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EZMT^^H I E A preview of the Woi Carolina/Georgia Fri. 1 game ^OI Gamecock Sports Challenge N A fan's day of tailgating | BECKY McCLELlAN Saturday marked the kickoff of the mllecre fnnthall season as the Snnth Car olina Gamecocks trounced the Ball State Cardinals 38-20. Thousands of fans wearing garnet and black piled into their cars to begin the traffic-filled trek to Williams-Brice Stadium where the Gamecocks played : their season opener. Outside the stadium, the typical pregame atmosphere was in full effect with the most popular pregame ritual: the tailgate party. From the president's party to the average open-your-hatchback-and-eat party, tailgating is the thing to do before, after or, for some, during a football game. From my distant public parking space in lot ten, I had the opportunity to talk to some veteran tailgaters about one of their favorite activities. With the closing of Tally Ho, many groups have had to move their tailgate parties to new locations. "We're not really affected," one Sigma Nu fraternity member commented. "Because of the fights, we moved our party's location last year." The public parking area is a great place for having a tailgate party. A huge grass terrain allows for plenty of room for parking and picnicking. Food selection includes anything from homemade sandwiches to barbecue chicken to Subway takeout. Students and families alike come to this area to socialize and snack befnva fV>o kirr rromn fLumnpnolr fon Tnr?_ iviu uit uig gaiac. uam^vuvA lau xvi" ry Johnson and her family have been tailgating here for eight years. "We usually try to get here three to four hours before the. game," Johnson said. "Chicken, potatoes and a variety of drinks are some of the foods we bring with us to tailgate." In another section of the parking lot a group of friends and alumni gathered for their weekly party. USC alumnus Ed Gray joked, "I don't even go to the game. I just come to tailgate!" Gray has been tailgating at the university for 23 years. This Saturday, he and his tailgating group plan to bring in 50 pounds of shrimp to celebrate the Gamecocks' match up with conference rival Georgia. As I continued my walk towards the stadium, I came upon the University House. For those who are not familiar with this area, it is a two story brick house, surrounded by a paved parking lot and enclosed by a metal fence. It is for members only. If you pay a membership fee, you are allowed to tailgate in this section before football games each week. Many families choose to join olnk knonnoo nf fkn pnmro^Qru OTir? UUO UUU HA/Vauou UI VliV Willi UUVi. J uiiu relaxed atmosphere. Member Henry Johnson said, "The good thing about tailgating here is that you get the same parking place every year, and you get the chance to meet all kinds of new people." In front of the stadium I encountered another group of tailgaters who are students at USC. For students, tailgating is a great way to hang out with friends before the game and also to get excited about cheering for the Gamecocks. "We tailgate for every home game," said senior Christine Gibbons. "We're very dedicated," said junior DmrAO "Wa nrnrif fn flrnnf villus Li jjujrca. f?c ttcuv w utvu w Gamecock Tailgate, and we also bought a copy of'Gamecock Fever.'" To keep the consumption of alcohol under control, the Office of Alcohol and Drug Programs sponsored four non-alcoholic tailgate parties. These parties took place at The Rocket on the State Fairgrounds and included entertainment from the band Shades of Gray, as well as a variety of foods and door prizes. Many security guards patrolled the stadium to guide traffic and keep watch for any potential problems. Lance Corporal Bobby Gilstrap said that there would be no reason for any i. U1? LIUUU1C. "We have a good crowd tonight, so I think things should run pretty smoothly," he said. So, next Saturday, as the Gamecocks of Carolina take on the Bulldogs of Georgia, put together some of your favorite party foods, gather some of your buddies, hop in the car and head over to the stadium. If you're too lazy to do that, there are a lot of parties that will send you an invitation to join them. Whatever you decide to do, you will be sure to meet a variety of people and have a lot of fun. Just make sure you get there early, because