The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, September 19, 1997, Page 9, Image 9
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fii
It's not time for the Gamecocks to
panic, but the alarm is about 60 minutes
from going off. Sixty minutes of
football action, that is.
V All Aim nt?a rv-f o i AM CnfiiK/lr.tf
x uu.i v^uancio ui aiwiuii uatuiuaj
will go a long way in determining the
| outcome of the 1997 South Carolina
" football team.
"I think this is a crucial game, and
we, on the defense, we feel like this is
a must win game," cornerback Lee Wiggins
said.
Of all the teams the Gamecocks could
face to turn their season around, it's
kind of ironic that this game comes
against the one team that has given
them fits over the years, East Carolina.
1.
? uou nas lost its last two contests to
ECU, with the Pirates averaging nearly
40 points a game. The last time Carolina
traveled to Greenville, the results
were the same as USC was downed 3120.
The last time a USC football team
defeated ECU in Greenville was in 1985,
when USC beat the Pirates 52-10.
But when the Gamecocks (1-1) travel
to Greenville Saturday to play the
Pirates (1-1), they will not only be look|
ing for a win but will be looking to play
better than they did in their first two
games.
"I don't think our football team
has played up to our capabilities yet,"
USC coach Brad Scott said. "When
we do that, I think we're going to be a
solid football team."
* Scott gives 1
1 Achim ljuni |
"Well, we didn't play well against
Georgia," USC coach Brad Scott said.
"I think that is very obvious. We didn't
^ execute early on especially. Then we
didn't step it up in the second half when
we had an opportunity to do that.
"Georgia is a good football team, and
they certainly had a great game against
us. I thought that they kept us off balance
very well, and their preparation
for us was outstanding. We are going
to get that straightened out, and that
is the most important thing, we are going
to get this thing straightened out.
"I don't think our football team
has played up to our abilities or our capabilities.
When we do that, I think we
are going to be a solid football team.
Singleton sp<
| new world order |
^ "A man can be destroyed but not defeated."
- Ernest Hemingway
When I arrived at Sanford Stadium
at the University of Georgia, I had high
hopes for a close game.
When I left, however, I had this
Sartrerian feeling of nausea over what
had transpired.
I had broken one of my own tenets
^ of Singletonian philosophy (No. 9: It is
better to be cynical and surprised than
to be optimistic and disappointed).
By now, everyone has read the various
news articles and columns about
Saturday's game, and many people have
started to make their plans for basketball
season, but I haven't.
Nevertheless, it is only the third
week of the season, and already, Gamecock
fans are pressing the panic button.
^ I have heard friends say that the
football team will go 3-8,4-7 and even
1-10 this year.
To all of these people, I don't think
you would be saying that if we were
2-0, no matter how badly we played
in those ball games. Besides, we're only
1-1.
WtMlfMijiiiuiijud
com
surasl
After a di
k Carolina lo
f
w story
And a solid team they will have to to Gonz
be Saturday if they want to beat a tal- got to C
ented East Carolina football team. Offe
"We're playing a very good football lish the
team this weekend and a very danger- first twi
ous football team," Scott said. ly 98 ya
The Pirates come into the game on This
an emotional high after coming back Gamec<
from a 21 point, first half deficit to beat well as 1
Wake Forest 25-24. an aver
For those who endured the "Noah's "I th
Ark Bowl" last year, you remember how offensi\
PPTT tnilU 1. O 4-4- TJ 1 C? oni 1?
uwj uxuuain. uiutt naiicjr xaii iui &v? uurseivt
yards and one touchdown. Stopping said. "T
Harley will be the key for the South they rui
Carolina defense.
The Gamecocks must shut down the starters
running game and force ECU to go to their fir
the aerial attack if they want to im- the ECI
prove to 2-1 on the season. of 383.5
Forcing the Pirates to throw is es- average
sential for three reasons. One, quar- So th
terback Dan Gonzalez is in his first year cocks to
of starting at the position after the starts v
departure of Marcus Crandell. The 6'3" the ear]
Gonzalez started the last four games still opti
of the 1996 season when Crandell went
down with a knee injury. pjay a j
Two, ECU's best receiver, Larry Georgia
Shannon, is out after suffering a severe way to r
sprained ankle in a preseason scrim- victory,
mage. The 6'5", 210-pounder led the na- ting rig]
tion in yards per catch at 21.4 in 1996. a 2-1 rei
And three, the offensive line of ECU This
is as green as a Boston pub on St. ateamt
Patrick's Day. With the loss of four the yeai
starters, the USC defense needs to get It's a "re
keys to Saturda
Not sure we are anywhere close to be- "Of (
ing a good football team right now. So standin
certainly have got to be more consis- teruack
tent in our play on both sides of the football.
