175-pounder was "W
amed Sports Illustrated's Thi
efensive Player of the Week after yoi
is performance against ]
lississippi. Ironically, Brothers she
arted the spring drills as a quar- qut
:rback. ~ in1
The Gamecocks may have found I
leader in freshman quarterback agt
teve "The Thrill" Tanneyhill Wi
ased on his performance against act
lississippi State. The Altoona, Pa.,
ative threw for 183 yards and two ver
>uchdowns on only seven comple- 1
ons. Sta
South Carolina's ground game be
ip ctiirlpnt
*- k-F m.
I Jonesboro, Ga., as a
linebacker and a
p # ? tight end.
K* M College football
Pp tp followed after he
? was recruited by
universities such as
eorgia, Georgia Tech, Duke, M
ouisiana State and South
arolina.
"I chose USC because I really
ked the atmosphere. It felt
)mey," Foster said. con
Foster's career statistics include bee
touchdown during the 1991 game er
;ainst Louisana Tech. He has Wo
lined a total of 115 yards since cha
ining the Gamecocks. are
Foster felt the revival of Black Sot
agic for the 1992 season was a I
isitive change. pla;
"I think that black is a color of his
timidation, but personally I'd /
ay in pink jerseys for all I care. I a 3
ct u;ont tn rUav " Prvctpr caiH r\ I a
VVUlll IV | 'ILXJ , JL V/JIV1 >HUU. J/1U
Foster called this season a disap- bee
)intment so far, but saw the victo- /
over 15th-ranked Mississippi Fos
ate as a "turning of the tides". Gar
"The Mississippi State game was saic
ich an emotional win. No one lool
pected it," he said. "
"I think if we keep our focus and futi
ay together as a team, we can wit!
nil of weal
~~ I L conference record Sat
jf and another loss Ok:
would be a serious doe
blow for any major soo
mm- bowl bid. f
Clemson suffered rid
key loss when freshman quarter- to 1
ick Louis Solomon went down in han
e Duke game. Solomon had been sur
e sparkplug for Clemson's ane- Jay
ic offense, especially during their 5
>me-from-behind win over tim
irginia. Richard Moncrief will be wei
rrting in Solomon's place. I
The Pack also needs a big victo- We
. They have played flat since fere
eir win against UNC. If the the
Tensive line gives quarterback Col
?rry Jordan time to get the ball to to J
s receivers, N.C. State will win. ^
In the SEC, Alabama is licking an
> chops as Mississippi visits and
jscaloosa. The Tide is top SEC ter
mtender with this past week's Sta
ctorv over Tennessee, and thev asa
e making a case for itself as a the
itional championship contender. F
Unless Georgia is upset by gari
orida on FJalloween, it looks like We
labama will be playing the the
>awgs in December for the SEC Mc
le. C
Kansas, the surprise team of the ers,
ig Eight, is playing host to the:
klahoma. The Sooners are kick- thai
g themselves for letting Colorado don
ake up a 10-point deficit late in bly
e fourth quarter this past resi
iLTErna:
Spo:
i build |
road
Ffered no loss in production
;pite Tanneyhill's effort.
Sophomore Brandon Bennett and
ior Rob DeBoer both topped the
3-yard barrier, with 129- and
7-yard efforts.
Carolina, now 1-5, piled up a
ison-high 505 yards in total
ense versus the Bulldogs.
Woods said in order for USC to
re the same success this week,
re have got to run the ball."
'We must knock them off the
1 and conhol the line of scrimge,"
Woods continued.
3n the keys to success for the
mecock defense, Woods said,
re must play the option well,
ey (Vanderbilt) will 'four yard
j to death' if you let them.
Even with Tanneyhill's strong
>wing against the Bulldogs, the
irterback duties are not secured
Woods' mind.
f Tanneyhill does not play well
tinst Vandy, freshman Blake Ju
lliamson could once again see
ion.
'Sure we'd play Blake. He's
y capable," Woods said. "
rhe game will be in Vanderbilt
dium and starts at 2 p.m. It will
Vanderbilt's 1992 Homecoming.
