The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, November 07, 2001, Page 12, Image 12
THE GAMECOCK ♦ Wednesday, November 7, 2001
12
CONTACT US GAM’E SGHEDULE
MEN’S SOCCER at. UNC, 7 p.m. Friday
Story ideas? Questions? Comments? SWIMMING/DIVING vs. Florida, 9 a.m. Saturday
Write us at gamecocksports@hotmail.com FOOTBALL vs. Florida, 7:45 p.m. Saturday
VOLLEYBALLvs. Wake Forest, 3 p.m. Sunday
Gators are ready to strike
Saturday’s game
just as important
to Florida players
BY PRESTON BAINES
THE GAMECOCK
Coach Lou Holtz and the rest of
the Gamecocks knew they were
facing a much less talented team
Saturday, and they knew they
would be facing the Florida Gators
this Saturday (7:45 p.m., ESPN).
The game plan showed this, as
Carolina moved up and down the
field on Spartanburg’s Wofford
College with mostly running
plays and short throws. But Holtz
felt the play must be more solid
against Florida.
“The championship comes
through Columbia, but it’s not a
layover stop,” Holtz pointed out
about this year’s game with the
Gators.
“Now, we are right where we
were last year, 7-2, and we have a
conference game against
Florida,” Holtz said. “I would not
put it past their prolific offense to
score 100.
“We’ve got to be much im
proved. I am concerned about our
offensive line being able to run on
a consistent basis.”
Holtz seems to be worried every
week, but he definitely has cause for
concern this week as he prepares
his team toface what is possibly the
best receiving corps in the nation.
“It’s hard to emulate Grossman
and all those receivers. I just'saw
highlights (of the Florida-Vanderbilt
game), and a receiver scored two or
three touchdowns that I had never
heard of,” Holtz said.
Other Gamecocks, including
receiver Matthew Thomas,
shared Holtz’s sentiments.
“We didn’t accomplish our
goals today,” Thomas said. “We
missed a lot of assignments. We
have to play to our standards re
gardless of the opponent.”
The Gamecocks weren’t the
only ones thinking about next
week’s eastern division show
down in Columbia. Florida coach
Steve Spurrier was already getting
his players ready for the big game.
“Our first goal is still to win the
eastern division,” Spurrier said.
“Obviously, now we wish South
Carolina had lost one of those
close ones way back when, but it
didn’t happen. It’s a must for us
now. To win the division, it’s a
must that we beat South Carolina.
We all know that.”
Gators strong safety Gus Scott
was happy with the team’s 71-13
thumping of Vanderbilt during
homecoming in Gainesville, Fla.
But he felt there was a challenge
ahead that required a better per
formance.
“We worked hard and will
have to work even harder to pre
pare South Carolina,” Scott said.
Gator quarterback Rex
Grossman, one of the nation’s top
passers, is excited about the up
coming game against the
Gamecocks.
“Now we have to look toward
defeating South Carolina,”
Grossman said. “We have no
choice but to win there. That’s
what makes the SEC exciting; you
have no margin for error.”
One of the Gators’ top re
ceivers, Taylor Jacobs, expects
the atmosphere at Williams-Brice
to be exciting.
“(South Carolina) is supposed
to be a powerhouse in the SEC,
and we’re supposed to be a pow
erhouse too,” Jacobs said. “When
two powerhouses collide, there is
gonna be a lot of electricity in the
air.”
If there is one area of concern
for Carolina, it has to be the punt
ing game, an area the Gamecocks
will need to have some success
with in order to beat Florida.
“We punted atrocious all week.
I said we weren’t going to punt,”
Holtz said. “We ran a fake be
cause we didn’t want to punt.”
Even after a huge day on the
ground for junior running back
Andrew Pinnock, he had bigger
fish to fry.
“I will enjoy it tonight, then be
gin preparation for Florida,”
Pinnock said.
Saturday’s game at Williams
Brice Stadium will be for the SEC
eastern division championship
for Carolina if the Gators knock
off Tennessee on Dec. 1 in
Gainesville.
The ability of Matthew Thomas and other members of the Carolina offense to move
through traffic will be key in Saturday’s game, photo by aaron hark
Odom opens career at USC
with victory over Nike Elite
BY PRESTON BAINES
THE GAMECOCK
Despite any shortcomings
coach Dave Odom’s team may
have had in the first game of his
reign at USC, he was excited to
be back in action.
“It was fun,” Odom said. “It
was fun to be back on the court.
Fun to be on the sidelines. Fun
to have a team playing hard. Fun
to win. It was a good start.”
The 90-81 win over Nike Elite
might not have counted official
ly, but Odom and the rest of the
Gamecocks were happy to start
a new season.
Another guy excited to be
back on the court was junior
guard/forward Chuck Eidson.
He tore his ACL midway
through last season and missed
the Gamecocks’ attempt to make
the NCAA tournament.
