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I Gamecock Sports Schedule ■ Women’s soccer at SEC Tournament in Athens, Thursday, TBA ■ Volleyball at Tennessee, Friday, 7 p.m. ■ Men’s golf at Hilton Head Invitational, Friday through Sunday ■ Swimming vs. California, Saturday, 2 p.m. Monday, October 30,2000 'CJiC (BamttOCk v .Page 7 USC Volun-Smeared by Tennessee ■ Gamecocks still eligible to win SEC East at Florida by Kyle Almond The Gamecock Travis Henry’s 1-yard touchdown run with 26 sec onds remaining in the game lifted the Tennessee Volun teers to a 17-14 victory Saturday over then-No. 17 South Carolina. Henry rushed for 115 yards on 26 carries for the Vols (4-3,2-3 SEC), and the senior tailback scored two touch downs on the day, including the game-winner. It was a bittersweet loss for the Gamecocks (7-2, 5 2), playing in front of a school-record 84,200 fans at Williams-Brice Stadium. It was also the last home game of the season for USC, and the last home game ever for 19 seniors, including wide receiver Jermale Kelly. “It hurts right now because it’s my last game here,” Kelly said. “But we have next week off, and we will heal up and get ready for Florida.” Despite the loss, the Gamecocks still control their own fate in the SEC East title race and are one win away from a spot in the SEC Championship game. With Flori da defeating Georgia on Saturday, the Gamecocks can win the SEC East with a victory over the Gators Nov. 11 at The Swamp. USC head coach Lou Holtz knows that’s no easy task. “We are going into an impossible situation at Flori da,” Holtz said. “We can’t even move the ball [against Tennessee] without mistakes. Realistically, we needed some momentum going in [to Florida].” Carolina was plagued by sloppy play throughout Sat urday’s loss, and two USC turnovers in the first quarter gave Tennessee an early advantage. With the Gamecock offense threatening to score on the opening drive of the game, the Vols’ Rashad Baker intercepted a Phil Petty pass at the Tennessee 8-yard line. The turnover halted a 9-play, 48-yard drive that took up the first five minutes of the game. USC forced Tennessee to punt on the following dri ve, but USC’s Derek Watson fumbled the return at the South Carolina 9-yard line, and Tennessee recovered. The Vols capitalized on the next play, with Henry diving in from one yard out to give his team a 7-0 lead. The muffed punt was just the start of a poor day for Watson, the SEC’s leader in all-purpose yards going in to the game. The Tennessee defense, ranked ninth in the nation in rushing defense, limited Watson to only five yards rushing on 11 carries. The Carolina defense tied the game at seven in the second quarter when Kalimba Edwards intercepted a Casey Clausen pass and returned it 81 yards for the touch down. The junior defensive end had a huge game for the Gamecocks, also recording a sack, seven tackles and a fumble recovery. The third quarter was all Carolina. Clausen and the Tennessee offense struggled to move the ball, and USC took the lead with a 78-yard touchdown pass from Pet ty to sophomore Ryan Brewer. Petty completed 16 of 30 passes for 268 yards Saturday, Brewer s toucnaown gave UaL. a 14- / lead, but it would be the last time the offense showed any signs of life. On Carolina’s next three possessions, going from the end of the third quarter into the fourth quarter, it failed to get a first down, going three plays and out each time. Alex Walls cut the Gamecock lead to four with 8:33 remaining in the game, booting a 27-yard field goal. Af ter USC went three and out for the third time, Tennessee began its winning drive. Starting at their own 32-yard line with 6:57 left in the game, the Volunteers wore down the Gamecocks with a 16-play, 68-yard touchdown drive that took up 6:31. The Gamecocks were left with only 26 seconds to get back in the game, and it wasn’t enough. “Close losses are extremely frustrating,” Edwards said. “You would rather lose 30-0 than 17-14, because you think that maybe the other team just had more will.” This was USC’s ninth straight game. When asked if fatigue played a part in the defense’s fourth quarter col 1_-■ ■ ._____i Sean Rayford The Gamecock Gamecock defensive back Kevin House tries to bring down Tennessee wide receiver Donte Stallworth during Saturday's game. USC came up short for its second loss of the season. lapse, Edwards made no excuses. “We were tired, but our job is to play defense whether we are tired or not,” he said. “That’s our job.” Despite coming up short and making some critical mistakes, Holtz was pleased with his team’s effort. “I’m devastated,” Holtz said. “I feel for the players. But they played their heart out.” Petty expressed the same sentiment. I The guys played hard and that s all you can ask for, he said. “We didn’t execute well, but we will bounce back and get our heads up.” The sports desk can be reached at gamecocksports@hatmail.com. Associated Press Football Top 25 1. Oklahoma 2. Virginia Tech 3. Miami (FL) 4. Florida State 5. Nebraska 6. Florida 7. Oregon 8. Washington 9. TCU 10. Clemson 11. Purdue 12. Michigan 13. Southern Miss. . 