Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Gamecock Sports Schedule ■ Volleyball at Alabama, Fri., 7 p.m. ■ Women’s soccer at Ole Miss, Fri., 7 p.m. ■ Football vs. Arkansas, Sat., 1 p.m. ■ Swimming vs. College of Charleston, Sat., 2:30 p.m. Page 12 « - TOie (BaiflCCOtk Wednesday, October 11,2000 Gamecocks ranked 24th in polls ■ After dropping out from both Top 25 polls after losing to Alabama, the Gamecocks are back, ranked as the country’s No. 24 football team Football Roundup The Gamecock For the second time this season, South Carolina is in the nation’s Top 25 football polls. The Gamecocks, -now 5-1 after last Saturday’s 20-17 win at Kentucky, are ranked No. 24 in both polls. Two weeks ago, USC was ranked No. 23 following its win over Mississippi State. The Gamecocks dropped out of the rankings after losing to Alabama on Sept. 30. Being ranked for at least two weeks dur ing the season has not happened to a USC team since the 1988 season. The Gamecocks rose to #6 in the country that year after start ing the season 6-0. Several hundred Gamecock fans were at the Columbia airport to greet the USC team when it arrived back from Lexington at 2:30 a.m. on Sunday. “I’ve said it before; our fans are unbe lievable,” said head coach Lou Holtz. “We’ve got as loyal of a fan following as any in the country.” On his Sunday teleconference, Holtz men tioned that USC is “a beat-up football team right now. We had several players get X-rays this morning as precautionary measures. Hopefully, it’s nothing that will keep them out for this week’s game.” Running back Derek Watson has a deep thigh bruise, wide receiver Carlos Spikes has a groin pull, safety Rashad Faison has a shoulder bruise, and cornerback Sheldon Brown has a hip pointer. According to Holtz, the come-from-be hind win over UK was a boost to the team’s confidence. “That was a good road win,” - Holtz said. “It was in a tough environment at night with a sold out stadium. Any win on the road in the SEC has a tendency to humble you.” Holtz applauded the play of his team’s defense. “Our defensive coaches have done an outstanding job,” he said. “We lost four players from last year to the NFL and yet they have managed to put our players in a position to have success.” “We haven’t made that many big defen sive plays and we haven’t been able to put pressure on the quarterback, but we’ve made some adjustments in our scheme and have had some success,” Holtz said. Holtz also spoke highly of the play of sophomore tailback Derek Watson, who rushed for 149 yards against Kentucky, high lighted by a 58-yard touchdown run that put USC ahead to stay. Watson also had two fum bles. “Derek Watson has been an integral part of any success we’ve had thus far,” Holtz said. “He’s played very well without the ball, and yet, on the other hand, there are times he needs to be playing with the ball. Derek is a very competitive player, he loves the game and has been very team-oriented.” Arkansas is very familiar to Holtz, as he coached there in the late 1970s. “There was a time when I thought I would finish my coaching career at Arkansas,” said Holtz. “I enjoyed living there and coaching there. Now, I have come to truly love the state of South Carolina and the people of this state.” “Arkansas flat out annihilated us last year in Little Rock (48-14). Due to injuries, we had to play two walk-on quarterbacks (Kevin Sides and Kyle Crabb). I know Arkansas will be ready to play and we will get their best effort,” Holtz said. “We’re not a real good team by any stretch of the imagination,” said Holtz. “We had 24 missed tackles against Kentucky and that is way too many to have in one game. We have a lot of things to work on this week.” South Carolina plays host to Arkansas this Saturday at Williams-Brice Stadium. The sports desk can be reached at gamecocksports@hotmail.com. ■ J'-v-:■ :______!-I---i--- ----;-----i_I Sean Rayford The Gamecock Defensive coordinator Charlie Strong has the Gamecocks ranked 12th in the nation in total defense and 14th in scoring defense. SOUTH CAROLINA IN SEC TEAM RANKINGS (national rank in parentheses) Scoring Offense (58) 25.5 10th Scoring Defense (14) 13.2 2nd Rushing Offense (45) 157.8 6th Rushing Defense (20) 98.5 3rd Passing Offense (43) 227.5 4th Passing Efficiency (69) 112.9 9th Passing Defense (23) 177.5 3rd Pass Efficiency Defense (l l) 90.20 3rd Total Offense (49) 385.3 4th Total Defense (12) 276.0 3rd Kickoff Returns (50) 20.0 5th Punt Returns (89) 6.6 10th Net Punting (46) 35.5 8th Field Goals .643 9th PAT Kicking .941 7th Turnover Margin (45) +0.33 4th Sacks By 9 TIOth