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Friday, November 1,1996 Carolina w BRYAN JOHNSTON Asst. Sports Editor The Gamecocks will look to make it four wins in a row this Saturday when they take on the Tennessee Volunteers. The last time USC won four consecutive games was in 1994 when they defeated Arkansas, Louisiana Tech, Kentucky and LSU. But going for four will not be easy as the Volunteers come into town with a 51 record. Their lone loss was to the topranked Florida Gators, 35-29. The last time Tennessee came into Columbia, USC upset them 24-23. "South Carolina is a very good football team whose 5-3 record puts it veiy much in contention for a bowl berth," Tennessee head coach Phillip Fulmer said. With Carolina 5-3 overall and 4-2 in the SEC, they are one win shy of gaining the necessary six victories to be eligible for a bowl game. They get their first shot of clinching on Saturday against a very good JOSH PENWOP Senior Writer So the saying goes, up in the (insert any given mountain range here) mountains, they grow them big - football players that is. Well, up in Knoxville, not only do they grow them big, but Tennessee head coach Phillip Fulmer and his Volunteer coaching staff recruits them even bigger. In doing so, Coach Fulmer and his defensive coaching staff has successfully managed to cap off his defensive line with one of the hottest current defensive end tandems in the country. Not only is junior bookend defensive ends Leonard Little and Jonathan Brown's' stature big, but their play has been gigantic for the Volunteer defense this season. Little (6-3, 230), a former SEC Defensive Player of the Week after a three-sack performance against Ole Miss, and his counterpart Brown (6-4, 245), who has had a sack in each of his last five games, have combined for an emphatic 11 sacks against opposing offenses this season. And what this Volunteer team may lack in size, they definitely do not lack in ability (i.a, receiver Joey Kent, tailback Jay Graham, and DB/specialist Terry Fair). And who could forget about the most ballyhooed name in college football this season. The All-SEC, Preseason AilAmerican, record-breaking, professionallyrecruited, flame-throwing, dragonslaying, junior signal caller Peyton Manning has been nothing less than outstanding in Coach Fulmeris eyes this fall, especially last weekend against the SECs stingiest defense in Alabama. mere's not enougn aajectives tnat can describe Peyton Manning. He had one of the stiffest tests that he's ever had versus Alabama, and again [he] showed what kind of character he has by getting us back into the football game He [kept] his poise and [took] some hits at times and didn't turn the football over," Coach Fulmer raved. Lady Gamec< DWAYNE MCLEMORE Asst. Sports Editor Only one word can describe the Florida volleyball team's play against the SEC over the past four seasons: domination. The Lady Gators, ranked second nationally, have won 31 consecutive conference matches, dating back to the 1994 season. The team has a 64-1 SEC record spanning from 1992 to the present, and has won four straight conference tournaments. Domination. Florida is 21-1 this season, including 9-0 in the SEC. Its only loss came in the 58 s IP p I ; o F I mi r i if iv I ? Dw I M H ? 1 Pi Stej 1 EL iJ ? IrP J( -I Ci? * ? rii I n ?j Ui g o 1 J ill be Manni Tennessee football team. Tennessee is one of tire nation's finest football teams," USC head coach Brad Scott said. They are a balanced football team on both sides of the football." The first player that comes to mind when Tennessee is mentioned is Peyton Manning. And why not. This year, Manning has completed 132 of205 passes for 1,867 yards and 11 touchdowns. ITie junior quarterback is rated as one of the top in the nation, and is expected to be high draft pick if he enters the NFL draft early. "Manning is like a coach on the field. He can certainly pick a defense apart," Scott said. But to the displeasure of Volunteer opponents, Tennessee is not a onedimensional team. Tailback Jay Graham has rushed for 448 yards and six touchdowns on 96 carries this year. He was named the SEC Offensive Player of the Week for his 128yard, two TD effort against Alabama tJJTrTTRfrWI "Peyton is a coach's dream and we're excited