The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, September 29, 2000, Page 10, Image 10
A Gamecock Sports Schedule
-mAW” ^^4 ■ Women’s soccer vs. Georgia, Fri., 7 p.m.
V h |r I ■ Volleyball vs. Kentucky, Fri., 7 p.m.
k ■ U V V ■ ■ Football at Alabama, Sat., 1 p.m.
■ Equestrian in Irmo, Sat., 8:30 a.m.
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Page 10 TOlC CBaitlCCOCk Friday, September 29, 2000
i
USC faces first road test of year at ’Bama
With starting quarterhack, Phil Petty, injured, Gamecocks look for Erik Kimrey to repeat success from last week
| : ■ :-'¥-- ■"■-• .■__J
Sean Rayford The Gamecock
USC’s Derek Watson is hugged by teammates and cheered by fans after scoring a touchdown against
Georgia earlier this season. Watson and USC face their first road test of the year Saturday at Alabama.
by Michael Haney
The Gamecock
South Carolina is looking for its first
ever win over the Alabama Crimson Tide
this weekend as they make their first road
trip of the season to Tuscaloosa.
Carolina (4-0,2-0) is ranked 23rd in
both major polls. Alabama (1-3,1-1),
ranked preseason No. 3, has fallen out of
the rankings after being picked by many
to win the SEC championship again and
contend for a national title.
The Gamecocks head into Saturday’s
game in a tough situation. Quarterback
Phil Petty, who has started in all four
Gamecock wins, won’t be on the travel
team this week. He sprained his ankle in
the win last week over Mississippi State.
Walk-on Erik Kimrey will start for USC,
and true freshman Dondrial Pinkins might
see playing time this weekend. Wide
receiver Carlos Spikes is also an option.
Holtz said the prospect of not hav
ing Petty is frustrating.
“It’s not an ideal situation,” Holtz
said. “We get in a position to have a big
game on the road, and we are basically
going to have to start from scratch of
fensively.”
The running game will look to re
bound this week after gaining only 30
yards against the Bulldogs last Saturday.
Tire team had been averaging 224.3 yards
per contest. Sophomore Derek Watson
will get the start at tailback Watson is av
eraging 105.2 yards per game. Andrew
Pinnock will share the duties as well.
Phil Petty isn’t the only starter
with an injury, as wide receivers Jermale
Kelley and James Adkisson were injured
earlier in the week. Kelly, who was this
week’s SEC Offensive Player of the Wfeek
re-aggravated a ligament injury to fingers
in his left hand. Adkisson sprained his left
knee.
The Tide offense has been nothing
but a mere ripple so far this season, as the
team ranks 89th in the country with 293
yards per game. Most of the yardage is
coming from the running game, averag
ing 189.8 yards rushing.
Tyler Watts and Andrew Zow have
been sharing time at quarterback, but
Watts is expected to start.
Alabama features a strong backfield
with Ahmaad Galloway and Brandon
Miree at tailback and Dustin McClint
cockat fullback Galloway and Miree are
averaging nearly 110 yards rushing per
game between the two of them and have
added five touchdowns.
The Gamecock defense won’t get a
rest this week as they face .mother huge
offensive line. Center Paul Hogan was a
1999 SEC First Teamer and is an All
American candidate this year.
The receivers are led by pre-season
Playboy All-American Freddie Milons.
While Milons is having a sub-par year
so far with only 14 catches for 102 yards,
he is still a threat to go the distance every
time he touches the ball. He leads the
team in punt and kickoff returns, and he
has one punt returned for a touchdown.
The defense has been USC’s strong
suit so far this season as the Gamecocks
rank in the top 10 in the nation in most
defensive categories.
However, the Carolina defense suf
fered its first big injury this season
when linebacker Kenny Harney went out
with a broken fibula during the first quar
ter against Mississippi State.
Carolina has intercepted eight pass
es to lead the SEC and tie their entire
team total from last season. Kevin House
and Dennis Quinn lead the team with two
each.
