The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, October 27, 2000, Page 10, Image 10
A Gamecock Sports Schedule
■ Men’s soccer vs. The Citadel, Fri., 5:30 p.m.
M at Mt. Pleasant Invitational, Charleston
L ■ U V V ■ ■ ■ Swimming at SEC East Tournament in Knoxville,
Fri., AU Day
■ Football vs. Tennessee, Sat., 12:30 p.m.
—— ... .. "
Page 10 %\it 0aihCCOCk Friday, October 27, 2000
Gamecocks ready for Volunteers
by Michael Haney
The Gamecock
It’s that time of year again.
South Carolina prepares to take on Ten
nessee, and the Volunteers come into town
bringing their traditional aura of national and
SEC Championships.
Tennessee features one of the most suc
cessful programs in the country over the past
decade. Since 1989, UT has posted a 113-26
2 record (.810), won a national championship,
claimed four SEC championships and par
ticipated in 11 consecutive bowl games.
This time is different however, as the 17th
ranked Gamecocks (7-1, 5-1 SEC) are the
ones vying for the SEC East title, not the
Vols.
“This is exciting,” nose guard Cleveland
Pinkney said. ‘This is what I came here for,
to play in big games. This is not the normal
Tennessee game. Now it means something.
Every game means something. We’re talking
about championships. These are the type of
games you live and die for.”’*
Tennessee (3-3, 1-3 SEC) hopes to play
the role of spoiler this weekend, as they
will try to salvage a season that has turned
out worse than most expected. With a victo
ry over Alabama last weekend though, Ten
nessee seems to be on the right track.
Freshman quarterback Casey Clausen
found a rhythm and was able to lead the Vols
to a much-needed SEC victory. Clausen looked
solid in his starting debut last week as he com
pleted 17 of 24 passes for 213 yards and two
touchdowns to lead the Vols to a 20-10 vic
tory over the Crimson Tide.
“Offensively is where they are really start
ing to come together,” said South Carolina
head coach Lou Holtz. “The offensive line is
young. I think they finally settled on a quar
terback, Clausen, who has really made them
a dangerous football team. His confidence is
going to do nothing but get better.”
The game will feature two of the top three
tailbacks in the SEC. Derek Watson and the
Vols’ Travis Henry are second and third re
spectively in SEC rushing.
Henry ranks 23rd nationally in rushing
and is averaging 102 yards per game. He is
only the ninth player in UT history to rush
for more than 2,000 yards during his career.
Henry was a preseason All-SEC candidate.
Derek Watson leads the Carolina rushing
attack, averaging 109.5 yards per game. He
ranks 16th in the country in rushing and is al
so the team’s leading scorer with 10 touch
downs, which is tied for second best in the
SEC.
The game will also showcase two of the
nation’s best defenses when they meet this
Saturday. The Volunteers rank 9th in rushing
defense and are giving up an average of 2.6
yards per carry and only 79 yards on the
ground. They are 19th nationally in total
defense.
“Derek Watson is gonna be a poster child
in the Tennessee locker room. I can guaran
tee you that,” Holtz said, implying that the
Vol defense would key on Watson.
The Gamecocks bring the 12th rated de
fense in the country into Saturday’s contest.
The Gamecock defense has yielded only 11
touchdowns the entire season and only 17
points in the fourth quarter. The Game
cocks already have come up with 16 inter
ceptions on the season to lead the SEC. USC
has also allowed only two passing touch
downs on the season, coming against Ken
tucky and last week at Vanderbilt.
This game always brings about a good bit
of trash talking between the two teams as both
schools heavily recruit in each other’s state.
Volunteer defensive tackle and South Car
olina native Albert Haynesworth threw the
first punch.
“It’s like, ‘Oh, what about them Game
cocks, don’t you wish you would have gone
there?’ “Haynesworth told reporters. “I’m
like, ‘No, I really don’t.’ This year could be
a fluke.”
