The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, November 04, 1996, Page 7, Image 7
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11 n J I 11.1 At iii A 1A01
PmJlKMiy, NOVwIIMi IWO
Gameco
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JOSHPENROP Senior Writer
The stage was set.
The once again new looking
Gamecocks took the field donning their
all-black uniforms - the fourth different
color scheme for the football team and
the third different scheme for home
games- during warm-ups as they ran
across the new looking endzones that
f now have "Carolina" etched in their
familiar black and red diamonds.
The 17 Gamecock seniors were
introduced one by one as each player
met their parents at the 20-yard line,
posed for pictures and walked them to
the sidelines under the cover of a dark
and cloudy Carolina skyline. A rather
large group of recruits were likely hoping
that in a couple of years, they too would
be apart of the Carolina football tradition.
An armed services salute at halftime
$ was highlighted by singing from a 400
mpmh#r chnir and a TTSC hand
performance that included representatives
from all of the armed services. A soldout
crowd of 82,808 SEC football fans,
accompanied by a regional viewing
audience, readied themselves for the
Jefferson Pilot SEC Football Game of
the Week.
And to add to all of the pageantry,
Heisman candidate Peyton Manning
and his sixth-ranked Tennessee
Volunteers found them selves watching
the three ring circus that had been
directed at them all vear loner.
But what should have been the perfect
ending to a perfect day never developed
as the Gamecocks found the 21-14 deficit
they faced going into the fourth quarter
to be the closest they would get to an
upset that would have shook not only
the conference, but also the nation.
Instead, the Volunteers took
advantage of two time consuming drives
that resulted in 10 more Tennessee points
and posted a 31-14 victory.
"I'd like to congratulate Tennessee,
[who] is a good football team and certainly
worthy of their national ranking," head
f Controversy
Yankees ch;
1 safety butz 1
Ifs been a week since the New York
Yankees won the Civil War against the
Atlanta Braves.
Like General Sherman, the Yankees
burned Atlanta down in three straight
games at Fulton County Stadium,
including a six-run comeback in Game
Four.
However, would any of this have
happened if it hadn't have been for a
couple of controversial calls in the postr
season?
Everyone knows about that little
brat Jeff Maier, so thafs self-explanatory.
This is New York, where fan interference
is legal, and like Michael Jackson, they
need twelve-year-old boys to score.
Nevertheless, there were a few blown
calls, and I will be more than happy to
point them out.
In Gaihe Three, with Atlanta down
3-2, rookie Andruw Jones was called out
on strikes after a pitch that was a foot
outside.
^ In the final game of the Series,
Marquis Grissom was called out on a
steal attempt when he was clearly safe.
Rugby club d<
BRYAN JOHNSTON Asst. Sports Editor
r Hie South Carolina men's rugby club
defeated the Citadel 29-15 friday night
at the Sol Blatt P.E. Center field.
With the Gamecocks and Bulldogs
being the only two teams in the Palmetto
League, the winner is crowned the South
Carolina State champs.
The win places the Gamecocks into
the Southeastern Region Z Final Four,
which will be held next semester.
USC got off to a fast start when junior
Keith Quiller scored from 12 meters out
^ off of a penalty play.
The conversion kick was no good and
Carolina led 5-0.
The Gamecocks took a 10-0 lead
when Matt hanley scored a try from five
meters out.
The score was set up by a nice pass
from flyhalf Nick Wilson.
Hie Citadel cut the lead to 10-5 before
USC scored again.
After placing the ball into a scrum
down, scrumhalf kelly Grant took the
ball into the try zone from seven meters
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Tennessee runnlngback Jay Graham
ers Shane Burnham (#52), Darren I
(#90). Despite a good effort, Caroll
coach Brad Scott said. "They've got a lot
of weapons, and ifs veiy hard to contain
a team for 60 minutes.
"At the same time, I'm really proud
of the way our players played. I thought
we competed very hard and our football
team made a really good showing of
themselves. We made some mistakes
and gave up some big plays, but when
you're playing a team that is as good as
Tennessee, [those things don't happen),"
Scott said.
One of those notable "things" was
the abundant numbers of penalties that
occurred during the game.
