University of South Carolina Libraries
1^1 I GAME SCHEDULE pa(r„ 1 n I MEN’S SOCCER vs. Charlotte, 7 p.m. rage iu VOLLEYBALL at Alabama, 7 p.m. Friday Wednesday, October 13, 2004 _ WOMEN’S SOCCER vs. Mississippi, 7 p.m. Friday ........ .. —.. ■■ ■ ■ ■■■ . gwL ■ ■ ■ ■ B^B'v-Ri ^mr*K gf M m I USC sets sights on Wildcats ■ Kentucky aims for first SEC win against favored Gamecocks By TODD GREEN THE GAMECOCK Coming off a heartbreaking, last minute defeat at the hands of the Ole Miss Rebels, the Gamecocks must rebound against Kentucky (1-4, 0-2 SEC) to keep hopes alive for a winning record and a spot in a postseason bowl game. Kentucky has given all appearances of being the perfect candidate to help USC get back to its winning ways. The Wildcats were held scoreless in their season opener against Louisville, losing 28-0. Kentucky even lost to one of the worst Division I football teams in America — Ohio, 28-16. The Cats lost their top receiving threat, Keenan Burton, for the year in the third game when he suffered a knee injury. Kentucky is reeling from the scholarship restrictions brought on by the NCAA due to the violations that occurred during the Hal Mumme era. Kentucky began the year with 73 players on scholarship, the lowest of any SEC team. The Gamecocks’ problem is that they will face a Kentucky team the experts think has the same prospects of beating them — slim — as Ole Miss did last week. Ole Miss had struggled to beat a lackluster Arkansas State team, and had earlier lost to perennial loser Wyoming. Mississippi was a 17-point underdog coming in to Columbia but somehow managed to play like a team loaded with All-Americans. USC head coach Lou Holtz and staff now face the challenge of getting their players to rebound from a heartbreaking loss, while also reminding them that if they do not execute and play disciplined football, they face a real possibility of losing to a team that has no business beating them. “I’m not worried about the players bouncing back, because young people are resilient,” Holtz said. “For the first time I think we all understand, I’m talking about players, that you win close games because you do little things the right way.” For the second-straight week, Dondrial Pinkins is expected to be sidelined by the shoulder injury he suffered against Georgia. Sophomore Syvelle Newton will again be called upon to lead the Gamecock offense. Holtz said he was confident in Newton’s ability to move the ball down the field. “I just think Syvelle Newton is playing so well right now and doing so many things,” Holtz said in his Monday news conference. “He can improvise and make plays.” Newton will be lining up against a defense that returned eight starters from last year. The Cats’ defense is anchored by defensive end Vincent “Sweat Pea” Burns, who made the Bronkp Nagurski Trophy Watch List, which names nominees for the annual award given to the nation’s top defensive player. One of the keys to this game will be how well the USC offense can capitalize in the red zone. Kentucky is ranked first in the SEC in red-zone defense. Look for Demetris Summers to get more carries. The success of the USC offense might depend on Summers’ response to the increased workload. Last week, the USC defense struggled in the first half against the Rebels. The Gamecock defense played much better in the second half but eventually gave up the big play at the end — the go-ahead touchdown pass to Ole Miss receiver Bill Flowers in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter. After playing superbly in the first four games, the defense will be trying to put its first bad game behind them. USC will seek to contain Kentucky quarterback Shane Boyd, forcing him to make poor decisions and bad throws. The USC secondary is gearing up for the challenge, and more interceptions could be on the Kentucky horizon. The Saturday night game will be Kentucky’s Homecoming. It wall also mark the first time this year that USC will be playing in cold weather, with temperatures expected to dip into the low 40s or upper 30s later in the night. Hopefully the Gamecocks’ play on the field can heat things up. USC travels to Lexington, Ky., on Saturday for a 7 p.m. kickoff against the Wildcats. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecocksports@gwm.sc. edu CHARLIE DAVENPORT/THE GAMECOCK Sophomore quarterback Syvelle Newton eludes an Ole Miss defender in the'second half of Saturday’s game. Newton will make his second career SEC start in place of injured senior Dondrial Pinkins. Cats turn to real-life ‘Radio’ for inspiration By JEFF PATTERSON THE KENTUCKY KERNEL UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY Forget about running out on the held. James “Radio” Kennedy really wanted to eat with the UK football team. “He’s a big eater,” UK receivers coach Joker Phillips said. Kennedy, the subject of the Cuba Gooding Jr. movie “Radio,” ate eggs, bacon and pancakes before UK’s game Saturday against Alabama. Then, clutching freshman running back Rafael Little’s hand, he led the team out on the field. “He’s never experienced anything like that, coming out with somebody .