Carolina players Jermale Kelly, Brian
Scott, Cleveland Pinkney and Derek Watson,
all in-state players, were heavily recruited by
Tennessee but chose the Gamecocks over the
Vols.
“Everybody still underestimates us,” said
Kelly. “It’s hard because we’re 7-1 and we
know people are doubting us. It kind of hurts
because people are still downplaying us and
think we’re no good.”
“I want to go out there and show them
that I’m a pretty good player and that I made
the right decision to come to USC, Watson
said. “I want them to leave with the feeling,
‘I can see why he came to USC.’”
Haynesworth kept the talk alive by ad
mitting that Watson is talented, but then added,
“Supposedly, he’s their savior. I hope he can
save them Saturday.”
The sports desk can be reached at
gamecocksports@hotmail.com.
Sean Rayford The Gamecock
Gamecock running back Derek Watson fights through the Georgia defense. Watson looks to have a big game against a
Tennessee defense which is ranked ninth in the nation in rushing defense.
: Sean Rayford The Gamecock
USC quarterback Phil Petty has been a standout player for die Gamecocks this sea
son, throwing for nearly 1,500 yards.
Petty goes from scapegoat to
winning quarterback in 2000
by Andrew Festa
The Gamecock
Seven starts have translated into seven
wins for Gamecock quarterback Phil Petty.
Petty was sidelined for most of the Al
abama loss, USC’s only loss of the season,
with an ankle injury. But upon entering the
game, Petty fired a 19-yard touchdown strike
to Jermale Kelly a little over a minute later,
and the sparks he provided almost sal
vaged the game for USC.
Petty’s performance this season has
proven the redshirt junior has what it takes
to guide Carolina to victory.
Petty came to USC as a highly touted re
cruit from Boiling Springs High School. He
was named Shrine Bowl Offensive MVP and
the thirteenth ranked quarterback prospect
in the nation coming out of high school.
After being redshirted his freshman year,
he completed 55 passes for 642 yards with
seven touchdowns and five interceptions in
1998.
In 1999, he started six games and threw
65 passes for 803 yards, one touchdown and
seven interceptions in a season plagued with
offensive line injuries.
But with still three games remaining this
year, Petty has completed 53.3 percent of his
passes for 1,476 yards, rushed for 86 more,
and added six touchdowns to go with five
interceptions. He averages 195.2 yards per
game, which trails only three players in the
SEC.
Petty, along with the rest of the Caroli
na football team, is beginning to fulfill his
potential.
His career game came against Missis
sippi State a little more than a month ago.
Petty went 19-40 for 305 yards and two touch
downs, including a 58-yard score to Corey
Alexander - the longest touchdown pass of
Petty’s career.
Obviously, Petty and the Gamecocks have
not always known this kind of success. Last
season, with the team ending up 0-11, Pet
ty was often viewed as the scapegoat for
USC’s mishaps.
“I have never been one to worry about
outside opinions or whatever else,” Petty
said. “But obviously when you’re inside the
football team, you know what’s going on.
You know what the problems are and stuff,
and we overcame that, not just me, but a
lot of guys did.”
This season, with a new offensive strat
egy and renewed team unity. Petty is having
an outstanding year. The new offense spreads
out the field and better suits the backs, of
fensive line and receivers, Petty said.
Petty said his goal for this year was to
make it to a bowl game.
Mission accomplished.
USC is now 7-1 and has already locked
up a bowl bid. Giving his feelings on the
team’s situation, Petty now said he is happy
to have, but is not content, with seven wins.
“We’ve got three games left, and we can
really do a lot in those three games,” Petty
said. “That’s something we’ll work hard to
do.”__
The sports desk can be reached at
gamecocksports@hotmail.com.
Men’s soccer receives eye-opener
by Kyle Almond
The Gamecock
The USC men’s soccer team had been coast
ing through its regular season schedule, jumping
out to a record of 8-1-3, knocking off top-ranked
Virginia and achieving a No. 5 national ranking.
Last weekend however, it hit a speed bump.