On a day that was scheduled to salute
armed forces, referees spent far more
time worrying about waving yellow flags
than the red, white and blue ones.
In the game, there was a total of 16
flags for a total of 139 yards. More
specifically, there were 12 penalties called
in the first half, 58yards of which belonged
to the Gamecocks.
"Certainly, I think there were some
very critical penalties, and that's
something that I will have to address to
1 11
u calls give
impionship
Ifs those inferior American League
umpires who could probably blow a phone
call if necessary. Just ask Rich Garcia.
If you or anyone you love suddenly
becomes blind, there's always a future
for them as an American League umpire.
Speaking of blindness, the Carolina
Panthers obviously suffered from it when
they arrived in bumed-down Atlanta to
face the 0-8 Falcons.
I wouldn't be talking about the
Panthers if I wasn't planning on making
them this week's winners of the Rush
Hudson Limbaugh Big Fat Idiot Award.
Carolina thought this was going to
be another day at the office.
The Falcons, however, had another
plan in mind in the form of Jamal
Anderson. The rookie's 170-yard-plus
1 all-purpose performance along with three
Panther turnovers aided them in a 2017
upset victory.
Dom Capers should retire. How can
you lose to an 0-8 team that always finds
a way to lose ball games?
Ifs always easy to win at home, but
it takes road wins to get to the next level.
Carolina is 1-4 on the road with 14
turnovers.
They're just not ready for the next
level.
sfeats Citadel
out.
The JoJo Dancer conversion kick
made it 17-5, Carolina.
The Bulldogs scored again on a breakaway
play to cut the lead to 17-10.
South Carolina scored again when
sophomore Byron Kidd took the lineout
and pushed into the tryzone by his team
members.
Kidd placed the ball down and
Dancer's kick made it 24-10.
The Citadel came back again and
tried to make it close by scoring another
try, but couldn't get any closer than 2415.
Carolina put it away late when
Wilson broke free and touched the ball
down to seal the victory.
The team will play in the
Southeastern Final Four next spring
with the winner advancing to the Eastern
Final Four.
The Southeastern tournament
features the top team from Florida,
Georgia, South Carolina and North
Carolina.
SPO
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BRYAN JOHNSTON The Gamecock
is tackled by Gamecocks defendHambrlck
(#18) and Henry Taylor
Ina lost 31-14 to the Volunteers.
the team. You cannot create penalties
in certain key situations," Scott said.
Despite the penalties, Carolina still
made it a relatively close ball game.
lift af fVio flainopftrlfo wo tf?Vi or!
Tennessee march down the field for a
touchdown in a two-play, 43-yard drive
that lasted only 30 seconds, Carolina did
a little marching of their own in a fourplay,
69-yard drive that was capped off
by a Scott Moritz 13-yard scamper into
the left corner of the endzone that ended
in the flattening of UT defensive back
Terry Fair. After the Courtney Leavitt
PAT, the score was notched at seven
going into the second quarter.
USC would not score again until the
third quarter. However, the Volunteers
went on to score two more touchdowns
in the second quarter after an Andy
McCollough 48-yard TD reception from
Peyton Manning and a Peerless Price
54-yard reverse for a touchdown to make
the score 21-7 at the half.
Gamecock freshman Trevon
Matthews' first reception of the year
resulted in his first career TD as he
Gators s1
PWAYNE MCLEMORE Asst. Sports Ec
Florida volleyball continued its S
this weekend, sweeping the Lady Ga
matches and extending its conference
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Special
Sophomore outside hitter CI
and setter Ashley Edlund celel
Carolina's next opponent is Coi
Local writer;
about Game<
Staff Reports
If you can't get enough Gamecock
football coverage this year from all ol
the local and national outlets, ther
there is one more way to hear aboul
all of your favorite Gamecocks.
Kamon Simpson, South Carolina
sports beat writer for The State, wrote
the book Gamecocks Handbook: Stories,
Stats, and Stuff about South Carolina
Football that is scheduled to be
published this month.
The book will be one in a series ol
popular sports handbooks writter
about the nation's top football and
basketball programs.
Some other football powerhouses
to be included in the series are Notre
Dame, Florida, and Nebraska.
The Gamecocks Handbook takes
the reader on a journey from the first
game in 1892 to last year's
disappointing 4-6-1 season.