about what he's getting done here at Tennessee." This week, Phillip Fulmer's praised quarterback and his 20th ranked offense will face their second straight defensive challenge against the nation's 9th best defense in South Carolina. "Their defense is just phenomenal in the job that they have done in just one short year. "Just watching them on the filiq, they're playing very aggressively. You don't get to be, by accident, the number two ranked defense in the conference. They're playing very well," Coach Fulmer said. Coach Fulmer knows that the Gamecocks' defense is going to be yet another test for his Volunteers, but it is not the only concern. There is a lot to be concerned about. Certainly, Anthony Wright gives them a lot of things offensively that are a concern. They are very physical on the offensive line. "They have speed and skill at receiver. And still, even if Stale/s out, they have outstanding ability at runningback," Fulmer said. The Volunteers need to bag a win against the Gamecocks if they intend to have a shot at the national championship. And what about all this talk about a national championship? "That's not even a concern of ours right now. I [know] that sounds like a coaches' cliche. We want to focus on what we have to do right now, and we want to be sure that we're ready to play against an outstanding South Carolina football team. Whatever happens at the end, happens at the end," Coach Fulmer reassured. Nonetheless, come New Year's Day, Volunteer fans across Knoxville and the state of Tennessee will likely be hoping that whatever does happen at the end, will happen at the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans. 3cks face secc first game of the season against No. 1 Hawaii, a match that lasted five games. And the one thing Carolina has going into its two matches with Florida this weekend is that the Lady Gamecocks are the last SEC team to defeat the Lady Gators in SEC play. USC junior Heather Larkin said she remembered the victory well. "It was the same scenario as this year," Larkin said. "It was my freshman year, and we played two straight and beat them in the second match here in Columbia. It was a really great match." Carolina fell behind 1-0 in the match before winning three straight, 6-15,15_____ 1 Tenn./ Achim Hunt HM Hulkster 30-16 Mjyjjjj Jryan Johnston HBIf Junkyard Dog 31-15 Bj 'ayne McLemoreB Ultimate Warrior 32-14 m||H| Josh Penrod Hffl| Macho Man 8-2 Hklfl onia Cr\nn/an MA -/nuni\_/ uwiiiiniiviu HFtjllin Fabulous Moolah 7-3 ^nnifer Stanley Vliss Elizabeth 15-10 gjgj Herb Winter HHH8 The Revolting Blob 3-2 unior Muldrow IB Supcrfly Snuka 45-0-1 SPO EZ ing 'Cocky this past Saturday. I : ii receiver in me -fST 1 SEC. Senior Joey J Kent is first in the 1 conference in ^ receiving with 733 : yards and four touchdowns on 40 MANNING P Will the i Gamecocks be able to shut down the high-powered Volunteer offense? Carolina's defense is ranked second in the SEC and ninth in the nation, so they have as good a chance as anybody. USC is giving up an average of only 258.4 yards per game. The pass efficient defense is tops in the conference and fifth in the nation as they are allowing opposing quarterbacks a lowly 41% completion rate. This offense will be a stern test for Hi scon "They are very explosive on offense. Peyton Manning is like a coach on the field. He can certainly pick a defense a part, and he calls so much of the offense at the line." Brad Scott, Carolina head coach FULMER "There's not enough i! i! n i -i :i? adjectives mat can uescnoe Peyton Manning. He had one of the stiffest test he's ever had versus Alabama, and again [he] showed what kind of character he has by getting us back into the football game." Phillip Fulmer, Vols head coach >nd-ranked G 12,15-13 and 15-12. It was the Gators' only SEC loss in the last four years. The Lady Gamecocks travel to Gainesville, Fla., tonight to take on the Lady Gators in a 7 o'clock match. The team then returns to Columbia Sunday for a match with Florida at 2 pm. in the Volleyball Competition Facility. Carolina, 16-5 overall, is off to its best conference start ever at 7-2. Larkin, who leads the team with 279 kills and a .312 hitting percentage, said she expects Friday's match to be the tougher of the