We need to begin to execute be- *0U]
cause football is a game of execution, So he h
and that was not a big part of our game senior a
this past Saturday gin wit
"Now we play a very good football pressed
team this week again, a very dangerous
team as always, in East Carolina. '
We have not beaten East Cairolina in reason i
our two previous meetings that we've last thr
been here. They had a big win last Sat- defense
urday, a confidence builder, I am sure, ,
as they came back from a 21-point deficit t epou
early in the first half to win the ball last yes
game. ?Th(
"They return about nine or 10 ball tea
starters from last year's ball club, which ?
J . , rrn_ well anc
was a very impressive team. Ihey run
well on defense and have a lot of team against
speed on both sides of the football. That ce
eaks his mind oi
Clemson is 2-0, but they haven't Thes
played stellar either. If they lose to Flori- alize thi
da State (which they will, of course), you're n
and we beat ECU in Greenville, we will for bfe>
have the same 2-1 record. XT
1>UW
I will say the same thing I said dur- true q&
ing last year's NCAA tournament. There me e.
are too many fair-weather fans here at doesn't *
into the
Our football team has played Geor- ^
gia and Central Florida, who, by the
way, almost beat Nebraska last Saturday.
Instead of saying that our team but y?u
is pathetic, have these fair-weather fans a^er a (
ever thought that the teams we've weekth
played could actually be pretty good? goalie g
The sad truth is that they probably anothei
haven't because it takes just that, ken, all
thought, and that takes too much ef- For
fort in this fast-paced society called Mortal
USC. been ^
Everyone is a fan when you're youguj
winning, but the real fans are the ones the firs
who are there through the good, the heart 01
bad and the ugly, and boy, have we seen p
all three in the first two weeks of the ,, . T^r
this Un
season.
resent
Real Gamecock fans are there iemsah
through rain, sleet and snow, as well
as sunshine. Real Gamecock fans make Crit
it to the actual game, even from Tal- been p
lyho! Real Gamecock fans aren't just You've
around for a game or two or even a sea- now wl
son, but every season. self?
SP0R1
:e?ocfts I
amimie
sappointing start to t
oks to rebound with ;
Carobna Saturd
and photo by bryan johnsto
alez in the same manner they W "v" ~
rCF QB Daunte Culpepper.
nsively, Carolina must estab- *
! running game. Through the * :' *%
3 games, USC is averaging on- ** *
rds per game.
would be a good game for the
)cks to start rushing the ball
he Pirate defense has given up
age of 191.5 yards per game. W<
ink for us to get back on track
rely, we have got to establish
3s in the running game," Scott
hey re very big up front, and JJ mgp
i well on defense."
ECU defense returns only four I ^
i and has had a rough time in
st two games. In those games,
J defense gave up an average J
yards of total offense and an f # . f, Jm
of 24 points per game.
ie time has come for the Game- 1
turn the season around, and it
nth Saturday's game. Despite
ly misfortunes, coach Scott is
mistic about his team's season.
re going to have to play well and
ot better than we did against
," Scott said. "If we can find a 4
egroup and come away with a *
then our program will be sittit
where it was last year with
? ? _
Freshman Mi
game isn't about just beating East Carolim
hat has given them trouble over ran for 291
rs, it's much more important, kickoff and v
lust win" game.
ty's game
:ourse, Scott Harley is an outg
runningback, and their quar.,
Dan Gonzalez, started their
r ball games for them last year.
go a lnt rtf ovnon'onpo onr] ia a
md has played very well to be- Achim I
h. I have been also very im- The Sweedisl
with their defense, and as I said
they run very well. I think the
or ECUs improvement over the Nathan 1
ee years is they way that their Kermit the Fi
has really come on. They got to
it to where they led the nation
,r in takeaway*, ^dly M
Miss Piggy
;y are another aggressive foot
m. We are going to have to play
1 play a lot better than we played Rosaline
Georgia. And we need to do that. Goazo 0-0
rtainly is our plan."
ti football Me
e fair-weather fans better reit
when you're a Gamecock fan, W"C3]
ot a fan for a day or a year but
The 21
that I have explained what a versity of
mecock does, it's now time for men's gol:
xplain what a true Gamecock four-undei
do by inducting a new member Tuesday a
i Singletonian Hall of Shame title of the
2 "U Suck" Award. metto Claa
lot saying exactly who you are, Point Golf
know who you are, especially The G,
:ertain soccer game earlier this w e r e 11 e (
at ended in the opposing team's ranked C1
getting knocked senseless and ^ j* (
player getting his ankle bro- first tourn'
of it intentional. ^ ^
starters, it's just a game, not 72,6,871-;
Kombat. None of you have ever Individ
a war zone, but I have, and if freshman
rs probably went, you would be birdied th
it to die because you have no hole and t
r honor. mate Eric
;hermore, you're a disgrace to ^ honors
iversity and the system you rep- Thomp
a system that has enough prob- under 71
eady and doesn't need new ones. ished his i
. ,,. , nament at
ics of you and the system have
roven right by your actions. er
i . . 4. 209 after
proven the stereotypes correct, ?
