The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, September 18, 1998, Page Page 7, Image 7
A complete recap Football
of the USC-Marshall Saturday vs. IV
game. "7 P m
A look at the volleyball
team's trip to Women s Sot
UT-Chattanooga at Aut
Gamecocks
look to
corral Herd
senior writer KELLY MAGUIRE
As dusk sets in, a rumble will fill the stadium. Yo
have to listen very carefully to make out the nois(
yet it is ominous, nevertheless.
Saturday night, that faint noise will erupt as th
Marshall Thundering Herd gallops into Williams-Bric
Stadium.
Defeating Marshall will certainly not be an eas
task for the Gamecocks. The Herd is the winninges
* college football team in the '90s with 91 wins and i
looking for a little respect from its peers.
The Herd will be humming the old R-E-S-P-E-Csong
Saturday night. Last year, Marshall had an ou
standing season, going 10-3 while advancing to th
Ford Motor City Bowl, in which they lost 34-31 to th
Ole Miss Rebels. The Rebels scored in the final 3
seconds to pull out the victory. Despite Marshall's su<
cess, head coach Bob Pruett still feels his team is nc
receiving the accolades they so richly deserve.
"We've won more ball games in the '90s than an
football program in America, so we're trying to just ge
the respect and get people to respect what we're tiyin
to do here, Pruettsaid.
USC coach Brad Scott has the utmost respect fc
his opponent.
"This is a team that, two years ago ,won a I-AA ni
tional championship, moved up to Division-I last yea
and won their conference and went to a bowl game
Scott said. "I am not looking forward to playing thi
football team; I can assure you that. They're going t
be a great challenge to our football team."
The key Saturday night for Marshall will be on th
offensive side of the ball. The Herd brings in a Hei:
man Trophy candidate in quarterback Chad Per
nington. Pennington is 50-of-71 for 717 yards and si
touchdowns on the season. Last year he led the natio
with 39 touchdowns. Those 39 TDs are an NCAA recor
for touchdown passes by a sophomore. In fact only for
other QBs have thrown more touchdown passes in
single season than Pennington.
Pennington is complimented by running back Dou
Chapman. He is the first player in Marshall histor
who has gone over 1,000 yards rushing in both of hi
years as a Herdsman. LaVorn Colclough caught 7
passes for 946 yards last season. Colclough was th
winner of the AT&T Long Distance award on a 92-yar
TD reception.
Pennington's favorite receiver last season wa
Ail-American and Biletnikoff Award winner, Rand
Moss. Moss caught 96 receptions for 1,820 yards an
26 TDs. Moss also finished fourth in the Heisman Tr<
phy voting last year. His fourth place finish was th
highest ever by a Mid-Atlantic Conference player, shov
casing the true talent Marshall has. Moss currentl
plays for the Minnesota Vikings.
"There's nobody in the National Football Leagu
that compares to Randy Moss," Pruett said. "I pei
sonally think he's the Michael Jordan of footbal
without the personality, to tell you the truth. There
nobody in college football that compares to him, an
he's gone, so we don't have anyone like him on our fool
ball team. But I think that we've got good wide receiver
Our guys have got good size and they've got really goo
speed. And I think that they're comparable to a lot (
football teams, if not better than most."
Marshall also has some award-winning player
on defense. Free safety, Rogers Beckett, is on the "Watcl
List" for the Jim Thorpe Award. Marshall has thre
talented linebackers in John Grace, Andre O'Neal an
Max Yates. Together, the three linebackers a have con
bined total of 55 tackles and three sacks.
Marshall's defense will have their hands full again*
Carolina's corp of wide receivers. The Herd will als
have to stop fullback Steve Mixon and running back
Troy Hambrick and Boo Williams.
"They've got a big ole strong tailback [Hambrick],
Pruett said. "I knew him from when I was at Florid
and coached his brother [Darren Hambrick]."
(Carolina has SOTT1P t.alon+orl vmina linoharlcprs fl
its own. Darion Hutcherson, Andre Offing, Willie Oi
ford and Shannon Wadley all shined in the game agains
Georgia, but USC will have to do without Corey Atkins
Atkins must watch from the sidelines due to an ankl
injury.
"He [Atkins] was our best experienced linebacke
when it came to coverage situations," Scott said. "H
was certainly the linebacker that you couldn't take out.
Although USC and Marshall have never met on th
field, there are a few connections. Jim Donnan left th
Marshall job to coach Georgia. Pruett came from Flori
da where he faced USC's Scott. Pruett also coache<
with USC's Bruce Johnson, Rick Petri and Johi
Zernhelt.
One more connection, albeit a sad one, can be mad<
between the two schools. On Nov. 14,1970 the Mar
shall football team suffered a tragedy. Seventy-fivi
players and coaches were flying back from a road gam
against East Carolina when the plane crashed outside
of Huntington, W.Va., killing all aboard. Current US(
Athletics Director Mike McGee was head coach of Eas
Carolina at the time.