“I remember the first time I
practiced. It was the same feel
ing,” Eidson said of getting back
on the court. “But it was magni
fied a whole other level. Words
can’t really express how it was.”
Odom thought Eidson wasn’t
very aggressive at the beginning.
but then turned it around.
“I think he was a little tenta
tive,” Odom said about Eidson.
“I don’t mean holding back or
anything like in terms of being
afraid. It was just the first time
back out there, and it’s probably
like being on Broadway. You’ve
been away for awhile, and you
come back and you’re a little bit
tentative
Eidson scored 10 points on 4
8 shooting and added eight as
sists.
The game remained close the
entire first half,- and the
Gamecocks took a 43-42 lead into
the locker room. The first half
was marked by strong inside
play by Gamecock sophomore
Rolando Howell, who compiled
nine points and three rebounds
in the half.
Nike Elite scored at will for
much of the half, causing some
concern about the Gamecock de
fense.
“We just didn’t play defense
in the first half,” Odom said. “I
thought in the second half we did
begin to effect some of the shots.
“But, still, when you play
teams like this, teams that are
older and more experienced and
don’t play with quite the pace
thaAome of the teams you play
with, you have to make them
[dribble] the ball. It was almost
like they measured us with air
rifles or something.”
The Carolina frontcourt led
the way through the second half.
Howell finished with 16 points
while Marius Petravicius added
14 and Tony Kitchings put in
nine points with seven rebounds.
The game was decided on two
spurts by the Gamecocks in the
second half.
To start off the half, Carolina
put together a 17-9 run to take a
60-51 lead but Nike edged their
way back into the game.
Nike continued to pull closer
behind newly acquired Teddy
Dupay, who was recently booted
off the Florida Gators team for
having contacts with a bookie.
Dupay knocked down a couple of
three-pointers late in the second
half to keep the attack coming.
Then after Nike pulled with
in one point at 79-78, Carolina be
gan to $it it away. And this
pleased coach Odom the most.
“Still I think the one thing I
saw tonight that I like was that
We finished it,” Odom said. “We
finished the job that we set out
to do.”
Closing out games was one of
the main problem areas of last
year’s Gamecock squad.
“I want to make sure that they
know that the game isn’t over
until the horn sounds,” Odom
added.
The biggest improvement
from last year was the shooting.
After shooting an SEC-worst 41.7
percent last season, the
Gamecocks shot a blazing 54.3
percent against Nike Elite.
Senior guard Jamel Bradley
continued his offensive on
slaught from the past two years.
Bradley scored 17 points on 7-15
shooting. He went 3-7 from three
point range.
Carolina will be in action next
on Nov. 14 in an exhibition game
against a yet-fo-be-decided oppo
nent.
Rolando Howell dunks on a member of Nike Elite
Saturday night at Frank McGuire Arena, photo by regina
GOODWIN
Inferno drop three
of last four games
BY MATT ROTHENBERG
THE GAMECOCK
Returning to the Carolina
Coliseum after a hard-fought 4-3
victory in Greenville on Tuesday
night, the Columbia Inferno be
gan a two-game homestand Nov.
1 before heading back on the
road.
Thursday night’s match
against the winless Columbus
Cottonmouths might have
seemed like a sure win for the
Inferno, but the snakes had other
ideas. Both clubs played tight
hockey for two periods, with
Columbus goalie Alex
Fomitchev and Columbia goalie
Kevin Swanson making some
brilliant saves.
Cottonmouth forward Nick
Lent rifled home two shots: one
on a power play and one in the
third period, both on feeds from
Sean McAslan. Teammate
Carlyle Lewis added an empty -
netter with one second left in
regulation for a 3-0 victory over
the Inferno. Fomitchev earned
the shutout by stopping all 28
shots he faced, while Swanson
saved 33 of 36.
i ne mieino wouiu rare no uei
ter Friday night, despite a strong
offensive effort with a team
record 53 shots on goal.
Greenville came to the Coliseum
with payback on their minds and
revamped goaltending on the ice.
Scott Fankhouser, who joined
the Grrrowl from its AHL affili
ate in Chicago, started between
the pipes for Greenville.
Craig Minard opened the scor
ing for the Grrrowl late in the
first period, and Martin Masa
put the eventual game-winner in
during a short-handed situation
in the second. It wasn’t until
midway through the third peri
od that Columbia’s Denis
Martynyuk found a hole in
Fankhouser’s armor for his sec
ond goal of the season, though it
was too little, too late.
Inferno goalie Martin
Villeneuve settled in after al
lowing the two goals, saving 25
shots on the evening, but the loss
brought his record to 4-3-0. While
there was some rough play on
the ice, it was nowhere near the
fisticuffs shown by both teams
the past Tuesday.