_ il. 1 _ A _
amieie i
^COn^nUe l,? W^n to
i v Sparky Woods an
Hk considers Foster ja
mL a key player for ^
mfmmk - ' the Gamecocks. ^
Foster "Boomer is a fif
guy who has
itributed to USC since he has
n here. He is a very smart play- a
who makes few mistakes, "
>ods said. "He displays all the eT:
racteristics of a winner and we
very fortunate to have him at
ith Carolina." w?
n addition to being a "smart
yer" on the field, Foster carries
ability into the classroom. po
^s an English major, Foster has pi
.65 GPA and after graduation A1
ns to attend law school to
ome a corporate lawyer. ^
Vs for the remaining season, M
iter simply wants to help the W
necocks in any way he can and ^
1 the future for the Gamecocks
ks bright.
I'm really confident that in the ?
ire we will post winning records
h the talent we have," he said.
k games
urday. The word out of Norman, fairla.,
is that if coach Gary Gibbs then
:sn't come up with a big win Bra\
n, he'll be fired. tunit
Cansas is scoring points at a tor- L<
pace. Forty-three points a game the i
)e exact. If the Sooners couldn't Wee
idle the Texas Longhorns, they man
e won't be able to beat the sine*
hawks. getti
Jure seems like it's been a long with
e since the Boz and Switzer Bra\
e there. mak
* i n 11 \; Ppnn nlcivc at ic ?h
st Virginia. Both schools suf- hanc
?d tough losses last weekend as walk
Nittany Lions lost to Boston rock
[lege and the Mountaineers lost in T
Syracuse. Jeff
rVest Virginia was involved in ing
ugly brawl during their game paid
I eventually blew a fourth quar- to g<
lead. At Happy Valley, Penn the
te attempted a big comeback tied,
inst BC, but still couldn't win pitch
game. Stan
>enn State will stop their two- bly
ne losing skid as they attack
st Virginia from the air with
ir all-star wide receiver O.J.
Duffie.
)ne last note to my loyal readall
three of you. I hope that
se predictions come out better
it last week's, because if they
1't the rest of the staff is probagoing
to vote that I should
gn.
riVE90.5
rts
i ' : "
;
nior forward Jo Jo Hous
utgers in the Met Life Clas
JSC soc<
jrepares
! NANCY SALOMONSKY
>orts Editor
The USC soccer team trave
Charleston Wednesday night
feat The Citadel, 2-1, in a n<
nference match.
The Gamecocks (8-3:eived
goals from Matt Haic
d Billy Baumhoff.
Haiduk, a junior forward fri
cksonville, Fla., put USC on
ard first at the 40:20 mark
; first half when he shot in
th goal of the season.
At a little more than two m
es into the second ha
uimhoff, a sophomore" midfie
, scored his third goal of I
ar.
Junior Bret Kurland also pla)
:11 for the Gamecocks.
"Bret had an excellent gan
i played as a marking back
sition that he usually doesi
ay," assistant coach Do
lison said.
^hop t
TIM THORSEN
ince this is my last chain
y to go Jays!) to insult all yc
weather, overniuht. onlv-lik
l-because-they-are-good, losei
'es fans, I will take this oppc
y to do just that.
it's start off the slugfest wi
laming of our Bonehead of tl
k. The trophy goes to Bravi
ager Bobby Cox. Fittingl
j it's the only trophy he'll 1
ng this off-season. Of cours
a strategic mind like his, tl
'es should be commended fi
ing it this far. Yeah, right. Th
e guy who put in his best lei
led reliever to intentionali
; a guy. Ah, now that took
et scientist. Then you broug
oronto's World Series MV
Reardon to pitch. You blithe
idiot. Even if the obvious
-off umps had found out a wi
et the Braves out of that jar
game would have still bee
Then you would have had
i hn r> f r\f 11 n t K/"\
L Ult ltdl Ui lilt iUUUt W1U1U
ton. This series would prob
be close without Bobby "T1
COLLEGE
Vanderbilt vs. USC
UNC vs. Georgia Tect
N.C. State vs. Clemsc
Penn State vs. West \
Notre Dame vs. Brigh;
Southern California vs
NATIONAL FOOT
Washington vs. Minne
w
w
e
should help the Gamecocks
sic. USC prevailed Wednesday ;
:er defeat'
for Met I
"We dominated the game 1
o tort tr\ finioh Tha /lr\a r
OUUl IU 11111311. 1I1L OV/U1V UVA.O
le(j reflect the game action," All
to said.