lat do you have to say for your
hole lip]
Thompsor
for the vie
"Iamt
to my
| nament,"
rs
[OOli
Pirates
i n .1
:ne season, Soutn
a victory over East
ay.
re, sports editor
i l- "
. ..
arco Hutchinson and the rest of the Gamecoi
i if they want to beat the Pirates. Last season
yards and one touchdown in ECU's 23-7 vie
nil be shown locally on FOX SportSouth. Chai
HEBSSBBS
>hnston - USC Tenn.
r - Hon T?I :J?
lUni UiL riunua
i Chef 8-2
Brown USC Florida
og 4-1
aguire USC Florida.
7-3
1 Harvey USC Florida
n's golf wins I
men's soccer
st-ranked Uni- tive of Easley, S.C. said. "It's
South Carolina more important, however,
f team posted a that the team won more
* 284 team score than myself. I think we can
nd captured the be a national contender this
30th-annual Pal- year if we can continue to
sic at the Osprey play up to our abilities."
Course. "Winning this tournaamecocks,
who ment doesn't surprise me; I
1 with second- knew it would be matter of
.emson entering time once I saw the score we
lay, outshot the were putting up in qualify10
strokes in the jng rounds," Puggy Blackament
of the year m0n, Carolina golf head
earns on the par coach said. "We are a deeppard
course. er team this year and our
ually, Gamecock chemistry is very good. This
Kyle Thompson win gives us a tremendous
e second playoff amount of confidence be;ased
past team- cause our players now beEcker
for medal- lieve we can win after being
head to head with a team
son carded a one- like Clemson. We were just
Tuesday and fin- very focused."
first college tour- The Gamecocks captured
seven-under 209. their first team crown in
also finished at more than five years and ala
four-under 68 so won the Palmetto Clasbut
had his birdie sic for the first time since
tie par 5, second the inaugural event in 1968.
ped out, while In the process, Carolina
l birdied the hole set a school record for the
;tory. lowest three-round tourruly
very honored nament total with a 19-unfirst
college tour- der-par 845, besting the preThompson,
a na- vious best of 849 set at the
r *rl '* -JI
P!w*#
< v.-?irt.;T?? <rf.7#ll?y* &* y
:k defense will have to shut down the running attack of
against the Gamecocks, ECU runningback Scott Harley
tory over USC. Saturday's game is slated for a 3 p.m.
"lie Mac and the gang will have the call on AM-560.
Fla. St. Wash. LSU
clemson Wash. LSU
Fla. St. Nebraska LSU
Fla. St. Nebraska LSU
Fla. St. Nebraska LSU
n nooi /i
. cuiiicuu
blanks Wofford
par-70 Gator Invitational in the game remained 0-0. In
1995. the second half, Carolina
Carolina and Clemson struck for its ^ when
were tied entering the final a direct was caded ^518
final Tuesday and re- yards out.
mained tied after nine holes. Austin took the kick and
But the Gamecocks blasted a rocket to the right
pulled away and held on post. Eleven minutes latdown
the stretch, despite be- er, Mindy Sanders was
ing 11-under-par as a team brought down right at the
at one point on the back 18-yard mark and again a
ninp direct kick was called.
Individually, East Car- Austm bl?fted a sh?ttotoe
olina's Marc Miller also post- ?PI*r nght corner tha time
ed a seven-under 209 but f?rthes?>rebogeyed
the first playoff hole. F or the game, USC (3-2,
Clemson's Charles Warren, 0-2 SEC) outshot Wofford,
the 1997 individual nation- 18-7. Junior Emily Crain
al champion, finished in a made her first start of the
four-way tie for fourth at year in the Carolina net,
212. making two saves in recordRounding
out the Car- team 3 s^utout
olina individuals were Brent yearRoof,
Stewart Ginn, and The USC rugby club
Mark Catalano. defeated TNC-Charlotte
The USC women's Satur(*ay, 32-10.
soccer team defeated Wof- The B-side team deford,
2-0, Wednesday at feated the 49ers, 15-7 and
Stone Stadium behind a pair the women's team won 7of
direct kicks from sopho- 0.
more defender Angela 'Phe teams play against
Austin. Saturday at 2 p.m. against
In the first half, Caroli- Emory at the P.E. Fields
na outshot the Terriers 7-4, next to the Blatt P.E. Cenbut
at the end of 45 minutes, ter.