?TS
gain Vol
provided the only points of the third
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gap was closed to 21-14.
The tight end's reception was a twoyarder
from quarterback Anthony Wright
in the corner of the endzone in which he
humbly referred to with a low-key
approach.
"It was just a regular play that we
do every day in practice. I was just there
at the right time," Matthews explained.
Matthews was just one of a handful
of regular offensive players that had
noteworthy afternoons.
Freshman tailback Boo Williams and
junior Scott Moritz combined for 104 of
the 122 offensive rushing yards in filling
in for the absent Duce Staley, who pulled
up lame with an ankle injury suffered
during the Vanderbilt.
Both Moritz and Williams had been
readying themselves all week to contribute
for the Duce-less offense.
"That's what we're here for. You
never know," Moritz said. "When
something bad happens to your starter,
which it did in our case, you have to be
ready to step up at any time. I think me
and Boo prepared hard this week. We
watched a lot of film this week and tried
to do the best we could."
Wright also had an outstanding game
as he completed 15 of 22 passes for 166
yards and no interceptions on the
afternoon.
He also had several key runs on third
down that helped the Gamecocks convert
and kept them in several drives. These
carries, referred to by one reporter a s
"Charlie Ward-ish runs" contributed to
possibly one of the best perforafances of
the year, but Wright knows the
Gamecocks were just a few plays a way
from a national upset.
"The game was a lot closer than the
score indicated," Wright said." It was
a lot closer than 31-14. They scored with
three minutes left and the game then
looked like it had been blown out."
Defensively, linebackers Shane
Burnham and Darren Hambrick led the
iveep Lad1
l't?r to 33 games in a row.
. .. Carolina has now los
EC domination droppi 17.?
"ecocksintro Florida, ranked sec.
winning streak land 11-0.
The Lady Gators, w
season record since 1992
15-5,15-10 and 15-4.
The team won agai
15-2.
Carolina head coach
the team's play despite
"The most importar
for the weekend was fo
good about the way we
I we can for the most pai
On Friday in Gaines
one with a 10-3 lead. Ca
falling, with junior Shar
The Lady Gamecoc
before battling back.
Senior Kelly Morrow
to close the lead to 10
however, hitting .4751(
Game three was tl
r Gators, as they took an
Sophomore Cindy R
11 kills, hitting .364.
Abshier hit .318 j
sophomore Ashley Edlu
Sunday's match, plj
to The Gamecock competitive. Florida oj
ndy Robarge one Carolina cla
*ata a point. tie
itral Florida. Florida was leading J
to record a side-out. The
authors book
? 1- _11
jock rooioan
It also includes some of South
Carolina's favorite personalities, history
and games.
The book's 160 pages are full of
1 facts, trivia, behind-the-scenes stories,
and up-to-date statistics.
"Writing Gamecocks Handbook
was like taking a tour through the 102
seasons of South Carolina football
history and learning exactly why it
has become such a cornerstone of life
in the Palmetto State," says Simpson,
p "All the great players, coaches and
! teams are in this book, and they form
[ a rich, and thoroughly entertaining,
tapestry."
i The book is designed to be an opens
and-start-anywhere page-turner.
The book will be available at South
i Carolina Bookstore and other Gamecock
apparel retailers, but you can also
; order the book through the publisher
at 1-800-4^2-4043.
j
0 I
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UIIICCIO I
defense with 10 and seven hits,
respectively. Both worked hard along
with the rest of the defense to earn a
little more respect for themselves.
"Well, that's what we've tried to do
throughout the year - get respect form
a lot of teams. I think Peyton realized
how tough that the defense was. I think
he realized that this wasn't going to be
a pushover," Hambrick said.
And who could overloolUhe play of
several key seniors.
Corey Bridgesled the team in
receptions with five for 45 yards while
fellow senior Marcus Robinson, this
season's long-play man, had three
receptions for 57 yards.
Senior right tackle Randy Wheeler
remained a constant in an offensive line
that blazed the way all afternoon for the
tailback duo of Williams and Moritz.
Seniors Maynard Caldwell and Terry
Cousin went fourth and fifth, respectively,
in tackles.