the good spaces fill up fast. nen's Soccer M vs. Georgia 7 p.m. nen's Volleyball 'klahoma Toumey i's Soccer arden City Classic in i ew York ^ Wright sha senior writer KELLY MAGUIRE If anyone doubted the health of Anthony Wright on Saturday, his fears were annihilated. The quarterback led his team to an amazing 31 points in the first half and a final score of 38-20 against the Ball State Cardinals. With this vie tory, Carolina took a giant step toward boosting the confidence of a young Gamecock football team. "I think it's very important for our football team that we understand that that was a good win, and that was a victory," Scott said. Scott was extremely proud of the poise and control that Wright, who recently recuperated from a severe knee injury, displayed when leading this young team. "I thought he was just really sharp," Scott said. "He was in control out there. He did a good job leading our team, but I thought his passes were excellent." Wright was just glad to play. "When something like this happens to you, you've got to "be a man and step up to the challenge," Wright said. "It felt great, I think my knee held up well." "Yall saw him get hit, so we don't have to answer that question anymore," Scott said. Carolina won the toss and elected to receive the opening kick. Boo Williams returned the kick to the USC 30-yard line. Wright then decided to take matters into his own hands, rushing for seven yards. Steve Mixon later rushed for the first down. Several plays later, Wright faded back, could not locate a receiver, then rushed for a career high of 30 yards and was pushed out of bounds at the Ball State 16-yard line. On third down, three yards to go, Wright passed to Zola Davis for a nine-yard touchdown. Davis' catch moved him to No. 4 on USC's alltime reception list. Courtney Leavitt's attempt was good, which put Carolina up 7-0. USC's opening drive accumulated 70 yards in nine plays and took 3:47. Steve Florio then kicked off into the end zone, giving Ball State the ball on the 20. Corey Atkins stalled the Cardinal drive and Carolina took over at their own 46. Wright quickly passed to Mixon and then to Ben Fleming on the ensuing play. hue fi U M Berson picks up win number 300 in Carolina's 2-1 victory over No. 1 UCLA. staff writer KATHLEEN RALLS Despite a shaky start, the newly No. 2-ranked University of South Carolina men's soccer team (3-0) surprised formerly No. 1 UCLA, the defending national champions, in a 2-1 victory Sunday night at Eugene E. Stone III Stadium. In front of a record capacity crowd of 5,750, Gamecock coach Mark Berson earned a more personal achievement, his 300th career victory as head coach, improving his overall record to 300-98-32. As the only head coach in the 20-year existence of Carolina soccer, he is 286-93-32. "It's incredible to have reached this milestone," Berson said. "I never would have projected this. It means we have had a lot of great players. It belongs to USC and all the players." And that's just the kind of philosophy that inspires teams and coaches to win over a potentially overbearing opponent. The opening minutes of the match were dominated by aggressive play in the middle of the neld. Jboth teams were caiiea ior tnppmg ana roughing penalties as neither had a true scoring advantage over the other. The Bruins produced eight shots compared to the Gamecocks' five in the first half. UCLA's McKinley Tennyson Jr. had the best opportunity when he received a pass from the right flank but fired the ball just north of the Carolina net. At the 26:35 mark of the game, Gamecock junior co-captain John Harr finally broke the Bruin barrier, sliding a shot to the right of goalkeeper Nick Rimando, who had come out to attack. The assist was credited to freshman Joey Worthern, who delivered a tremendous back Volleyball team t; staff writer Htilli TERMASU digs to leac 15-7 victorj The USC volleyball team overcame nior Crystal a rocky start Friday night to claim the senior Ash Carolina Classic tournament. sists. The Gamecocks fell behind 2-1 With th against Southwest Missouri State on the Gameo Friday but battled back to win the put away C match in five games. 