Sacks Against 11 T8th Penalties 34 4th First Downs 121 3rd 3rd Down Conversions 43.7% 4th 4th Down Conversions 33.3% Tilth Time of Possession 29:31 9th SOUTH CAROLINA PLAYERS IN SEC INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS (national rank in parentheses) RUSHING YARDS PER GAME Derek Watson (21) 102.0 3rd PASSING AVERAGE PER GAME Phil Petty 194.2 7th PASSING EFFICIENCY Phil Petty 117.50 8th RECEPTIONS PER GAME Jermaie Kelly 4.0 7th RECEIVING YARDS PER GAME Jermaie Kelly 59.7 7th ALL-PURPOSE YARDS Derek Watson (8) 176.0 1st TOTAL OFFENSE Phil Petty 204.8 3rd INTERCEPTIONS PER GAME Sheldon Brown (T7) 0.67 1st KICKOFF RETURN YARDS PER GAME Derek Watson (30) 23.4 3rd PUNT RETURN YARDS PER GAME Ryan Brewer 6.3 10th PAT KICKING PERCENTAGE Reid Bethea . 100.0% TIst POINTS PER GAME Derek Watson (T35) 8.0 4th SCORING (TOUCHDOWNS) Derek Watson 8 T2nd SCORING (KICKING) Reid Bethea 7.2 3rd FIELD GOALS Reid Bethea 1.5 2nd FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE Reid Bethea 64.3% 9th i Worthen’s role change leads Gamecocks to new heights Sean Rayford The Gamecock Gamecock Joey Worthen is double-teamed by two Clemson defenders during their scoreless tie on Sunday. Worthen, USC’s leading scorer last season with 27 points as a forward, now plays on the left side of the midfield. by Kyle Almond The Gamecock Joey Worthen, when asked what lie feels is his greatest strength as a soccer player, em phasizes his desire to win. That desire is evident in 2000, as last year’s leading scorer for the Gamecocks sacrificed personal glory and indi vidual statistics for team success when he switched positions from forwtird to midfield. “I’m going to do what’s best for the team,” Worthen said of the switch. “If that’s where the team needs me to be, then it’s worth do ing.” The junior front Salt Lake City, Utah, had 11 goals and five assists last year for the Game cocks, and only has one goal in 11 games this season. But the team is off to one of its best starts in school histoiy, jumping out to a record of 8-1-2. UKuU.— :—__r.A_* . 1_r'_ Muiuivii ij vv;iUlUV/lu nun vjtuuuvuviu, currently ranked No. 9 by the NSCAA, are capable of continuing their winning ways throughout the season. “I think if we keep playing well, we can get a bid and be seeded in the (NCAA) tour nament,” he said. “Then, in the tournament, anything can happen.” Worthen credits a lot of the team’s early success to a togetherness that other Game cock teams hadn’t been able to match. “The camaraderie is a lot better this year, and just the closeness that we have and the way that the players play for each other is re ally good,” Worthen said. “We just all stick together and work together.” Since arriving at USC in 1998, Worthen has collected a slew of accolades in a short time. He was named Independent Co Rookie of the Year his freshman season and also second team All-Independent. He did even better in his sophomore season, earning Mi first team All-Independent honors while al- • so being named to the All-South Region team. Worthen has certainly come a long way ; from Salt Lake City. He says he came to USC * in large part because of head coach Mark ! Berson. “Coach has been around a long time,” Worthen said. “And he always has a good ;• record, with a lot of players going to the pros.” * The pros might be the next step for Worthen as well, but the liberal arts major is ; cautious when talking about the next step. ~ “I’d like to play more soccer after grad- * uation,” he said. “But we’ll just have to wait " until after my senior year. I don’t want to jinx myself.” Worthen admits to having a little diffi culty making a smooth transition from for- * ward to his new position on the left wing. m “It’s more defense-oriented,” he said. * “I’ve found it a little hard to adjust, but I’m j getting used to it.” Worthen gained valuable experience in * the off-season when he took last semester off « to play witli the U-20 National squad. By play ing in a number of international matches with the team in the Wbrld Championships, Wbithen « says his game improved immensely. “It helped me a lot,” he said. “Just being * able to play and practice with guys of that cal- • iber everyday really improved my game, es- ‘ pecially my touch on the ball and my shoot- ; ing.” So far this season, Worthen has only one « goal and one assist for three points. But his « lone goal was a critical one, the deciding goal in a 3-2 win at Davidson. Worthen has also ^ contributed 20 shots, with three on goal, for j the Gamecocks. ■•m ___ iA , The sports desk am be reached at gamecocksports@hotmail.com.