The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, September 24, 2003, Page 13, Image 13
GAME SCHEDULE
CONTACT US WOMEN’S SOCCER at Wofford, 7 p.m.
MEN’S SOCCER vs. Portland in Seattle, 5 p.m. Friday
Story ideas? Questions? Comments? VOLLEYBALL at LSU, 8 p.m. Friday
E-mail us at gamecocksports@hotmail.com FOOTBALL at Tennessee, 7:45 p.m. Saturday
USC makes kicking change
PHOTO BY JOHNNY HAYNES/THE GAMECOCK
USC punter Josh Brown is the likely candidate to replace
placekicker Daniel Weaver for this week’s game at Tennessee.
BY BRAD SENKIW
THE GAMECOCK
As the USC football team (3-1)
plans to head to Tennessee (3-0)
this week, USC head coach Lou
Holtz said the team will feature
a different placekicker, with red
shirt senior Daniel Weaver mov
ing to the bench. After Weaver
missed two field goals, a 40-yard
and a 28-yard attempt, and an ex
tra point by redshirt freshman
Charlie Carpenter in last
Saturday’s win over UAB, Holtz
was at odds with his kicking
problem and announced Monday
that the Gamecocks will put a
new man on the field.
Although it isn’t determined
for sure, redshirt sophomore
punter Josh Brown holds the
edge for the starting placekick
ing position in practice this
week, according to Holtz.
Freshman Stephen Stellfox and
redshirt junior Joey Bowers
could also get an opportunity.
“We have to at least look in a
different direction,” Holtz said.
“I think we have to look at what’s
in the best interest of the team.”
Holtz said he spoke to Weaver
about the situation Monday and
that he can’t figure out Weaver’s
problem.
“He’s kicked well in practice,”
Holtz said. “He wants to keep
kicking, but I told him it may turn
out that way, but it’d be unfair to
the team and unfair to him.”
The Gamecocks rank dead last
in the SEC in field goal percent
age, connecting on only one of
seven attempts. Weaver made the
only field goal of the season for
Carolina but has missed four at
tempts this year. Brown has also
struggled in his attempts, going
0-for-2 when Weaver was sus
pended during the first game.
But Holtz said fixing the prob
lem might not stop at switching
kickers.
“We’re definitely going to work
on an alternative, even if it’s the
tailback running it,” he said.
Holtz said many times during
the post-game conference last
Saturday that he had no answers
for the kicking inefficiencies, and
he said on Monday many reasons
could explain why things are go
ing wrong.
“The placekicking is a differ
ent world,” he said. “There are so
many intangibles; so much of it
is psychological.”
Holtz is also perplexed
by Weaver’s struggles after
showing such promise early in
his career.
“Nobody wants to see Dan
Weaver succeed more than I do
because he works at it,” Holtz -
said. “He’s a wonderful young
man, and he’s done it before. His
sophomore year he was out
standing.”
Holtz also said that with all the
problems, there isn’t much
change he will make in recruit
ing a kicker in the future.
“You cannot truly evaluate a ’
placekicker in high school,” Holtz
said. “It’s impossible because
they kick off a tee. It’s all the dif
ference in the world in kicking off
the ground. It’s a gamble.”
With the Gamecocks taking
such drastic measures going into
the fifth game of the season
- against a highly ranked dnd dom
inating Tennessee squad, Holtz
is worried because kicking has
been a major factor in this series
in the past.
“Last couple of years, we
missed a short field goal early in
the game,” Holtz said. “The kick
ing game does play a prominent
role.”
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Two-headed monster leads Vols’ offense
Tennessee’s two
powerful backs
are dominating
w the conference
BY BRAD SENKIW
THE GAMECOCK
The University of Tennessee
football program has been known
for years as a hotbed for wide re
ceivers making it to the NFL. The
Vols are also known for the num
ber of running backs the school
has produced. Rocky Top fans
have been thrilled for years by
Charlie Garner, James Stewart,
Travis Henry, Travis Stephens
and Jamal Lewis, who broke the
record for the most rushing yards
in a game in the NFL two weeks
ago.
