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USC 32, BOISE STATE 13 W^'v '
Gamecocks stampede Broncos
BY CHRIS FOY
THE GAMECOCK
In front of an record opening
day crowd of 83,109 people, the
Gamecocks opened their 2001 sea
son with a decisive 32-13 win over
the Boise State Broncos. Star tail
back Derek Watson returned to
the field for the first time since last
year's game against Clemson.
Watson, who was bothered by a
hamstring earlier in the week, led
USC’s offensive attack by rushing
for 71 yards, receiving for 40 yards
and bringing in a pair of touch
downs.
After the game, Watson ex
pressed relief to be playing with
USC again. "
“It was a long offseason,"
Watson said. “I wanted to come
back and prove a point to the team
that I’m behind them 100 percent,
and they wanted to prove to me
they were behind me 100 percent.”
USC head coach Lou Holtz was
happy with the win, but expressed
concern about his team’s depth.
“Our team beat a very good
football team,” Holtz said. “I
thought our first team played re
ally well. I was very disappointed
in the way our second team
played.”
BSU won the toss and elected to
receive the ball on the opening
kickoff. After going three and out
on their first series, Bronco
punter Keith Schuttler kicked the
ball away to USC’s Ryan Brewer,
who gained 10 yards on the return.
The Gamecocks took the field for a
10-play, 61-yard drive that was
capped off by senior quarterback
Phil Petty tossing Watson a 16
yard pass for a touchdown. It was
Watson’s first career receiving
touchdown.
’ The Broncos responded by
moving dQwn the field 32 yards on
their next drive. On a fourth-and
three on South Carolina’s 31-yard
line, a bad snap on an attempted
field goal led to a four-yard loss
and a turnover for BSU.
After taking over on downs, it
took USC only six plays to reach
the endzone. With 2:55 to go in the
first quarter, Petty handed the ball
to junior fullback Andrew
Pinnock, who rushed 5 yards
.Tl—IHO
Wide reclever Ryan Brewer (#21) runs around the Boise
State defense, photo by aaron hark
across the line to pick up the
score. Kicker Daniel Weaver
missed the point-after attempt.
On South Carolina’s next dri
ve, Holtz sent in junior college
transfer Corey Jenkins to take a
shot at quarterback. The
Columbia native’s first play as a
Gamecock was a rush that result
ed in a 1-yard loss. On his next
play, Jenkins ran 2 yards before
Quintin Mikell forced a fumble,
and BSU gained possession at
USC’s 19.
The Broncos inched up the foot
ball field and put themselves in a
first-and-goal situation. After the
Gamecock defense held BSU for
three plays, the Broncos decided
to go for it on fourth down after an
offsides penalty against USC.
Boise State quarterback Ryan
Dinwiddie handed off to tailback
Brock Forsey, who rushed for 1
yard and the score. The PAT was
good, and the Broncos tightened
the margin to 13-7.
On USC’s next drive, they
found themselves in a fourth-and
four situation on the Broncos’ 27.
The Gamecocks chose to go for it,
but Petty threw an incomplete
pass to Brian Scott.
As the half wound down, the
Broncos moved the ball 53 yards
in hopes of scoring before half
time. With 2 seconds remaining
in the half, BSU set up for star
kicker Nick Calaycay to attempt
a field goal. As the ball left
Calaycay’s foot, it found the hand
of defensive tackle Langston
Moore, who blocked the kick.
Rashad Faison picked up the ball
and ran 82 yards for the touch
down. Calaycay tried to run down
Faison but was unable to stop
him.
"I was in the right place at the
right time,” Faison said.
“Langston did a good job blocking
it, and I went with it. I knew I
couldn’t let the kicker catch me
and tackle me. If he did, I would
(ABOVE) Wide reciever Carlos Spikes (#10) celebrates a Gamecock touchdown.
(BELOW) Phil Petty looks downfield for an open reciever photos by aaron hark
have heard it from some team
mates.”
The touchdown was the longest
run for a score after blocking a
kick in Gamecock history. Instead
of going for the PAT, the
Gamecocks went for two, with
Petty trying to run it in. He didn’t
make it, which left the score at 19
7 at the end of the half.
USC’s defense dominated the
second half, with the Broncos able
to make only three offensive plays
in the third quarter. The
Gamecocks received the kickoff
and drove down the field for an
other score. Derek Watson topped
off the 79-yard drive with a 6-yard
touchdown run at the 8:08 mark
to give USC a 26-7 lead.
In the fourth quarter, Weaver
added in a pair of short field goals
♦ FOOTBALL, SEE PAGE 12
Men’s soccer downs
powerful Penn State
at The Graveyard
BY KYLE ALMOND
THE GAMECOCK
The USC men’s soccer team
showed this past weekend that it
has the fighting qualities of a true
gamecock.
Carolina overcame a two-goal
halftime deficit Sunday afternoon
to beat Penn State 3-2 in its regu
lar season opener. Ryan Barber’s
goal in the 84th minute was the
game-winner, finishing off a dra
matic comeback in front of 3,028
fans at the Graveyard.
"The reason that soccer is so
popular worldwide is because it
has the kind of drama you saw to
day,” USC head coach Mark
Berson said. “It’s not often that
you come back two goals down
against a team like Penn State and
win.”
Barber, who came into the
game as a first-half substitute, re
ceived a pass from teammate
Ryan Daley in a crowded Penn
State box with the score knotted
at two. Despite the heavy traffic
in front of goal, the sophomore de
fender found an opening and shot
the ball past goalkeeper Ryan
Sickman for a memorable first ca
reer goal.