The Gamecocks (9-2-3) were upset by the Buck
nell Bison 2-1 in the opening game of the Game
cock Soccer Classic.
USC did rebound in their following game, a
3-2 overtime win against Lehigh, but the damage
was already done. The Gamecocks plummeted
to No. 22 in the NSCAA poll.
This weekend, USC looks to get back on track
with a couple of games in the Mt. Pleasant Invi
tational. Carolina will face The Citadel Friday, and
then Charleston Southern Sunday. The tournament
will take place in Charleston.
Forward Jordan Quinn, the Gamecocks’
leading scorer, sees the Bucknell loss as an eye
opener for the team.
“Maybe looking at the polls got into our head.,”
Quinn said.
. “In the long run, though, I think that loss to
Bucknell will help us.”
Quinn also said the team’s recent problem of
scoring goals can be attributed to a lack of con
centration.
“I think that we just aren’t focusing,” he said.
“At the latter part of the season, guys are tired.
Our efforts are there, we want to score, but when
the ball is there lying in front of the goal, we aren’t
concentrating. We’re hitting it over, hitting them
wide and even over the fence.”
Head coach Mark Berson agrees that focusing
is the key for the Gamecocks.
“The key for us is to focus on one game at a
time,” Berson said. “And our total focus is on The
Citadel Friday night.”
The Citadel come into Friday’s meeting a strug
gling club. The Bulldogs have a 4-11 overall record
and are winless in the Southern Conference.
Berson warns that the game won’t be an easy
one, however.
“It’s a big in-state rival, on the road, with a lot
of fans in the crowd,” Berson said. “We know that
it will be a tough situation to go into.”
Host Charleston Southern has an overall record
of 8-6-2 and a 2-3-2 mark in the Big South. The
Buccaneers have defeated perennially strong UNC
Asheville this season as well as North Carolina
State from the ACC.
After this weekend, the Gamecocks have on
ly two more games remaining on their schedule.
USC returns to Columbia to play No. 4 North Car
olina on Nov. 5 and then Florida International Nov.
12.
Berson stresses the importance of finishing
strong.
“A lot of the things that we want to accomplish
for this season hang on the results of these last four
games,” he said.
As for dropping in the polls, the coach isn’t
concerned.
“We don’t dwell on [the polls],” Berson said.
“That’s just somebody’s opinion. The NCAA Tour
nament Selection Committee doesn’t dwell on that
either. They have their own set of criteria.”
Quinn, the team’s leading scorer with 10 goals
on the year, says the Gamecocks are ready to get
back on the field.
“We learned from this weekend,” the sopho
more said. “We want to get on a roll again.”
The sports desk can he reached at
gamecocksports@hotmail.com.
Women’s soccer
falls to Furman
■ Florida up
next for Carolina
by Casey White
The Gamecock
The South Carolina women’s
soccer team fought hard but dropped
its final road match of the 2000 sea
son to the Furman Paladins in
Greenville.
This was the first win for Fur
man (18-1,9-0 Southern Confer
ence) against the Gamecocks (4
14,1-7 SEC), who entered the game
with renewed strength after their
win over Alabama last weekend.
The first half ended with an
empty scoreboard as both defens
es silenced the opposing team’s of
fensive efforts.
Gamecock forwards Amy Cad
dies, Kanika McAlpine and Becca
Epstein proved to be key contribu
tors up front, as they created chances
for a Carolina score against a strong
Furman line-up. Lydia Bienias led
the defense in making it difficult
for an outstanding Paladin offense
that has notched 77 goals this sea
son.
Furman came into the second
half with a newfound intensity, how
ever, to blast three early goals
past goalkeeper Jessica Freas in un
der five minutes.
Kaye Brownlee found an open
Sarah Tollick to strike first for the
Paladins at the 50:14 mark, driving
the ball from the left side to the high
right corner of the net.
Paladin Emily Turgeon, as
sisted by Danielle Petro, scored next
on a breakaway run at the 51:46
mark to put the Paladins up 2-0.
Soccer see page h