Linebacker Andre Offing has blasted
onto the scene this year, leading the team
in tackles with 39, and comerback Rashad
Faison leads the team in tackles for loss
with six. Faison is also tied for sacks with
defensive tackle Cecil Caldwell with
three.
Alabama’s defense is one of the most
talented and physical in the league. All
star candidates cover the board at near
FOOTBALL see page ti
Senior writer has senior moments
by Jared Kelowitz
Kelo-Wits
Sports Commentary
I would like to start off by saying that I am not at all a Crimson Tide
fan, nor am I affiliated with the University of Alabama in any way. But just
enlighten me for a second. Where does a columnist from Columbia, South
Carolina get off telling anyone they should be kicked out of the Southeastern
Conference for a deficient football program?
In the Sept. 29 edition of The State, senior writer Bob Gillespie asserts
this about the Alabama Crimson Tide’s football team. I think this senior
writer may be having a senior moment. Is he forgetting about a certain team
that lost 21-straight games over the past two seasons? In the immortal words
of one of my professors, “Duh.”
I have read columns by this gentleman before, and thought “man, is
that stupid”, but this latest diatribe is the straw that broke the camel’s
back for me. Just four short games ago the University of South Carolina
was the laughing stock of the SEC, if not all of college football. And now
some loud-mouth columnist is gonna piss off one of the more talented teams
in the conference right before we have to play them. All any reasonable
person could say is “duh.”
Mr. Gillespie, I’ll wager that by about 10:00 a.m. Thursday every lock
er of every football player in Tuscaloosa will have your work of journalis
tic brilliance plastered all over it. Pardon me, I mean journalistic ignorance.
Well, you see Gillespie, sports teams don’t take too kindly to being crit
icized and told that they don’t belong in their respective conferences.
Yes, I know that some jackass in Kentucky and some fool from Birming
ham may have said the same stuff about USC last year. But in case your
momma didn’t tell you, two wrongs (or three for that matter) don’t make
a right. That is the biggest slap in the face that a team could ever receive.
And along with that slap in the face, you have given the University of Al
abama one more reason to kick the hell out of our football team come Sat
urday. Way to go, jackass.
In my book, this diarrhea on paper that you call a column is right up
there in the sports journalism hall of shame, alongside Jim Grey’s interview
with Pete Rose last fall.
Have journalists’ egos gotten so big that we believe we can say any
thing to anyone? Yes, the First Amendment does afford us this right, but
common sense should tell us some things are better left unsaid. Maybe if
more journalists thought before they spoke, or wrote in your case, then we
wouldn’t have such a bad reputation of being vicious heathens.
For years now I have been trying to figure out why journalists feel the
need to criticize everyone else. On any day of any year there is a critical
column about someone or some thing in every newspaper across this coun
try, most of which appear in the sports section. Are these columnists jeal
ous of the talent of some athletes, or do they resent the coaches for know
ing more about the game than they do?
Whatever the reason, it really doesn’t matter, all I know is there are a
lot more positive things to write about than what journalists convey. For
instance, why couldn’t Bob Gillespie have written a column today about
how proud he was to be an American, after the USA’s upset of Cuba in base
ball yesterday. Actually, that’s what I had planned to write about, until I was
unfortunate enough to stumble across this piece of journalistic dung on the
front page of sports in The State. ,
Mr. Gillespie, in your column you also say “Somewhere, Bear Bryant
is spinning in his grave.” Sir, you may be right, but if that’s true, I believe
that somewhere Lewis Grizzard is probably spinning in his grave as well.
The sports desk can be reached at
gamecocksports@hotmail.com.
Volleyball starts SEC play tonight
■ Gamecocks face
Kentucky, Tennessee in
key weekend games
by Rick Johnston
The Gamecock
The Carolina volleyball team contin
ues its quest for an SEC championship this
weekend as the Gamecocks host Eastern divi
sion rival Kentucky tonight in their first SEC
home game, and then take on Tennessee
Sunday.
Carolina is coming off a weekend that
saw them extend their winning streak to seven
games and defeat Western division foes LSU
and perennial national power Arkansas.