2,15-5. Saturday proved to be much eas- Plumn ier as Carolina breezed past Ten- way, puttin noccao.r'Vioff onn/-?cra anH Pnacfal Par. fin it of o V11UVVUXIWV^U UU.AVA WVMfcJWVA WUi l>Ulg UV U .V olina to improve to 4-0 on the young Edlund season. for tournan In the first match, freshman was namec Cally Plummer had 13 kills and eight team. )POR rp in 38-20 On a 15-yard pass from Wright, Mixon scored t make the game 13-0, and after Leavitt's kick, tb lead expanded to 14-0. Ball State received the ball again, this tim utilizing the talents of running back, LeAndri ATnnwft nVi Ar*r?i*\ nr 4-V* n n.nw?A/?/\nlrfi 1 nn /i r*14* 1 A iyiuuic, niuppiiig tiic vjcuiicv/u^iva icau ill liaii, ?1 7. Ball State then kicked off and Williams re turned it to the USC 35-yard line. As the quar ter ended, Carolina maintained possession. Wrigh was an incredible 8-8 for 85 yards passing am two touchdowns in the first quarter. As the second quarter opened, Wright agau drove Carolina down the field to expand the Game cock lead to 21-7. Wright's touchdown pass ti Jermale Kelly ranks him 4th on the school's all time leading passing list with 31 career touch downs. On Ball State's next possession, the Cardi nals were forced to punt and the Carolina offens< returned to the field with 11:03 left in the secom quarter. Carolina's backup QB, Phil Petty, wa: brought into the game. He led the Carolina of fense down the field, culminating in a five-yar< TD courtesy of Mixon. Petty led the Gamecocks for the first tim< with an outstanding seven-play, 42-yard scorinj drive. The Gamecocks were then leading 28-7 whei Ball State QB Clay Walters threw a pass righ into the hands of USC cornerback Homer Tor ranee. However, USC could not capitalize on it: golden opportunity, as the Gamecocks fumble( at their own six-yard line. The Cardinals exploitet the Gamecocks' mistake, as Moore rushed for i touchdown, narrowing the Gamecocks lead to 28 14. The half ended with Leavitt kicking a 33-yan field goal. The'Gamecocks retreated to the lock er room holding a solid 31-14 lead. After the half, Ball State opened up the thin quarter with a failed 46-yard field goal at tempt. The Gamecocks completed their scoring oi an eight-yard rush by Williams. Ball State then marched down the field, bu the USC defense came on strong when Core^ Atkins stopped the Cardinals at the eight-yart line on a fourth down and one attempt. flUiia J . . ' ' *>5 ^P|. ;y'- s _ '; '^4 ?>; ' Goalkeeper Henry Ring and defender Jon; knocking off No. 1 UCLA. The victory cataf pass from the right flank just before it went out of bounds. ikes title Fullb; [ use to the 15-10, 15-4, staff writer ANN Mi r over the Ladv Mocs. Ju Moore added 11 kills while USC junior Ste ley Edlund added 38 as- be playing the m< night's season open e championship in sight, Withfreshmei ocks went out and easily ^ Jonathan Mar oa Carohna-15"3'15" and T.J. Hines out ler once again led the pension, Mixon w, g away eight kills and hit- available. 1\ cbp And he was rej was a unanimous choice challenge, lent MVP while Plummer 1 knew coming 1 to the All-Toupament going to play a lot. I'm glad we won... Nate says gift-tax k who catches one , run balls and im r | 1 f 1 Revenue Service sa to clarify "press s might have to pay JL 62nd home run bal vf'rtnrv rwp J \/ f V. e ^ ? ^ .&: Y - #*<" " -- * * * * "" s& /% >s Quarterback Anthony Wright showed he is i surgery with this scramble in the Gamecock a y USC took over possession, but had to punt for the first time. As Leavitt lined up, the Ball j State defenders came around the corner and t blocked his kick. The ball ended up at the USC six-yard line. Again the Carolina defense stayed g strong, and the Ball State offense was denied at j the one-yard line. Carolina came in and fumbled again, giving l Ball State possession at the eight-yard line. Ball State took advantage of the mistake and scored for the final time, but missed the kick after the j TD, making the final score 38-20. Carolina had a balanced attack as the offense and defense shined. The Gamecocks also had an j amazing 22 freshmen or first-time players step into the game. "I was proud of our players because I saw a x lot of young players beginning to make some plays, especially in the second half on defense," Scott t said. "I thought the second half they [the linef backers] settled in and played better." j Although the special teams had a mishap, Scott was still proud of them. NoT at c I F ? C I t C 4|f%I1|I11I1 \ 3XlXB&f I JH tia K| iikHH E ak ml \ ^ k mm h ? ?mamm 1 SEAN RAYFORD Sports Photo Editor J as Mvllenberg, No. 5, celebrate Sunday after mlted USC to as high as No. 2 in one poll. 1 The USC defense picked up the slack where , the offense left off. Goalkeeper Henry Ring made " eight saves including one shot which he slapped ack Mixon wins ARIE MIANI next week, but I'm going to one game at a time," Mixon sa :ve Mixon knew he'd Mij?