And Benji Young, who has been the
epitome of consistency all season, finished
his final game at Williams-Brice Stadium
Senior running back Duce Staley, ah
street clothes for Saturday's gam<
were honored for their contributions
y Gameco(
miscue that i
t three straight SEC matches, the Lady Gal
11 and 7-4 in the conference. Game twc
>nd nationally, moved to 25- 4-0. The Lad
fallincrhphini
ho have a 66-1 SEC regular -phe Lad\
!, defeated Carolina on Friday Wtting 714 ^
n Sunday 15-11,15-11 and ^ Abshier 1
Kim Hudson felt good about an(! \ ^
the losses. and 11 digs.
it thing I wanted to happen Junior He
r us to come through feeling digs an<*two
competed, and I think that team P'ai
t," Hudson sai d. "We show
ville, Florida opened up game we played de
rolina scored two more before really good tl
li Abshier recording five kills, number two
ks trailed 10-4 in game two Robarge Y
was a hard d
r served two consecutive aces ?\ye p]ay(
-8. Florida was too tough, ifs tough losi
>winthegame haveplayedl
ien controlled by the Lady haDDen "
11-pointvictoiy. Hudsona
obarge led for Carohna with ^
and recorded 10 kills and d^PPrintin
nd chipped in with 35 assists. wa^ away
ayed in Columbia, was more Friday ni
aened up a 5-0 lead in game while 1,028 i
wed its way back to an 11-11 overall serie;
The Lady
L3-11 when Carolina appeared Thursday ar
call was negated by a ballgirl take on Geor
Gamecocl
1. Florida (59)
2. Ohio State (5)
3. Florida State (2)
4. Arizona State (1)
5. Nebraska
6. Tennessee
7. Colorado
8. UNC
9. Michigan .
10. Alabama
11.LSU
12.BYU J?
13. Kansas State <\^
14. Penn State: ^
415. Virginia s|J
:Wyoming ,Jl
;J.17.NotieDameit:|:?,S
^18.
19. Washington
Hi 20. Soutl^n'Mass
- :
7
respect
with another solid performance.
"The seniors have really stepped and
met a challenge. They recognized that
they were not. satisfied and they didn't
want to be like last year's team. They
want to make it to a bowl game this
year. They helped build a team that's
on the rise. We're going to miss this
class," Wright said.
After the game, Marcus Robinson
sat clutching his senior ball, given to all
the seniors for their Gamecock service,
keeping in mind that he and his fellow
seniors helped lay a foundation for this
young team.
"We've come together as a family and
together you accomplish things.
"We've been down and we've stuck
together and toughened it out. I think
tjiis year we've become really tight and
we seniors have picked it up," Robinson
said.
Come next season, when this family
hits the Williams-Brice field for the first
time, these 17 family members will surely
be missed. However, there are young
players out there ready to join the family.
ACHNM HUNT The Gamecock
town here with Brad Scott, was In
?. Staley and 16 other seniors
> to Carolina football.
:ks twice
dlowed a ball to roll onto the court, and
:ors went on to win the game.
) also saw Florida open up a quick lead,
y Gamecocks tied the game 5-5, before
i 11-6.
' Gators then dominated game three,
id holding Carolina to .063, and winning
ed the Lady Gamecocks with 14 kills
litting .355, and Edlund added 34 assists
lather Larkin, who recorded 11 kills, 10
block assists, was happy with the way
yed.
ed a lot of fight, especially at home, and
ifense really well," Larkin said. "I feel
lat we competed that hard against the
team in the nation."
lad seven kills and said Sunday's match
efeat.
ed the first two games really well, and
ng like that," Robarge said. "We should
better the third game, but it just didn't
aid she was glad the weekend was over,
l't take a game off them, and that's
g," Hudson said. "I think the girls will
eling they did a good job and competed."
ighf s match saw 2,377 in attendance,
attended on Sunday. Florida leads the
5 with Carolina 16-6.
Gamecocks host Central Florida 7 p.m.
id then travel to Athens on Saturday to
gia at 7 D.m.
k Tod'25x5^
*
21. Miami
22. Auburn
23. Iowa
24. Syracuse
25. Virginia Tech
Others Getting Votes; I
Bast Carolina Jj|||I
W^ViiV 11