But after a difficult season last
year, the No. 8 Vols (3-0) have
bounced back with not one strong
rusher, but two.
“They’re one of the top 10 in the
country in rushing offense,” USC
head coach Lou Holtz said about
the Tennessee offense. “They have
two backs, Cedric Houston and
Jabari Davis.”
Houston and Davis rank second
and fifth, respectively, in the SEC
in rushing yards per game.
Houston was leading the confer
ence before last week’s game
against Florida, where the junior
went down with an injury. He still
is averaging 115.3 yards a game
and 6.1 yards a carry. His 346
yards have helped the Tennessee
offense find a rhythm that has set
up quarterback Casey Clausen,
who is averaging a little more
than 200 yards a game find has
thrown six touchdowns.
Houston started the season
against Fresno State with a 19
carry, 161-yard rushing perfor
mance and then ran for one yard
less against Marshall on 26 car
ries. In the Florida game,
Houston suffered the injury in
the first half ^nd only gained 25
yards.
That’s when his counterpart,
Davis, came to Tennessee’s res
cue offensively against the
Gators. He gained 78 yards on 20
carries, scoring two touchdowns
in the second half. Davis’ last
score, which came late in the
game, put the Vols up for good
and gave the team a big 24-10 win
in The Swamp.
Davis’ effort landed him the
SEC Offensive Player of the Week
honor, an award he won last year
after gaining 135 yards last season
against Arkansas.
Florida isn’t the only team that
has received a heavy dose of
Davis. The junior from Stone
Mountain, Ga„ has accumulated
223 yards and four touchdowns.
Although Houston had the bigger
numbers in the first two games of
the season, Davis did put up 84
yards in just 12 carries against
Fresno State and 61 yards in only
eight rushes against the
Thundering Herd. Davis has done
something his fellow rusher
hasn’t done: score a touchdown
PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE GAMECOCK
Tennessee running back Cedric Houston is the second in rushing in the SEC despite not
finishing against Florida on Saturday. Houston averages 115.3 yards per game.
Women’s soccer team hits road to take on Wofford
BY WES WOLFE
THE GAMECOCK
The USC women’s soccer team
(4-3-1) is looking for its fifth win
tonight as it goes up against in
state foe Wofford (3-2-1). The
Terriers and the Gamecocks both
share the ignominy of losing to
Clemson in the first game of their
respective seasons. Carolina,
however, has won each of the
eight previous meetings between
the two schools.
. Since the opening loss, Wofford
I beat Canisius, Coastal Carolina,
College of Charleston and tied
Samford before losing to Mercer
on Sept. 18.
In the loss against Mercer,
Wofford allowed its first goal of
the season since Clemson laid six
goals on the Lady Terriers on
Sept. 1. The goal by Mercer’s
Darcy Kibler ended Wofford goal
keeperAustin Somers’ scoreless
streaS&t.367:25. The streak is a
Wofforcfffgiool record.
After "the loss to Mercer,
Wofford head coach Atny Kiah
said, “We played well tonight, but
didn’t get the result we wanted.
The team really played well de
fensively, especially in the
second half, but offensively we
couldn’t get the shot that
counted.”
At the outset, the stats seem to
be in Carolina’s favor. USC is av
eraging more goals per game and
allowing fewer goals per game
than Wofford.
The Gamecocks also have pro
. duced more shots and fewer fouls
than the Lady Terriers over the
season. However, Wofford’s start
ing goalkeeper, Somers, has a .879
save average, compared to
Carolina goalkeeper Elise
Matthews’ .733 average.
Wofford’s main threats com
ing into the game are forwards
Abby Anderson and Eve Van
Harpen. Anderson has scored
three goals this season, includ
ing a game-winner, and has a .500
shot average. Van Harpen has
two goals and nailed the game
winning shot against College of
Charleston last week. Van
Harpen <|frrently has a .400 shot
average and was named
the TIAA-CREF Southern
Conference Student-Athlete of
the Week last week.
USC is coming into the game
riding a two-game win streak,
with the wins coming against
Davidson and N.C. State in the
two-game homestand.
