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* ^ -V I \/A I \ r | 1 (~^4 GAME SCHEDULE Jm 1 I_J' I ' WOMEN’S SOCCER vs. Houston, 7 p.m. tonight -r, 0 I I ■ B""*m I . VOLLEYBALL at Wake Forest Invitational, tonight, Sunday ^age 8 I IflllLl MEN’S SOCCER at Winthrop, 1 p.m. Saturday Friday, September 3,2004 B \^_y B B fK^y WOMEN’S SOCCER vs. Iowa State, 12:30 p.m. Sunday — ' ■ - -■■■■ ...—1 1,1 ■ ■ ■■ 11 ' - ' ■ ■■= THIS ISSUE: SPECIAL TEAMS <f'COU'NT,DOWN TO KICKOFF: 1 USC, Vandy to tap specialists KATIE KIRKLAND/THE GAMECOCK Senior kicker Joey Bowers goes through warmups in a practice earlier this preseason. Bowers will be the kickoff man for the Gamecocks this season and to begin the season will be the backup place kicker behind kicker Josh Brown. By DANIEL KERR THE GAMECOCK Saturday’s game against Vanderbilt is expected to be close. With the Gamecocks favored by only four and a half points, the contest could come down to the play of special teams. Junior punter Josh Brown will add placekicking to his list of duties this season. Brown led the team with a 40.5 yards-per-punt average last year but struggled kicking field goals. He was 0-for-2 last season while serving as Daniel Weaver’s backup and also missed two field goals in the spring game. However, Brown made all four extra points he attempted last year. Senior Joey Bowers will again handle kickoffs and short-yardage punts. Bowers’ rugby style, punt-on-the-run approach landed 11 of his 21 punts inside the 20-yard line in 2003. On the other side of the ball, sophomore running back Demetris Summers will return punts. Summers averaged 12.3 yards per return in limited duty last season. That average helped put the Gamecocks in the top six in the nation for punt returns. With more opportunities, he will be tough to bring down in the open field. Sophomore receiver Noah Whiteside will also get a chance to return punts and show off his speed. Junior Troy Williamson and senior Matthew Thomas will return kickoffs.’ Both have blazing speed. Thomas had a 74-yard return last year and averaged 19.2 yards per return. Gamecock Grade: D+ If this team can’t kick field goals it will be very hard to win close games this year. Consistency is key. Vanderbilt will also have a new kicker this season. After finishing last in the SEC in field-goal percentage at 50 percent last season, the Commodores will start true freshman Daniel Lee, who was a Prep Star All-American. Vanderbilt’s punting wasn’t any better than its place kicking in 2003, averaging only 33.4 yards per kick. The Commodores are also having trouble finding a reliable long snapper. “We’re auditioning just about anybody,” head coach Bobby Johnson told Lindy’s magazine of the snapper position. Junior running back Kwane Doster will handle the kick returns. Doster averaged 21.8 yards on 26 returns last year. Another Vanderbilt special teams faction that ranked dead last in the SEC last year was punt returns. Junior wide out Erik Davis managed just 8.3 yards per return last season. Don’t expect that statistic to get much better this season. Gamecock Grade: D The only team in the SEC with bigger special-teams woes than the Gamecocks is Vanderbilt. Thus, Vandy’s unit gets a slightly more insulting grade. Comments on this story? E-tnail ga-mecocksports@gwm.se. edu USC hopes to slam 3Dores in opener By ALEX RILEY THE GAMECOCK The good news: USC has the chance to take an early lead in the race for the SEC Eastern Division crown. The bad news: USC has to play at Vanderbilt first. A couple of years ago, that would have been the punch line to a great college football joke. But today, it’s a totally new Commodore team the Gamecocks will face come Saturday. Vanderbilt returns 21 of 22 starters from last year’s squad, 10 on offense and 11 on defense, that only managed to go 2-10 but played exceptionally well in most of its games last fall. The biggest name on offense of those returning starters is quarterback Jay Cutler. As a junior this season, Cutler has received his second term as a team captain and was named to the Preseason All-SEC second team, behind Heisman Trophy candidate David Greene. Cutler’s stats are nothing short of impressive. In two seasons, he’s totaled 3,780 yards, including 2,347 yards in 2003, on passing alone. As a freshman, Cutler earned two different first team All-SEC honors and took home third team All-America honors. In summary, the USC defense must shut down Jay Cutler. If the Gamecock front four and linebackers can get pressure on Cutler, they might cause him to make mistakes, and that could help their cause. The dynamic duo of George Gause and Moe Thompson will have to find a way through a highly talented offensive line if the defense wants to force Cutler to make mistakes. USC’s young corners and safeties will have to be on their toes as Cutler’s receivers are very experienced, forcing the secondary to stick close to everyone and keep tabs on their man. “Vanderbilt’s quarterback is going to be a challenge for us,” cornerback Fred Bennett said. “1 feel like he’s going to try to come at us. We have some young guys back there, like myself for one, but I think if we execute like we’ve been taught in practice, we can do a pretty good job.” “We’re going to do everything in our power to win this game,” Cutler said. “We’re just concentrating on ourselves right now and doing what we have to do.” With most of the Commodores’ defensive talent, it might be hard for senior USC quarterback Dondrial Pinkins to throw in an experienced defense, and holes could be limited for the rotating running backs. Also, USC head coach Lou Holtz decided to use a two-quarterback system, giving both Pinkins and sophomore Syvelle Newton time under center. While Newton has ! shown outstanding promise and could be the quarterback of the future, Pinkins is the starter on the depth chart and rhythm is key in a game of this magnitude. Demetris Summers, Cory Boyd and Daccus Turman will each have to use their specific running styles to keep the Commodore