Leaving the Coliseum on
Saturday, the Inferno traveled
down 1-20 to the Lions’ Den in
Florence in search dff a win
against the Pee Dee Pride. The
Pride withstood the Inferno at
tack and mauled Columbia 6-1.
In a match with numerous
fights, the Inferno’s special
teams failed as Pee Dee capital
ized on live of their eight power
play opportunities. Kevin Haupt,
Dany Bousquet, Peter
Geronazzo, Gregor Krajnc and
Allan Sirois all tallied on the
man-advantage, while
Geronazzo scored the game-win
ner short handed.
Sandy Allen looked spectacu
lar in the net for the Pride, sav
ing 32 shots, while Villeneuve
again bore the brunt for
Columbia, ending with 26 saves.
Inferno captain Joel Trottier
notched the lone goal, his sixth
of the season, in the first period
off an assist by Matt Ulwelling.
Trottier leads the team in points
and is tied with Ryan Petz and
Mike Legg for the team lead in
points with twelve.
Still looking to get back on the
winning track, the Inferno went
to Columbus on Tuesday night
and came away with a 5-3 win.
The Cottonmouths remain in
last place in the Southeast
Division with just two victories.
Going into Tuesday night’s
game, the Inferno (6-6-1) were
tied for fifth in the eight-team di
vision. Pee Dee and the South
Carolina Stingrays are tied for
the top spot with sixteen points
each.
The Inferno will return home
this Thursday for a 7:00 p.m.
face-off with the Florida
Everblades. All tickets will be
specially priced on a first-come,
first- served basis at $10 each.
The Inferno also has a 7:30 p.m.
Friday game against the
Greensboro Generals.
From there, the team will
.head to Augusta on Saturday
night to try to knock off the Lynx
and then return home Tuesday
for a rematch with Florida.
Tickets range in price from $11
$18 and are available at the
Coliseum box office and all
Capitol Tickets outlets. The
games can be heard on ESPN
Radio 1230-AM.
Check out the
Sports Challenge
and more at
dailygamecock.com
h
4
ESPN
on the
road
to USC
KYLE ALMOND
JBWZINI24@HOTMAIL.COM
ESPN’s College GameDay is
finally coming to Columbia, and
that means one thing: we’re
officially on the map.
Chris Fowler, Lee Corso and
Kirk Herbstreit will be doing
their thing Saturday, right
outside Willie Brice, and the rest
of the nation will finally get a
chance to see what we’ve known
all along: the atmosphere at USC
is among the best in college
football.
I’m excited about the Florida
game, and I can’t wait to verbally
rip Steve Spurrier to shreds, but
for some reason I’m a little more
hyped for GameDay.
Maybe it’s because I’m a
journalist. Maybe it’s because
I’m worried about the Gators
firing on all cylinders. But I’m
going into GameDay hoping
some unanswered questions I’ve
had over the years will finally be
addressed.
For example, does Corso carry
that pen of his everywhere? It
adds great emphasis when he’s
making a point on the show, but I
would imagine it makes taking a
leak quite difficult.
Does Fowler’s hair ever move?
This guy never gets flustered.
Facing potentially the largest.
crowd in the show’s history,
maybe Fowler will have finally
met his match.
And then there’s Herbstreit,
the guy we all envy. The star
quarterback who married the
head cheerleader. Does this guy
have the life or what?
Actually, now that I think
about it, I bet Herbstreit calls in
sick for this one. He’s probably
still bitter about the whole
Outback Bowl thing, considering
he’s a former Buckeye. He’ll
want to avoid the taunts and
smart aleck comments from
obnoxious kids like me.
So with Herbstreit out, that
will probably bring in the
backup, Beano Cook. 01’ Beano’s
been around for ages, so he
should fill in quite nicely. He
probably still thinks Lou Holtz is
head coach at Notre Dame, but
we can overlook that.
After all, we don’t want Mel
Kiper to show up instead.
Anybody who knows by heart
the body fat percentages of
projected seventh-round nose
guards is just too scary.
With Fowler, Corso and a
special appearance by Cook,
Saturday’s show could be the
most memorable yet. Be there.
Just make sure you leave
when it’s dark outside. There are
20,000-plus students waiting for
their chance to shine on live TV.
Shoutouts
Corso, make the right choice:
don Cocky’s helmet. Even if we
happen to lose and your
prediction falters, you’ll be
considered a god here. Come on,
it’s just too much free beer to
turn down.... Rex Grossman,
hope you have a good set of
earplugs... Lamar Odom, put
down the doobies and the
Cheetos. You actually have a
team now.... D’Backs, congrats,
you proved me wrong and
deserve the title.... Byung-Hyun
Kim, go give Luis Gonzalez a big
kiss. Buy him a Rolex. Give him
your wife. Just do something for
the man.... Ryan Leaf, you might
not want to screw this one up....
You heard it here first: Game
cocks win in a thriller.... Daaaai
Bears.