Despite the tragedy, Marshall has persevered to be
come one of the best new I-A college football teams ii
America. In 1996, before Marshall made the switch t
Division I-A, the Herd won the national championshi]
at the I-AA level.
Carolina is gearing up for a tough competition witl
Marshall.
"We'll be ready to play, and we have a tremen
dous respect for Marshall," Scott said. "I'm excited abou
the future, and the future, like I told our planners, i:
next week, not next year."
larshall
)um i W I
rs
Gamecocks
u
extract revenge
e O
s on Clemson
y
g staff writer DAVID CLONINGER
It is an often-whispered phrase in the world of spor
that payback is hell.
Wednesday night, the Clemson Tigers received th
hell at the hands of the Gamecock volleyball team wii
a crushing 3-0 defeat.
Before a record crowd of 1,380, freshman Cal
Plummer and senior Ashley Edlund led the Gamecocl
to a 15-13,15-8,15-13 victory at Carolina's Volleybj
Competition Center.
^ Head coach Kim Hudson-Christopher was vei
pleased with her team's performance.
"There's just nothing like beating Clemson," si
said. "I've been thinking about this for 365 days."
Plummer led the Gamecock assault with a caree
t high 20 kills and a .514 hitting percentage.
ir When asked about her strong performance, Plur
? mer said, "All the upperclassmen talked about ho
's rough it was last year and how they didn't want to \
0 through it again. It made me want to go out and pli
harder, especially for our seniors, Ashley and Cin(
ie [Robarge]. There was no way I was going to let the
j. down."
Edlund also had a great match, contributing 47 a
x sists, nine kills and eight digs to round out her care
n against Clemson.
d "I can't tell you how big this win was," Edlund sai
"We were really ready for this team."
a Other contributors to the Gamecocks' win were s
nior Cindy Robarge and junior transfer Danika Ta
g lor, who did an outstanding job of containing Clemsor
y lead players, Cindy Stern and Stephanie Schulz. R
is barge, Taylor and Plummer combined for nine bloc]
4 against Clemson's highly touted offense to help insui
ie a victory.
d Not only was the crowd a record-breaking one, th<
were incredibly loud and cheered the Gamecocks c
Ls every play. According to Robarge, the fans were a b
y part of the match.
d
>
; Carolina linebac
f Marshall quarterback has thrown 134 pas
^ without an interception and holds the NC
s record for touchdown passes by a sophonu
d staff writer StWNE WEIBLE
t3
It is 6:30 a.m. Monday. Most are not even close to d
^ ging themselves out of the bed and attempting to begin t
>f day"
A select few, however, are well into their daily scl
ules. Within that group are Carolina linebackers. By
^ every morning, they are hard at work dissecting game f
of the upcoming opponent.
This week, that opponent happens to be the Thundr
Herd from Marshall. This is a team that many people dis
as an automatic win now that Randy Moss has depart<
the National Football League.
It TT 111 it* , .1 i i- i i
However, lei s not iorget tne man wno directed pass
s that talented receiver last year. Chad Pennington, Marsl
starting field general, has led them to a 2-0 start in 1998
? 1-0 in the Mid-American Conference. He is the reigning 1
a player of the week after racking up 437 yards of tota
fense and five touchdowns. Pennington also has a strei
134 consecutive passes without an interception.
: These statistics have not escaped the attention of C?
t na's young linebacker crew. They are well aware of the T
dering Herd's offensive ability. While they are respect!
Marshall's highly-touted hurler, their confidence is ra]
growing with every game, every practice and every moi
they view game films.
The guys taking aim at the Thundering Herd offense
? Saturday are Willie Offord and Darion Hutcherson on the
side, with Andre Offing anchoring the middle. This is I
e most athletic group of linebackers since the days of the
c Ant" detense.
Hutcherson is making his first start, replacing the in
1 Corey Atkins. Defensive coordinator Wally Burnham
1 Hutcherson has learned fast for a freshman who came
in January.
B "Darion came in Saturday night under adverse condi
against the University of Georgia and played like a sta
B he said.
e Hutcherson also receives praise from his teammat*
B the job he has done filling in for the injured Atkins.
Fellow linebacker Willie Offord said, "Darion has p
1 up where Corey left off. He's doing a good job of fillin
shoes."
Offord has a very good understanding of having to
1 quick adjustments. He has successfully made the tran;
0 from defensive back to a starting role at outside lineb*
P Although he had to gain considerable weight to maki
change, he has not lost any athleticism along the way. (
1 is, by consensus, the fastest and most athletic of the g
running a 4.5 second 40-yard dash. Offord also shows a
knowledge of the game and what it takes to evolve into
t ter player.
s When asked how such a youthful squad will hand
stress of playing in the best football conference in tf
Angela Aus
goals to- 1<
Gamecock :
V A | i a 2-0 victor
M 1 I 9 I Wednesda1
UJ\ 1 O srssi
K
JPF 'nil 1 ^ ^ "" ~g' *^T|HF?r
j|j v
fcggtff
9fl^^HHgggv
9
?o ^kjjj^H
ay H IBBMBlli I^lll?III
ly
m .^HHRa
IpilPL 9
is- ~ ' H
er
ey
The Gamecock volleyball team rushes the court after b
.>. rn^t:nn ko?? >k? Tin^ ie n icq ten , >
1 $ v-oi wuna uvai nit x ji 7"ij vivixsiy utivi v. a
?" "The crowd tonight was unbelievable," she said. "When- st
*s ever we needed them, they made a lot of noise and got us ki
re going."