3n. Next, South Carolina will c
pete in the Met Life Classit
.3) Saturday and Sunday,
luk The Gamecocks will lool
Peter Duitsman, Ruben Tut
om and Chris Faklaris to be key \
the ers
in "Pete has been playing 1
his well. His job is to mark the
player on the opposing team,
in_ he has done a great job for us
defender," Allison said.
Senior co-captian Ruben Tu
^ will be another leader for
Gamecocks.
^ "When Ruben is on his gi
he is unstoppable," Allison sai
Faklaris, a sophomore forv,
rie" should be returning this weel
' a to play in the tournament <
11 1 missing the Citadel game due
u? death in his family.
"We really need Chris to c
TllC * Rmvi
/JLJ.JLLI w '
j^\ Brain" Cox.
~" Bi?news (
- ^ - "Whatiz.it",
,e blue blob of
Olympic mascot, has been repl
e_ by the only uglier thing on E
Otis Nixon. Since the Barce
ir mascot was drawn while the <
was on drugs, the Atlanta folks
^ it only fitting that their mascot
ie be the product of drug-influei
?S creators. Right, Ma and Pa Ni:
Talk about a face not even a rr
er could love. Put that thing
e cage and don't feed it for a co
ie of weeks. Do us all a favor. ?
or singlehandedly driving d<
js CBS's ratings for the Serie
-t. mean, come on, the Elephant
I was ugly, but at least he stayec
a of national television. The re;
he's so fast is because he had \
n tv of practice trying to chase
j/ friends down as they ran a
I from him.
HHey Atlanta! You wanna k
n why the Jays are gonna send
' home with no extra baggage ex
:n c
to your nasty laundry and a few c
ut municable diseases? I got
a_ words for you. Jeff Reardon
ie much for the all-time save let
US
1 Ge
>n N.(
/irginia Pe
am Young No
;. Washington State Wa
BALL LEAGUE
tsota Wa
A Ji
WBBF
^ - .i "i
- - . , ' "
1 t . - :
" Jr 4
i
i
Lea Clayton/The Gamecock
to victory against Evansville and
against the Citadel Bulldogs.
; Citadel,
Jfe Classic
Tom in and start scoring again,"
not Allison said.
ison "This weekend it is going to
have to be a complete team effort.
:om- Evansville and Rutgers can beat
: on any team on any given day,"
Allison said,
k to The Gamecocks have had a
ino, tough month with losses to Wake
>lay- Forest, Furman, and North
Carolina. USC's first tournament
^erY opponent, Evansville is also combest
jng 0ff a ioss to indania, 1-0.
and "This tournament is very
as a important to all teams competing.
We need a win before the playthe
?^S* team ^at W^nS ^ave
an advantage at the push toward
ime the playoffs," Allison said.
^ ' "Every team is strong in our
,3rd region, but the team to beat is
tend Clemson. If we beat them on Nov.
1. tat the Gravevard) then that
lliu ' ___
to a should be the deciding factor of
our chances at going to the playome
offs," Allison said.
es blow Series
What Boston didn't tell you is he's
:on- also the all-time blown save leader,
nta, Yeah, John Schuerholz is a genius,
col- isn't he? The only way the Reardon
tves: trade would have been an even one
that is if Atlanta would have gotten
an Reardon, plus one million dollars, a
aced few minor leaguers, a set of Ginsu
arth, knives, a case of Turtle Wax, a
lona lifetime supply of Rice-a-Roni
irtist (The San Francisco treat), and a
; felt really big gun to shoot Reardon
also with. Not to mention a player to be
need named later, like Roger Clemens,
non? Hey Reardon, you brought shame
10tli- and disgrace on your family name
in a for generations to come. And now
uple he's going to have to have off-seale
is son neck surgery from having to
own keep snapping his head back
:s. I watching baseballs fly past him.
Man Hey all you sports fans! Right
1 off nnw I want all of VOU to look at
ason that big tomahawk hanging from
'ten- that building on the Horseshoe. All
his i can say is, "What a waste of
way time!" and "Get a life." I think I'll
put a big Blue Jay outside my winnow
(jow s0 an yoU can see the mascot
y?u of a real team. I hope you people
cePl leave that tiling up so I can get a
good laugh everytime I leave my
apartment,
ider " G? (borne) Braves!
;C 116-11
orgiaTech 24-17
State 21-20
nn State 38-14
tre Darnel 44-28
ishington State 31-21
ishington 20-16