In the game against LSU, Carolina hit
.297 for the match and got 21 kills from red
shirt sophomore Cally Plummer. Plummer con
tinued her spectacular play against the
Razorbacks, notching three of Carolina’s five
service aces in the match.
“With a tough roadtrip from Baton
Rouge, La. and a young team, this was a big
Win for us,” USC head coach Kim Christopher
said after the Arkansas game. “We knew we
had to be patient with them. It was a great vol
leyball match.”
The Gamecocks are looking to win
their seventh game in a row at home when
they play Kentucky, which is 4-8 and 2-0 in
SEC play.
A key player for the Wildcats will be
sophomore Liz McCastin, who totalled 44 kills
and 39 digs in UK’s two victories over
Mississippi State and Ole Miss. Another play
er to watch will be senior Whitney Sample,
who is continuing her assault on the UK
record books, moving into sixth place all-time
in assists in the Wildcats’ win over MSU.
Last season, the Gamecocks defeated
UK 3-1 in Columbia. Sophomore Sam Alban
totaled 12 kills, two digs and five block assists
in last year’s victory.
On Sunday, the Gamecocks will host
the Tennessee Volunteers, who are 11-2 (2-0
SEC) and riding a five-match winning streak.
The Vols are off to their best start since 1986.
The match against the Vols will be a
high-profile match, as the last two SEC
Players of the Week will square off in
Plummer and Tennessee sophomore Janelle
Hester. Hester was named this week’s Player
of the Week after her career-high 21 kills
against Mississippi State. The middle blocker
also leads the Vols in hitting percentage after
she hit over .300 in all three matches this past
weekend.
Another player the Gamecocks will
have to contain will be sophomore outside hit
ter Kelli Scott, who had a strong match against
Ole Miss, adding a team high 14 digs, three
blocks and 12 kills in the Vols’ SEC opener.
Last season, the Gamecocks and Vols
tied for second place in the SEC Eastern divi
sion. Carolina took out Tennessee 3-1 in
Columbia.
In last year’s win over UT, senior
Milicia Perovic hit .542 in the match, knock
ing down a match high 15 kills, adding 13
digs, three aces and four block assists.
Tennessee’s Scott served eight straight points
in the first game, notching three aces.
Friday’s game starts at 7 p.m. and
Sunday’s at 2 p.m. Both games will be at the
Volleyball Competition Facility adjacent to
Carolina Coliseum and are free to students.
Friday’s game will also host a benefit for the
Walk for Life breast cancer research fund
where some of the proceeds will benefit breast
cancer research.
The sports desk can be reached at
gamecocksports@hotmail.com.
Men’s soccer keeps
up its winning ways
11—■iiiiiih—»—fimwii p——■ ii
Travis Lynn The Gamecock
Forward Jordan Quinn has been an offensive force for USC all sea
son, leading the Gamecocks in goals, assists, and total points.
by Kyle Almond
The Gamecock
The South Carolina men’s soc
cer team defeated in-state rivals
Winthrop, 4-0, Wednesday night to
improve to 7-1-1.
The No. 5 Gamecocks received
a pair of goals each from their front
line of freshman Ryan Daley and
sophomore Jordan Quinn, and three
USC goalkeepers combined for the
shutout.
Daley scored the first goal of the
game in the 21st minute. Fellow
freshman Robert Rosenberg found
an open Daley in the box, and the
forward headed the ball into the back
of the net for his fifth goal of the
year.
Before halftjme, Quinn increased
the lead to two with his team-lead
ing seventn goal or tne season, rresn
man David Minges assisted the goal
for his first point in his Gamecock
career.
Carolina dominated the first half
of play, out-shooting Winthrop (4
3) by five shots and also holding a
6-1 advantage in corner kicks.
The second half was more of the
same. USC scored twice more in a
four-minute span to put the game
out of reach and bury the host Ea
gles.
Quinn scored his second goal of
the night at the 67:48 mark off as
sists from midfielders Jack Cum
mings and David Testo. Daley com
pleted his pair at the 70:50 mark off
a corner kick from Dave Moore.
For the game, USC out-shot their
Soccer see page «