defense guessing. Summers is the most elusive of the backs, while Boyd and Turman try not to run into tackiers, but run over them. “We have a lot of good backs,” Summers said. “I’ll wait my turn and see what happens.” “The running backs have looked good the past couple * of days,” Holtz said. “Demetris Summers has practiced well. I’d say either he or Cory Boyd will start at * tailback Saturday. But we have several backs who are playing well right now:” The Commodores have a ton of talent on the defensive side of the ball, including junior linebacker Moses Osemwegie. ♦ Please see FOOTBALL, page 9 Salute to Carolina rallies USC football fans By ALEX RILEY THE GAMECOCK Since the 2002 Outback Bowl, USC hasn’t had an event solely designed as a big celebration for fans to show support for the football team. This was the case until Wednesday night, when USC put on t|jie first installment of Salute to Carolina, an event designed to rally fans and celebrate the upcoming fall season. A crowd of more than 4,000 people turned out for the event, which featured all but two of USC’s head coaches, the entire football team, the cheerleaders and, of course, Cocky. Former Gamecock quarterback and current play-by-play announcer Todd Ellis was on hand to emcee the event, which had something for everyone. USC President Andrew Sorensen and USC Athletics Director Mike McGee introduced the program, as well as distinguished guests from the board of trustees, numerous county and city councils, and the board of the Capital City Classic, which will be played Saturday at “I don’t know if we will win a single football game. But I don’t know if we will lose a single game, either.” LOU HOLTZ HEAD FOOTBALL COACH Williams-Brice Stadium. Head baSeball coach Ray Tanner and head track and field coach Curtis Frye each received standing ovations for their accomplishments during the last few months. Tanner took the USC baseball squad to its third consecutive College World Series appearance, while Frye just made his return from Athens, Greece, as an assistant coach to the United States track and field squad. Tanner, Frye and head volleyball coach Kim Hudson all took part in a “coaches corner” on what it takes to produce a successful program. Assistant head football coach Skip Holtz and defensive coordinator Rick Minter also spoke to the crowd, as Minter told the ♦ Please see SALUTE, page 9 Men’s soccer defeats By STEPHEN FASTENAU THE GAMECOCK The USC men’s soccer team is beginning to see a pattern from year to year. The Gamecocks defeated perennial Colonial Conference contender William and Mary 2-1 Wednesday night — the eighth straight home opener the program has won. The win did not come easily, as the two teams engaged in a physical contest at Stone Stadium. The officials’ decision to call a rather loose game had tempers flaring. “I thought the officiating was pretty good,” USC head coach Mark Berson said. “The guys went out there and played a hard, physical game, and the officials let them play.” When fouls were called, they more frequently targeted the Gamecocks, who were whistled for 20 fouls to the Tribe’s 10. USC struck first, with striker Ayo Akinsete sneaking a shot past Tribe goaltender Kris Rake just nine minutes into the first half. William and Mary attempted to answer a few minutes later but a Brendan McCurdy header via a penalty kick sailed off line. The two defenses then took over for several minutes as the teams alternated possessions. William and Marv forward Patrick Scherder had his shot from the right side stopped by sophomore goalkeeper Brad Guzan. Freshman midfielder JD Moon entered the game with 19 minutes remaining after fellow freshman Jose Ramos left the game bleeding from the mouth. USC could not capitalize on other opportunities to score in the first half. Junior defender Josh Alcala sent a pass up the left side of the field to forward Sebastian Lindholm. Lindholm quickly gave it up to Akinsete, whose header missed high. The lone goal for the Tribe came on one of the most exciting sequences of the game. With Guzan out of position, what appeared to be a sure goal was turned into an unlikely save by a hustling USC defender. Guzan was unable to get back, however, and Scherder’s kick from the left, just outside the box, got by Guzan’s outstretched arms to knot the score at 1-1 with 2:30 remaining in the half. USC came out energetic in the second half. Akinsete had an unsuccessful shot on goal just one minute into the half. The sophomore was called for a foul minutes later and became visibly upset, shouting at the linesman. Th£ deciding goal came five minutes into the second half on a nifty pass left of the box from Alcala to Lindholm in front of rbe goal, who then put it past Rake. Alcala “played outstanding,” Berson said. “He really opened the game up and created attacking chances.” Things got heated midway through the half. USC sophomore Michael Sambursky shoved Tribe defender Chris Rodd after Rodd appeared to pull his arm in an attempt to wrestle the ball away. William and Mary senior Bryan Hinkle and Gamecock sophomore Cody Perrot were then involved in a brief shoving match also involving Alcala. USC had its chances to put the Tribe away for good late in the game. At one point, Lindholm, Akinsete and junior Ryan Deter all missed shots from just in front of the William and Mary goal. Berson was pleased with his team after the game but was also impressed by his team’s opponent. “What was most impressive about this win is that William and Mary is a good team,” Berson said. “They are very experienced and I thought (Rake) did an outstanding job.” USC returns to action at home next weekend when it hosts the Gamecock Classic. The team takes on Bucknell on Friday at 7:30 p.m. Comments on this story? E-mail tamecockst>orts®<nirm sr edn William and Mary KATIE KIRKLANDTTHE GAMECOCK Sophomore forward Michael Sambursky leaps over a William and Mary defender in Wednesday night’s 2 1 \A/in Ai/or Iho Trihn Thn W I ICO -1 U, A..- A I.:-*-I 0-1-a:-- ■ -■-■ ■-1 —