two. "Ifs harder to play in Florida because they have a lot of rowdy fans," Larkin USC NW/PSU ArkVAubi I NW I I Penn. St. I ! nw IQRfflj NW [ NW | NW ' iRTS Tnn' Co* I *fi up uaiuiu the Gamecocks "D." An offense with as much fire-power as Tennessee has can give teams fits. Carolina's offense must show it can produce without its top-contributor. Without senior Duce Staley [sprained ankle], the Gamecocks must find a way to replace nearly 47% of the offense he produced. That job will fall mainly on either freshman Boo Williams or junior Scott Moritz. Scott said Moritz will likely start on offense but both will see a lot of playing time. Williams rushed for 110 yards on 19 carries and Moritz ran for two TD in the Vanderbilt game. Quarterback Anthony Wright must get back on track Saturday. He has struggled as of late and only threw for 28 yards against Vanderbilt. Wide receiver Corey Bridges is the leading receiver on the team with the absence of Staley. The senior has caught ACHIM HUNT Sports Editor ^^ n* Even though many bad things happened to the Gamecocks this mccivciiu in ? anuci uiit UCOpilC II1C victory, head coach Brad Scott very easily found some things to look positively at from the game. "I want to talk about our game last week. It was a great defensive effort by our football team. A shutout is not easily accomplished on any Saturday, much less in the Southeastern Conference. I thought that our defense continued to improve, and they really played together." The defense continued to show improvement as they are now ranked in the top ten in the country. "I think that our tackling has improved tremendously, and just they way that they throw their bodies around out there has been real impressive. It certainly will take that kind of effort this week to contain a team like Tennessee that has so many weapons in both running and passing. "As you would expect, we are a beat up and bruised football team, there is no question about that This is the ninth ball game of the year, and we just had a physical game at Vanderbilt." The injury to Duce Staley really does bother Scott, but he understands, as does Duce, that injuries will happen in a tough game such as football. "It really is unfortunate about Duce Oi-l J Ti i. J x_ 1 oiaiey s injury, ri lurneu oui looea little more severe than we first thought. At least in the back of my mind I was 1 thinking that this would be an ankle, 1 and in a position to play this week. Then on Sunday the trainers saw that it was worse than we had thought. I hate that for Duce; it is his last home ] ball game. He has had such a tremendous career here, in just two short years. You don't want to see a 1 senior miss his last home game, but i injuries are a part of football." ] Scott is feeling some momentum i for this last part of the schedule even i rators in two said. "But I think they know South Carolina always plays well against them." The Lady Gators rank fourth in the nation in terms of average home attendance. The team averaged 2,486 fans per home match through its first 10. Florida is led by senior Jenny Wood, and juniors Aurymar Rodriguez and Nikki Shade. Carolina is looking to break its home attendance record of 1,284, set on Sept. 18 against Clemson, in Sunday's match. irn ND/Navy MSU./Weber St] IND ND IND ND ND ND ND ND , * ay against 22 balls for 327 yards and three TD 01 the year. The Gamecock offense has had thei problems lately and it will be a tougl week to get things going with the wa; the Volunteer defense has played thi year. They are ranked fifth in the ?EC an< give up an average of 15.2 points pe game. The Vols are led defensively by em Leonard Little, linebacker Tyrone Hinei and cornerback Terry Fair. Little had a career-game against th< Gamecocks last yearin Knoxville. Hi blocked a field goal, had two tackles foi a loss and broke up a pass. "Leonard Little on the outside is ? dominating football player," Scott said This year, Carolina's offensive lin< must give Wright time to throw the bal and must open up big holes for thei] young running backs. Fair Dicked off two Dasses acrains "Bama last week and has 14 unassistec though the games will be against the "Orange Crush' that beat the Gamecocks last year by almost tripling their score. "As we head into this stretch run of our schedule, it is the toughest part of the season. This week we have Tennessee who is very tough. Outside of the two losses the last two years to the University of Florida, no one has had that much success against them. 