— hand in hand,” Little said. Kennedy, who has been a fixture at T.L. Hanna High School in Anderson for more than 40 years, became a celebrity after a movie about his life debuted in 2003. While lighting up the T.L. Hanna scoreboard, Little became friends with the lovable football assistant. \Y/k»« Dk;ii;»«. ~.k«» Anderson running back in February, he went to lunch with Little and Kennedy. They discussed the possibility of Kennedy visiting Commonwealth Stadium and running out on the field with the Cats. “That’s something that he has always wanted to do,” Phillips said. However, Kennedy didn’t roam the sidelines like he does at T.L. Hanna. Instead, he sat in a booth up in the press box. “He said the next time he comes, he doesn’t want to go to the (press) box. He wants to stay down with me,” Phillips said. “I think I’ve got him sold on this place.” GET THE DUCT TAPE After UK’s offense struggled to gain only 177 yards in its 45-17 loss Saturday to Alabama, senior quarterback Shane Boyd looked for answers. He hoped to find them in the movie “Friday Night Lights.” Before watching the movie Saturday night: “I’m going to see if there are any plays we can use,” Boyd said. And on Monday, apparendy he didn’t like what he saw. “I don’t think it was all they hyped it up to be,” Boyd said. “It seemed like a gloomy-type movie. “Football is supposed to be fun — that didn’t seem like a fun movie, seemed like there was too much ^ trouble going on. “ The relationship between one of the running backs and his father (played by Tim McGraw) was concerning. After the son had trouble holding on to the football, the father duct taped his son’s hands to a football. Boyd and redshirt freshman quarterback Andre Woodson better watch out and hope none of their coaches have seen this movie. Boyd fumbled once against Bama. Woodson fumbled twice. It might serve as a good strategy for the UK coaching staff to act that scene out. “Me and Dre had three fumbles, so we might have to do that to hold on to the ball,” Boyd joked. UK head coach Rich Brooks doesn’t plan to go McGraw on his quarterbacks to stress ball security. He has a much simpler plan. “I’m going to tell them not to fumble,” Brooks said. BLOCK PARTY With Lonnell Dewait’s blocked field goal in the first quarter against Alabama, UK now has blocked a kick in each of its five games this season. Dewalt, a 6-foot-6-inch freshman receiver, has five of them. Junior linebacker Raymond Fontaine blocked an extra point against Indiana. “I’ve never been around anything like it,” Brooks said. While the credit has gone to Dewalt and Fontaine, the push from linemen Vincent Burns, Trey Mielsch, Ricky Abren and Jason Leger sets it all up. With basketball season starting this weekend, Dewalt, who plans to walk on to that team, will have other things on his mind than Friday night’s Big Blue Madness. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecocksports@gwm.sc.edu Holtz says Summers will carry heavier load ■ Sophomore back to get more carries, possibly return punts By STEPHEN FASTENAU STAFF WRITER From the way USC head coach Lou Holtz is talking, the Kentucky Wildcats should be fed a healthy portion of “Meat” come Saturday. Holtz held a Sunday practice for the first time this season to help his team bounce back from a close loss to Mississippi the day before. In Monday’s news conference, Holtz said that tailback Demetris Summers would definitely get more carries in Lexington this weekend. We have to get (Summers) going, Holtz said. “He’s got to get in the game, he’s got to stay in the game, he’s got to run the ball.” Staying in the game has been the problem for Summers. After a solid performance at Vanderbilt, Summers went down with a high ankle sprain after just two carries against Georgia. The injury kept the sophomore out of the next two games against South Florida and Troy. In his first game back from the injury, Summers carried 15 times for 61 yards against Alabama. Summers scored his first touchdown of the season Saturday against Ole Miss, rushing 12 times for 43 yards. Holtz said he wants to see more of the same .from his tailback, saying he would like for Summers to have at least 25 ci^ries a game to complete an offense that, has produced effectively at the quarterback and receiver positions. “To do that, he’s got to keep that ankle healthy,” Holtz said. “He’s got to practice hard ... and he’s got to want 25 carries (a game).” “Our receivers are being productive. Our quarterbacks are being productive,” Holtz said. “We have to get the running back ultra-productive. Then I think we’ll be approaching the type of offense we really and truly want.” Holtz said that Cory Boyd needs to take on a larger role after having only one carry for 5 yards against Ole Miss. Boyd was the go-to back as both a runner and receiver while bummers was injured. “Cory Boyd is one fine football player, and we try to get him on the field as much as we can,” Holtz said. “We don’t run an awful lot of two backs at the present time, but when we do he should carry the ball more.” Summers will likely see more playing time at a position other than in the backfield. Noah Whiteside, while productive as a receiver, has made several questionable decisions while fielding punts. Holtz said Summers would likely get an ^opportunity as a punt returner Saturday. Summers was the team’s primary returner last season, returning nine punts for an average of 12.7 yards as a freshman. “There’s some concern,” Holtz said. “I don’t want to say anything negative. Some jobs are very difficult to do. We’ll give (Whiteside) help. We have to.” Holtz said that ultimately, field position was the bigger problem and that the responsibility fell on the running game. With the backs unable to produce, Syvelle Newton was forced to throw downfield repeatedly on third down. “We’re going to be in third-and-long a lot if we don’t run the ball consistently,” Holtz said. Notes: ♦ Newton will get his second-straight start against Kentucky, while Dondrial Pinkins nurses a shoulder injury sustained against Alabama. Holtz said Pinkins would likely not play. ♦ Chris White will be the probable starter for injured center John Strickland, who suffered a broken finger in Saturday’s game. ♦ Holtz noted that quarterback Blake Mitchell would see playing time again this week after leading a touchdown drive against Ole Miss. Mitchell only played two series in the game, which Holtz said was because of his concern about the strength of the Mississippi pass rush. £ -?——-; Comments on this story? E-mail gamecocksports@gwm.sc. edu CHARLIE DAVENPORT/THE GAMECOCK Sophomore running tiack Demetris Summers blows past the*Ole Miss defense on his way to a 17-yard touchdown run Saturday. The fourth quarter score was Summers’ first touchdown of the season.