<m scored tw0 touch ajority of Saturday for 8, yards m 2Q carr er against Ball State. , . r ax. xt also caught two passes for anc n Antome Nesmith tin out due to injury, yarJ!" . , .. o The only down side of Mixoi , on a one-game sus- J as the onlv fullback was Ws tw0 ftunbles'which le Ball State touchdowns. ady to step up to the "No one is more uPset ab( fumbles] than I am, but it ha \ into the game I was and I can't dwell on the past, I'm a little tired, but said. "All I can do is try to corn It could be this way I did wrong." iws will not apply to a baseball fan of Mark McGwire's valuable home mediately returns it, the Internal id Tuesday. The IRS said it wanted speculation" about whether a fan the taxes for returning the historic 11. r Cardinals mka jT SEAN RAYFORD Sports Photo Editor completely healed from last season's knee s' first series Saturday night "Our kicking game, I thought tonight, was superb," Scott said. Carolina's offense had 411 total yards to Ball State's 273. Each team had one interception. Carolina had two fumbles to Ball State's one. The Gamecocks also were 10-13 on third-down conversions. The USC defense had four sacks for the night. The Gamecocks offense really opened up due to their balanced running and passing attack. "We've been running the ball a lot, and a lot of teams have been concentrating on our run and it's opened up our pass game," Wright said. Five receivers caught passes including four each from Davis, Kelly, and Fleming. Mixon and Shah Mays each caught two. The total yards accumulated by receptions was 199. Next up, the Gamecocks face SEC foe Georgia. In last year's contest, the Bulldogs defeated Carolina 31-15 in Athens. But two years ago, the Gamecocks, led by Duce Staley, upset the 'Dogs in Williams-Brice Stadium. UCLA list out of bounds to keep the shut out alive for he first half. "We were intense and we were trying to stay :onfident and calm," Ring said. "My defense had ny back, they held me up all game." The second half opened at the same furious >ace only this time UCLA answered back with i goal at 56:36 by Tennyson who was assisted in a give-and-go by Tom Poiti and Seth George. 3ut this scoring balance would not last as USC lad an answer. At 58:29, Nathan Watkins conrolled a high pass from Chris Lockwood and inverted it for a goal from 20 yards out to give JSC the 2-1 lead for good. "Luckily, I was onsides and the keeper rave me the far posts," Watkins said. "Coach alvays says that 'goals follow goals.'" Though the Bruins were down, they continled to harass the Carolina defense and Ring, lelting him with twelve shots in the second half. Defender Chris Morman left the game with an njury at 72:36. During the last minute of play, UCLA forced ;he issue with multiple shots at the defense for >ne last chance at redemption. But Ring fought iff the attack and Harr carried the ball up the ight flank and cleared it to finalize the win. To win big games means you goalkeeper has ? have big saves," Berson said. "It's a great credt to his ability." Berson also credited the youth of the team, Droving again that they would not back down to inyone. "One third of our team is young," Berson said. 'How each team handles the ups and downs in ;his match determines the score." The loss leaves UCLA at an even 1-1 on the /ear, dropping them to No. 3. UPSET page 10 ; Scott's praise take it USC coach Brad Scott said he was id. proud of Mixon's play, despite the fumdowns, kles. . _ , j "I thought Steve played very well les, an outside of the two fumbles... he Dlaved )ther 28 every snap 0f that football game; it wasn't his fault we didn't have anothl's night er fullback to rest him," Scott said. "He's d to two certainly a guy I tip my hat to." Mixon doesn't mind being the work. r. i horse of the team, even if that means , playing the whole game, ippened Still, though, he is only human. By " Mixon the middle of the second quarter, with id what 1 ?? MIXON pagelO