14. Oregon State 15. Notre Dame 16. Ohio State 17. Georgia 18. Mississippi State 19. Kansas State 20. Texas 21. Northwestern 22. South Carolina 23. Auburn 24. Texas A&M |25. Georgia Tech Clausen, Henry wear down Gamecocks in final drive by George Simpson The Gamecock There are 60 minutes in a college football game. For the first 45 minutes of Saturday’s game, the South Carolina defense kept Tennessee’s sword like offense at a standstill. Unfortunately for the Gamecocks, the Ten nessee sword was unsheathed in the final 15 min utes. The Vols’ offense could only manage a field goal and a one-yard touchdown run in the first three quarters. This came from a team that had sliced opponents’ defenses for an average of 27 points and more than 330 total yards per game. USC’s defense kept Tennessee quarterback Casey Clausen confused, pressured and hurried, and also limited the impact of Travis Henry, one of the SEC’s best running backs. The Vols’ offense could only produce 127 to tal yards through the first three quarters and was admittedly frustrated. In the fourth quarter, though, the Vols nearly equaled their offensive output in the first three quar ters, cutting through the Gamecock defense like it was butter. A helpless and exhausted USC defense could only watch as Tennessee went on a 16-play, 68 yard game-winning drive. Tennessee ate up over six minutes of the clock on that drive alone and hogged the ball for 12:33 in the fourth quarter. “Lord, we were tired,” USC linebacker Andre Offing said. “I was trying to tell the guys, ‘We’ve got to get off the field.’” Unfortunately, when the defense did get off the field, there were only 26 seconds remaining and USC was down for good, 17-14. Carolina fans will be looking back on this game for years, and the one thing that will stand out in their minds is “The Drive.” Tennessee executed its offense well during that possession, but it was the Gamecocks’ defense and its inability to stop Tennessee on third downs that cut the deepest. The Vols converted all four of their third downs during the drive and came up with big plays when they needed them. “Give them credit,” USC coach Lou Holtz said. ‘They made the plays.” No play was more important, however, than a third-and-14 conversion by Tennessee early in the drive. Clausen hit receiver Donte Stallworth over the middle for a gain of 23 yards and a first down. “We were in a dime package, and there’s sup posed to be somebody in the middle of the field at 15 yards, right where their guy caught the ball,” Holtz said. “I assume somebody shot him or he went to the restroom. That’s very disappointing.” Tennessee gave the ball to Travis Henry for six of the final eight plays of the drive, and he pound ed out runs of six, three, three, two and three yards. He finished with a one-yard touchdown run. Henry ran eight times for 30 yards on the final drive, and a coolheaded Clausen was six for sev en in passing for 54 yards. The cuts by the Tennessee offense came late but were strong enough to cause the drained USC defense to bleed. The Gamecocks’ Kalimba Edwards summed it up best, saying, ‘That was a sword in the heart.” The sports desk can be reached at gamecocksports@hotmail.com. Game Frames Women s soccer falls 3-0 to Florida by Chris Foy The Gamecock The South Carolina women’s soccer team ended their 2000 regular season just as they started it, with a tough loss against one of the top teams in the country. The Gamecocks (4-16,1-8 SEC) were shut out by the Florida Gators (13-7,9-0) Sunday at the Graveyard, 3-0. The shutout was the first for the Gamecocks in their past seven games. With the loss, the Gamecocks remain winless against the Gators, who lead the all-time series with USC, 8-0. The Gators came into the game with a dominating hold on the SEC, holding an 8-0 mark against conference opponents. Yet the Gators’ strong offense was held to only one goal in the first half. Florida was lipiited to five shots on goal and seven corner kicks in the first half by a Gamecock team looking to pull off an upset. Both teams’ offenses remained rela tively quiet until Florida took the lead in the 41st minute of the game. Junior for ward Andi.Sellers found freshman mid fielder Megan McMillian for a 12-yard breakaway goal that put the Gators up by one. But USC was still very much in the game at halftime. In contrast to their slow offense in the first half, the Gators opened up the sec ond half on a tear. A minute and 37 sec onds into the second half, Sellers nailed an unassisted 16-yard shot into the back right corner of the net to give the Gators a 2-0 advantage. The Gators would find the goal once more in the second half to put the game away for good. At the 53:15 mark, junior defender Jill Stevens found an open Sellers, who put in her second goal of the game on a four yard shot. The goal was Sellers’ team leading 18th of the season. Despite Florida’s resurgence early in the second half, the Gamecocks managed to put offensive pressure on Florida’s de fense. South Carolina outshot Florida 16 13 and put nine shots on goal. South Carolina midfielders Becky Leeper and Melissa Hutson both had three shots on the day, with each having two on the goal. Despite giving up three goals, the Gamecocks were able to contain a potent Gator offense, allowing only 13 shots and eight corner kicks. After the loss, South Carolina head coach Sue Kelly was finally able to put a season plagued with injuries and heart breaking losses behind her. “When you face the kind of adversi ty that this team is constantly facing, it takes more from you; it wears you down,” Kelly said. “We’ve put a lot of emotion and energy into this season, and it’s good to be given an opportunity to get some rest and to get healthy again.” The sports desk can be reached at gamecocksports@hotmail.com.