USC ran to an 11-3 lead in Game 1 before Clemson closed ,e<
iy be
)n the gap with a run that made the score 14-13. Sophomore
ig Mandy Quarterman then won the game with a kill. Game 2 m
started with a 4-4 tie before the Gamecocks tallied seven Cj
rkers have tough ta
ses tion, he said, "We just have to play harder, correct any mistakes
and watch a lot of game film."
^ Another athletic addition to this year's linebacker crew is
?- Offing. At 6-feet- 1-inch and 242 pounds, the redshirt sopho
more is an ideal middle linebacker. Andre has very good speed
and plays with a great deal of ^ a
,^ confidence. He was selected by HGk We 31
the coaches as the most im- efS. W
^ , proved linebacker during the ? 'JB . .
spring. Offing says he loves to jgoft P ^
watch film and often tests him- ' J
the fie
self while doing so. | w
^ "I like to look at the offensive
sets and try to guess of US 1
which play they'll run," Offing j
;d t0 said. 1 !>. ~ m if
M. This practice has been pay- OFFING ,inf
mrr Affinrr hoc Knnn
UAS Wtvauuw Willi 10 IUU wvvu
? a force to reckon with in the
MAP middleVLrt^
All three of the Gamecocks' starting linebackers agree that
d ?*~ they have a very tight group. This closeness is not exclusive
?f to the starters, either. The guys all acknowledge that the backups
are capable of stepping in at any given time and playing
""od" like starters.
J11111" Offing describes it as a family-like relationship: "We are
^ ?* all like brothers. We always want to help each other out on
pidly field. Answer any questions anybody has. And we let each
other know it when one of us messes up."
iscs
"Fire
jured I
COiH I i . I t I I II I T
r;; Nate iviarsnan lennesse
Sports Editor 6-4
tions
rter,"
B.J. Marshall Florida
2S for Editorial Assistant 4-6
icked
Jennifer Stanley USC Florida
make Editor 8"2
sition
tcker.
~thi j Kelly Maguire USC Florida
)fford Senior Writer 7-3
Toup,
t good
o KptLaura
Bokesch USC Florida
le the Friend of Sports Staff 8-2 ^
te na
tin scored two Nate says the last six volsad
the Lady leyball matches between
soccer team to USC and Clemson have
y over Wofford been sweeps. In 1995, '96
y night in and '98, USC won 3-0
g. Carolina is while Clemson won 3-0 in
)n the season. '93, '94 and '97.
rn
IV!
|P|| ..
^ HBKsnfc. . WMajlL n& ~ ^
<3^ *|S??>' Wj|?y|MK "-f'"
HHHLK1S3L : *
SEAM RAYFORD Sports Photo Editor
eating the Clemson Tigers 3-0 Wednesday night
i record-setting crowd.
raight points and ended the game with a Crystal Moore
11.
Game 3 was almost a direct recap of Game 1, with USC
iding 6-1, and Clemson clawing its way to a 14-13 deficit
fore Plummer ended the game with a sideout and block.
The victory gave the Gamecocks their seventh win in eight
atches to improve to 7-1, while Clemson fell to 5-2. South
irolina's next home match is Sept. 23 against Winthrop.
1 -W-"V
sk in Pennington
Offord said that they don't look at it as competing for a
starting role. Instead, they try to pull each other up and make
everybody good enough to fill those spots.
That philosophy has proven to be very reliable already
this season, with excellent play coming from the second group.
' Players like Kenneth Har'C
all like broth- ne^, Marco Hutchinson,
e always want to Shannon Wadley and Daron
, , Brooker have all stepped in
acfl Other out on and showed that they belong;
Id ... We let each the pad-cracking hit that Harknow
it when one
neSSeS up." Don't forget about the fumble
Harney picked up and reAndre
Offing 'urned a" the,w,ay t0^e
, . o . ^ , r Georgia 3-yard line. The
. backer. South Carolina football quickness of Wadley and
Brooker and the big hits from Hutchinson are solid reasons
to believe that success is not far down the road.
The coaching staff is excited about the attitude and work
4-Uin f TrtoKr.nknnlrnwo
ctiut Ui tius )cai s liiicuavrvci o.
"This is the best linebacker crew that we've had since I've
been here," Burnham said.
The coaches see that players are hungry for improvement
and not satisfied with a mediocre performance. They push
each other to the limit every practice. Coach Burnham said,
"I think it's healthy. I think it's what we've needed around
here for a long time."
e Virginia Kansas St. LSI)
Virginia Kansas St. Auburn
Virginia Kansas St. LSU
Virginia Kansas St. LSU
Virginia Kansas St. LSU
*
A