However, this season the
Gamecocks’ are 0-2-1 on the road.
Wofford currently holds a 2-0-1
home record.
“Since the loss at Mercer last
Thursday, which was a disap
pointment, we’ve been practicing
better,” Kiah said. “We’ve had a
great week of practice. South
Carolina is certainly a big game
for us, and many of our players
are ready to step up their games
in preparation for the
Gamecocks.”
Last season, Carolina beat
Wofford 1-0 at Eugene E. Stone in
Stadium. In that game, the
Gamecocks outshot the Lady
Terriers 15-4. However, the play
ers that made impacts in that
game were seniors.
USC steps jfento the field against
Wofford at 7 p.m. tonight in
i ^ |gj|j7 ^ ^ 1 ^ ^ vm<~7-' ***+*»?m*t-*r -.. j
PHOTO BY JOHNNY HAYNES/THE GAMECOCK
Elise Matthews makes a pass during a game earlier this
season. The Gamecocks play at Wofford tonight at 7 p.m.
Spartanburg at Wofford’s Snyder
Field. After this game, Carolina
continues its road trip witls a vis
it to Athens, Ga., for the
UGA/Nike Invitational.
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Words of
caution
to USC’s
Summers
TYLERJONES
GAMECOCKSPORTS@HOTMAIL.COM
Don’t waste talent by
making bad decisions.
DearDemetris,
Just thought that I would take a
few minutes out of my day and
. write to say that I was very im
pressed Saturday night. I’m sorry
that my letter will be seen by the
entire campus, but these are the
breaks for someone of your high
athletic caliber.
I know that you are probably
besieged with requests and letters,
so I figured I would turn my week
ly bully pulpit into something a
little more substantial. Yes, I am
going to lavish my praise, but I am
going to try my best at offering up
a spoonful of advice, something
that head coach Lou Holtz and the
rest of the world have already
shoved down your throat. But if
anyone pays attention, this letter
is to the university community as
well as No. 31.
I don’t have to read off the list
of accolades for you, Demetris.
You know better than anyone else
how it felt to score more than 150
touchdowns and break the NFL’s
an-time leading
rusher Emmitt
Smith’s high
school touchdown
record. And I am
sure you remem
ber each step of
the 9,000-plus
yards that you ran
at Lexington High
School last year
when you were named a Parade
All-American.
You must remember how it felt
when you broke Derek Watson’s
all-time high-school rushing
record for the state. But we re
member the only thing Watson
broke at Carolina. That, Demetris,
was our hearts.
I couldn’t help but think of
Watson as you slashed through
the porous UAB defense to the
tune of 161 yards. What was
Watson doing that humid
Saturday evening? And then I
thought of you, Mr. Summers. I
thought of all the promise and tal
ent that is just waiting to explode
from that 6-foot-l-inch, 200-pound
frame of yours.
And then I had strange visions
of overzealous alumni and boost
ers inundating your mother’s
house with phone calls and offers
of money or perhaps a new car.
Images of greedy, golf-playing
aristocrats who would love to
have you over for dinner and stuff
your pockets with dead presidents
invaded my consciousness as I
galloped back to my tailgate.
The football, Demetris, is the
easy part. Reading defenses is
nothing compared to reading your
fellow human beings.
You see, it is because we re selt
ish, and I say we are because I
want to use you too. I want to brag
to my friends about how fast and
elusive you are because deep
down, we, as fans, need a great
player to make ourselves look bet
ter and feel better. It is no secret
that we use athletes as projections
of ourselves, and their perfor
mances can influence our needy
little self-esteems.
Speaking of feeling better, let’s
not forget about the opposite sex. I
know they are beautiful, and some
are sweet enough to give you a
cavity, but don't think for a
minute that an act of connubial
bliss won’t destroy everything
you’ve worked for.
Don’t forget the agents and the
drug-dealing vermin who would
love for you to party at their opu
lent abodes. Demetris, you are
nothing but a'trophy for them, val
idation of their social status. They
don’t care that you have kids and
a future to think of.
♦ LETTER, SEE PAGE 14