'They are very well balanced on both sides of the football. Another thing that stands out about this team is total team speed. They run extremely well, ana tney are a very strong, physical football team. They are very explosive on offense. Peyton Manning is like a coach on the field. He can certainly pick a defense apart, and he can calls so much of the offense at the line of scrimmage. Whatever you show him he can exploit the weaknesses of it, and call either a run or a pass. To go with that, they have two of the best receivers in the conference in Joey Kent and Marcus Nash. [Jay Graham] was the difference in their Alabama game, as he has been many times before. "Defensively, the thing that troubles me is that they have a great front four, and then on the outside they are quick. The true strength of their defense is the speed of their linebackers. They pursue very well, and at times [Tyrone Hines] is a really physical player. They have got enough confidence in their secondary to put eight men on the line of scrimmage." Scott knows that this is the last home game of the year, and that is special for not only the fans, but the players as well. T am glad that this game is at home. [ know that Williams-Brice Stadium will really be jumping this week. I think that it will be at an all-time high here. [ encourage our fans to get here early, and support out football team here against Tennessee." ?kbrc (Mccm, For the Men's NCAA Basketball FinalsMarch 28-April 1. See your Herff Jones J rep for details. Hi I ORDER Y WEDNESDAY, T NOVfeN 1 RUSSELL H $30.00 DE ht?p:.'www.hcrff-jones cum 10-4327 0 7 Tennessee i tackles on the year. He is also an excellent punt returner who averages 19.4 yards r per return. i Hines leads the team in tackles with y 58, including nine for a loss and two s interceptions. The Volunteer secondary has six picks in the last two games. 1 For the Gamecocks to win Saturday, r they need to play a nearly perfect ball game. Mental lapses and silly mistakes 1 won't beat the sixth-ranked team in the s nation. The Gamecocks will have enough i trouble without Staley, but if they fall ; behind early, things could get ugly, r Whether or not the game willbe close remains to be settled on the field, but i the one thing that is for certain is a huge crowd will jam Williams-Brice ; Stadium.The game is sold out and a 1 record-crowd of over 83,000 is expected, r For those who weren't fortunate enough to get tickets, the game is being t broadcast as the SEC Game of the Week. I Kickoff is set for 12:37 p.m. Men's Soccer The Wake Forest men's soccer team received two goals from Kyle Bachmeier to defeat the University of South Carolina 2-1 Wednesday evening in the first game ever played in the W. Dennie Spry Soccer Stadium. Carolina next faces Duke on Saturday in Charleston at 5 p.m. Women's Soccer The Furman women's soccer team tied South Carolina 1-1 Wednesday night at Stone Stadium. With the tie, South Carolina moves to 10-7-2 on the year, 2-5-1 in the SEC. The Lady Gamecocks will next play at the SEC Tournament, which begins on Nov. 7, in Lexington, Ky. Football Peach Bowl officials will attend the Nov. 2 Southeastern Conference match-up between the Tennessee Volunteers and the South Carolina Gamecocks at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, SC. This year's Peach Bowl in Atlanta's Georgia Dane will be played on Dec. 28,1996. The bowl game will once again pit a team from the Atlantic Coast Conference against a team from the Southeastern Conference in "The Battle of the South." Track and Field The University of South Carolina is hosting a USATF officials certification clinic in Columbia at the University of South Carolina. It will be Wednesday, Nov. 6, in the President's Council Lounge in n Williams-Brice Stadium. The certification will start at 6 p.m. and will last until 8 p.m. 1 * Q/ ^ 1 4- ^ ?AA lie (jyuui plishmnts... E OUR CLAS RING! HURSDAY AND FRIDAY /IBER 6,7 AND 8 0:00-3:60 OUSE BOOKSTORE POSIT REQUIRED mm H UPOPP lAMCP my ncnrruvnco*