Penn State (1-1) threatened to
tie the game numerous times in
the waning minutes of play, but
couldn’t get the ball past USC
keeper Michael Bachmeyer, who
finished with 10 saves.
“It’s a great feeling,” USC for
ward Jordan Quinn said of the
comeback win. “I’m so proud of
the guys. It was a great effort. ” .
Barber’s goal came almost 10
minutes after freshman Anthony
Stovall struck the equalizer,
which sent the Gamecock faithful
into a frenzy.
Quinn got his head on a long
clearance by Bachmeyer and nod
ded it downfield into open space.
Stovall beat Sickman and a Penn
State defender to the ball and
headed it off the bounce for USC’s
second goal.
For Stovall, a Columbia native
playing in his first home game,
the goal was a dream come true.
“1 was psyched,” Stovall said.
“I was just so pumped. I knew my
chance was coming. I just had to
be patient and do what I usually
do — work hard.
“But credit to my teammates;
they were awesome. They did
everything we needed to do to get
back in this game. Without them,
there would be no goal.”
The first half was one USC (1
0) would like to forget. The
Nittany Lions scored at the 20:03
mark and followed it up less than
a minute later with another goal
to take a commanding 2-0 lead.
Seniors Derek Potteiger and
Ricardo Villar scored one goal
each and assisted on the others.
The Gamecocks registered
only two shots in the first 45 min
utes, but Berson said he was
pleased with his team’s effort.
“I thought actually in the first
half, we played great,” Berson
said. “We played some of our best
attacking soccer of the year.
“At halftime, we really didn’t
change anything. We just said,
‘Look, we made two mistakes,
we’ve got to clean that up.... Stick
to what you’re doing and go out
after them.’ And in the second
half, they did that.”
Daley pulled USC within one
early in the second half, starting
the Gamecock rally. He took a
pass from Quinn and calmly beat
Sickman one-on-one.
The goal gave USC new life,
and the Gamecocks followed with
several quality scoring chances.
Stovall finally capitalized at the
74:44 mark.
“He’s a surprise to everyone
in Columbia, but he’s not a sur
prise to his teammates,” Berson
said of Stovall.
The Gamecocks don’t get a
break in their next game. They
travel to Charleston on Friday to
take on No. 1-ranked SMU. But
Sunday’s big win should give
them plenty of confidence for the
remainder of the season.
“They believed in them
selves,” Berson said of his team,
ranked No. 19 in the latest
NSCAA/adidas poll. “To go ahead
and win today was really a credit
to the heart and the determination
and the fighting power of this
group of guys.”
Offense shines against
Bronco defensive unit
BY PRESTON BAINES
THE GAMECOCK
If the opening game against
the Broncos is any indication of
things to come, USC could be in
great shape this season.
From their opening posses
sion until their final one, the
Gamecocks used their big, deep
offensive line and tandem of run
ning backs and scat backs to con
trol the ball and wear down Boise
State.
Nine different USC players
combined for 172 yards on 41 car
ries.
Junior Derek Watson ran the
ball effectively, but USC also got
something it didn’t get from him
much last season — receptions.
Watson pulled in four catches for
40 yards Saturday.
Last season, Watson averaged
under a catch per game and un
til Saturday’s game hadn’t re
ceived a touchdown in his career.
Something else that might
have seemed an odd contrast
from other years is the perfor
mance of senior quarterback Phil
Petty — he wasn’t only throwing
the ball, but running it, too.
Head coach Lou Holtz talked
in the offseason about how he
wanted to use Petty as a runner
more often, and his plan was in
full force.
Petty rushed the ball eight
times for 34 yards, a 4.2-yard av
erage per carry. If Petty does this
every game, USC’s offense could
be a force to be reckoned with in
games to come.
Besides the usualj cast of char
acters, Watson and junior
Andrew Pinnock, others got into
the mix as well.
Senior Corey
Alexander and ju
nior Ryan Brewer
each took two in
side handoffs while
in the receiver slot.
When junior
quarterback Corey
Jenkins made ap
pearances in the
game, he pre
dictably ran the
ball, which does
provide an extra
threat. And in red
shirt freshman
quarterback
Dondrial Pinkins’
lone appearance, he
ran the ball, too.
The Gamecocks’
offensive attack was
most punishing in
the third quarter,
..I....—
Quarterback Phil Petty throws a pass
in USC’s win over Boise State . PHOTO BY
AARON HARK
when U6C ran 25
plays compared to BSU’s three.
USC balanced for 71 yards
rushing and 61 yards passing in
the quarter, scoring in their first
possession and finishing the sec
ond drive with a 28-yard field
goal by sophomore Dan Weaver
in the fourth quarter.
Although the performance
came against an undermanned
Bronco defense, Gamecock fans
got a taste of things to come this
season.
USC will take advantage of
their newly found depth in the of
fensive backfield by running
with lots of different bodies.
It wasn’t only Watson who led
the short passing game — the
whole receiving corps did as
well.
Petty picked apart the
Broncos’ secondary, going 18-25
for 220 yards. Most of the com
pletions were either screen pass
es in the flat or dump passes a
few yards downfield, letting the
receivers run for the extra
yardage.
Not only did the game plan
pile up the yards, it also set up
the big plays. In the fourth quar
ter, Petty threw over the
Broncos’ heads to find a wide
open Alexander, who had no one
within 10 yards of him.
Alexander then rambled down
the field for 40 more yards, com
pleting a 66-yard play.
This play was set up by the of*
♦ OFFENSE, SEE PAGE 13