The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, September 24, 2004, Page 8, Image 8
I
GAME SCHEDULE
0 MEN’S SOCCER at Wake Forest, 7 p.m.
Fage 8 VOLLEYBALL vs. Mississippi St., 7 p.m.
Friday, September 24, 2004 WOMEN’S SOCCER at Auburn, 8 p.m.
I
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CHARLIE DAVENPORT/THE GAMECOCK
The Gamecocks run out of the tunnel prior to Saturday’s game against South Florida. USC will face the Troy University Trojans on Saturday at Williams-Brice Stadium.
4
USC to press Troy’s luck
By ALEX RILEY
THE GAMECOCK
The Troy Trojans (2-1) are no
strangers to the stiff competition of the
SEC. The Trojans have played SEC
teams around for years and have found
little success in the face of difficult
competition. Saturday’s game is no
different, as the Gamecocks try to remind
the Trojans what life is like in SEC play.
Troy is playing its first season in the
Sun Belt Conference after being
independent for three years.
The Trojans’ season has turned
heads around the country, as they won
their opening game at Marshall.
Marshall, considered one of the best
non-BCS conference teams, played
both Georgia and Ohio State down to
the wire on the road before coming up
just short. Troy’s biggest win of the
season came over then-No. 16 Missouri
and Heisman candidate Brad Smith.
After Smith and the Tiger offense
jumped out to an early lead, the
Trojans battled back and won 24-14.
The Troy team swept the all
conference honors that week as
offensive lineman Junior Louissant was
offensive player of the week, linebacker
Bernard Davis was defensive player of
the week and kicker Thomas Olmstead
was special teams player of the week.
But Saturday, things didn’t go so well
for the Trojans, who lost their conference
opener on the road to New Mexico State,
22-18. Troy managed to regain the lead
from the Aggies late in the fourth quarter
on a Greg Whibbs 34-yard field goal, but
New Mexico State rallied with a late
drive to take the contest.
The most impressive thing about
Troy might be its astounding
secondary. The Trojans have forced at
least one interception in each of their
first three games. What’s even more
impressive is that last fall’s interception
“It’s not like he and I
are competing against
one another. The main
thing we want to do is
win.”
DONDRIAL PINKINS
ON SYVELLE NEWTON
leader Derrick Ansley — nine
interceptions in 2003 — hasn’t had a
pick this season. Instead, four different
players each have at least one
interception, with Johjiny Faulk
leading the way with two interceptions.
Seniors Aaron Leak, quarterback,
and DeWitt Betterson, running back,
lead the Trojan offense. Leak has put
up a great ratio thus far — 30 for 65,
for 455 yards — but he’s only thrown
two touchdowns. Betterson has also
been a bit off track. After postiog a
career-best 1,161 yards last fall,
Betterson’s only 100-yard game this
season came against New Mexico State
for 137 yards. Betterson has only 256
yards through three games this season.
“It will be a physical game on
Saturday,” USC head coach Lou Holtz
said. “They (Troy) will run their big
back and then hit you with the play
action pass.”
USC comes in riding a blowout win
over South Florida, in which back-up
quarterback Syvelle Newton put up
astounding numbers. His 324-yard day
was the one of the best debuts as a starter
in Carolina history, and he has impressed
the coaching staff enough to get time at
the quarterback spot against Troy.
“Syvelle came in and did a nice job
last week,” assistant head coach Skip
Holtz said. “(Dondrial Pinkins and
Syvelle Newton) will play. They have
both handled this situation extremely
well. In the meeting room and on the
field, alike. Both understand that we
need both of them.”
“Syvelle came in and did a great job,
and I was proud of him,” quarterback
Dondrial Pinkins said. “It’s not like he
and I are competing against one another.
The main thing we want to do is win.”
While Pinkins and Newton will
both get their playing time Saturday,
running back Demetris Summers can’t
make that claim. Summers, along with
wide receiver Sidney Rice, are doubtful
for Saturday’s game. Wide receiver Tim
“Pops” Frisby, a 39-year-old Army
veteran, got good news from the NCAA.
Clearinghouse Thursday, as they
granted him eligibility to play.
Saturday’s game, part of Parents
Weekend, is sold out. The game will air
on ESPN’s College GamePlan on Pay
Per View.
Comments on this stoiy? E-mail
gamecockspo7is@gwm.sc. edu
Surprising
Trojans
look for
upset at
Carolina
By STEPHEN FASTENAU
THE GAMECOCK
The Gamecocks’ next opponents will
have an upset on their minds when they
visit Williams-Brice Stadium on
Saturday. After beating a respectable
Marshall team in their first game, the
Troy Trojans knocked off the No. 17
Missouri Tigers 24-14 on ESPN2. The
record 26,574 fans in attendance tore
down both goalposts and rolled the
campus with toilet paper.
“(Troy) opened up and beat Marshall
at Marshall,” USC head coach Lou
Holtz said. “You saw what Marshall did
against Ohio State and Georgia so that
was impressive.
“Then they beat Missouri, which I
think has a great football team. I cannot
believe the way they manhandled
Missouri.”
The Tigeri led 14-0 after the first
quarter but watched Troy blow by
them with a 17-point explosion in the
second quarter. Trojan receiver Jason
Samples started the scoring by taking a
lateral from quarterback Aaron Leak
and throwing a 27-yard touchdown
pass.
“I cannot believe the
way they manhandled
Missouri.”
LOU HOLTZ
USC HEAD COACH
The next touchdown was likely the
early candidate for play of the year.'
After coming up with a defensive
stop, the. Trojan offense again took the
field. Running back DeWhitt
Betterson ran up the middle for eight
yards before being stripped of the ball.
Offensive lineman Junior Louissaint
picked up the fumble and outran the
entire Missouri defense for 63 yards
and the touchdown. Troy added a field
goal before the half and capped the
scoring with a 33-yard touchdown pass
from Leak to Samples in the fourth
quarter.
The win was odd in the sense that
Missouri led nearly every statistical
category. The Tigers rolled up 336 yards
of offense as quarterback Brad Smith
threw for 224 yards. The time of
possession was also in favor of Missouri,
as they held the ball for nine minutes
longer than the Trojans.
The Tigers were victimized by
turnovers. Smith threw three
interceptions and Missouri fumbled
three times, losing one.
♦ Please see TROY, page 9
Men’s soccer team
prepares offense
:or Wake Forest
By CHARLIE WALKER
THE GAMECOCK
After a disappointing performance in
Philadelphia at the Penn Classic this
past weekend, the Gamecocks look to
rebound Friday night at Wake Forest.
The Gamecocks managed a tie and a
loss in the two-day weekend event
against two perennial Ivy League powers
as they were defeated in the tournament
by the University of Pennsylvania 2-1
one day one and tied Princeton on the
final day, 2-2.
“Our team has worked very hard
this week to improve on a number of
things we saw last weekend at
Pennsylvania,” USC head coach Mark
Berson said. “Our objective going into
this game is to eliminate mistakes and
improve on our strengths. I feel like our
team is making great strides, and we’ll
be ready for a great opportunity on
Friday.”
Having not played in five days, the
Gamecocks should be fresh to take on
a Demon Deacons team that is No. 16
nationally in the College Coaches Poll,
boasting a 3-2-1 record against
extremely tough competition. Both
teams are searching for their first win
in a week as Wake Forest dropped its
last two home games to Virginia and
UNC-Greensboro, losing back-to-back
home matches for the first time since
1997.
Wake Forest lost some key players
from last season, Berson said, “and I
think they’re still trying to cope with
some of those losses. They are playing a
tough schedule and have learned a lot
from those matches heading into
Friday.”
The Gamecocks, while young, boast
the talent to compete with the more
experienced Deacons. Led offensively
by two outstanding forwards in
sophomore Ayo Akinsete and freshman
Sebastian Lindholm, USC hopes to put
intense pressure on a Wake Forest
defense that has given up six goals in its
past three games. Wake Forest counters
with two brilliant forwards of its own in
seniors Scott Sealy and former USC
recruit Stephen Keel. Defensively, the
Gamecocks have a decided advantage in
sophomore goalkeeper Brad Guzan,
who has played in every minute of every
game this season. Wake Forest’s young
goalkeeper, sophomore Brian Edwards,
inherits goalkeeping duties from All
American William Hesmer, who
graduated last year. Both young
defenses will be tested, as the forwards
for both South Carolina and Wake
Forest are some of the best in the
country.
The Gamecocks also have the tough
task of playing away from home for the
third-straight time. Wake Forest usually
plays well in Winston-Salem, and
coming off of back-to-back losses, the
Deacons will most certainly play with an
increased sense of urgency. However,
♦ Please see MEN’S SOCCER, page 9
KI-1UIU SrtOIAL IU I Mt <j«MLOUUI\
Tim Frisby, a 39-year-old walk-on for USC, goes through a drill
during practice this week. Frisby, a former Army Ranger, has
been grahted eligibility by the NCAA to play for the Gamecocks.
U. S. Army vet
cleared to play
■ 39-year-old
walk-on granted
eligibility by NCAA
By JONATHAN HILLYARD
THE GAMECOCK
Tim Frisby, a 39-year-old walk-on
football player, is officially eligible to
play for the Gamecocks this season.
“To say that I’m excited would be an
understatement,” Frisby said. “I’m just
so thankful that this request had a happy
conclusion.”
Frisby was notified in an NCAA
conference call Thursday that he had
been granted eligibility to partake in
collegiate athletics. USC head coach Lou
Holtz said Frisby would dress Saturday
against Troy University in the
Gamecocks’ fourth game of the season.
He dressed for the Georgia game two
weeks ago but did not see any playing
time.
“His desire is incredible,” Holtz said.
“He has never once asked for any
leniency or said, T can’t be here,’ or, ‘I
can’t do that,’ never once.”
The question of Frisby’s eligibility
was in large part because the NCAA
Clearinghouse did not exist when he
graduated from high school.
“He graduated just a couple of years
after coach (Ron) Cooper,” Holtz said
Thursday.
Before enrolling in USC last year,
Frisby spent 20 years in the U.S. Army
as a member of the army’s elite Ranger
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he became a Gamecock fan while
stationed in Columbia at Fort Jackson
and said he has always had a dream to
play college football.
“It’s an amazing story about him and
he’s got a marvelous attitude,” Holtz
said. “He comes out, he really does some
nice things.”
Prior to entering the military, Frisby
graduated high school in 1983 in
Allentown, Pa. The NCAA has spent
about a month digging up high school
transcripts for Frisby, leaving him
waiting helplessly for an answer.
The rest of the Gamecock football
program, including Holtz, has become
fond of Frisby saying his story is really
an inspiration to them.
Frisby, who has been nicknamed by
his fellow teammates “Pops,” has been
looking forward to this day for a long
time and is happy to have the technical
details behind him.
Despite his 39-year-old body, Frisby
has made it clear that this is not just an
act for him, and coach Holtz agrees.
“I’m not out here just to stay in
shape,” Frisby insisted. “I’ve given 100
percent on the practice field, and
hopefully it will pay off on the game
field.”
“He comes out, he really does some
nice things,” Holtz said. “He’s not out
of place for a 39-year-old. He will play
this year.”
Off the football field, Frisby faces
much tougher challenges, as the former
♦ Please see FRISBY, page 9