The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, October 20, 2004, Page 13, Image 13
* GAME SCHEDULE
1i MEN’S SOCCER at Charleston, 6 p.m. Today
ra&f 13 . ^ „ WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL vs. Georgia, 7 p.m. Friday
Wednesday, October 20, 2004 WOMEN’S SOCCER at Arkansas, 8 p.m. Friday
Cougars to test
Carolina offense
■ Mens soccer team looks
to rebound afier fall break
losses to Charlotte, UNC
By MATT NAGY
THE GAMECOCK
The USC men’s soccer team will face the
College of Charleston on Wednesday night and is
looking to rebound from a tough fall break tour of
North Carolina.
Coming off a big win against Clemson the
previous Sunday, Carolina was held scoreless for the
first time this season against Charlotte, 1-0. USC
was also held out of the goal column against UNC,
falling 2-0.
“With this young team, we’ve got to learn to be
ready to play under all circumstances, both
physically and emotionally," said USC head coach
Mark Berson, who is relying heavily on the play of
sophomores and freshmen this season.
UNC is a tough place to play, and Carolina is
hoping things will go better Wednesday against a
tough College of Charleston team that is 9-4 on the
season and undefeated (4-0) in Southern
Conference play.
The Cougars will rely on senior Tony Myers to
get the ball past Carolina keeper Brad Guzan.
Myers leads the team with five goals on the year and
has added two assists. The Cougars will also look to
get a goal-scoring boost from the backline, as
SoCon player of the week Matt Schindelholz has
three goals on the season.
The Cougars have not allowed many goals to be
scored this season. Their goals-allowed average sits
at a staunch 1.27 for the season. They have only
allowed more than one goal scored in two contests
on the year, and the going will be tough for a
Carolina team that has only scored one goal in its
last three contests.
A healthy Ayo Akinsete should help the
Gamecocks scoring against Charleston. The
sophomore from London was injured early in the
first half against Clemson and missed the following
game against Charlotte. Akinsete, the team’s
leading scorer a season ago, has tallied four goals this
season and is again leading the team in that
department.
Along with Akinsete, forwards Mike Sambursky,
Ryan Deter and freshman standout Sebastian
Lindholm will look to add to their goal totals this
season. Deter has scored three goals coming mosdy
off the bench as a replacement for Sambursky, who
along with Lindholm has scored twice this season.
With these four forwards upfront, it should not be
much trouble for Carolina to get back on the
scoreboard against the Cougars.
NICK ESARES/THE GAMECOCK
Sophomore forward Michael Sambursky, right, battles a Clemson defender. The
Gamecocks are looking to stop a two-game losing streak with a Charleston brawl.
Carolina out-shot Charlotte and UNC in recent
match-ups.
The team “created a number of very good
chances, and I thought we were unlucky not to
get an equalizer” against the Tar Heels, Berson
said.
With a defense comprised of Greg Reece, Eric
Szeszycki and standout Makan Hislop, the
Gamecocks have allowed few goals to get past the
backline. Ramon Paracat has been missing from the
lineup since an injury forced him out of the contest
against Clemson early, but the Carolina defense has
stayed solid despite his absence. Whenever a ball
gets past the backline, with Guzan there is by no
0
means a guaranteed goal.
Guzan has made 62 saves this season. His save
percentage stands at 83 percent, putting him in the
top 25 of the nation. The sophomore from Illinois
has an outstanding goals-allowed average of 1.06
and has had four shutouts on the year. *
The game is set for 6 p.m. Wednesday night at
Patriot’s Point in Mount Pleasant, where the
Gamecock will look to continue their very solid 10
3-1 start of the year and gear toward another NCAA
Tournament berth.
Comments on this story? E-mail
gamecocksports@gw'm.sc. edit
Boyd’s consistency bolsters offense
■ Running back has
already doubled his
catches from last season
By STEPHEN FASTENAU
STAFF WRITER
USC head coach Lou Holtz has
called him “a great football player.” He
has mshed for 200 yards so far this
season and has 23 catches for 222 yards.
With Demetris Summers not meeting
expectations from injury and other
indiscernible factors, Cory Boyd has
produced.
The 6-foot-l-inch, 210-pound
Boyd, other than the game against Ole
Miss, has been a model of consistency
for an offense that has shown many
faces this season. When Summers went
down with a high ankle sprain in the
Gamecocks’ second game against
Georgia, Boyd saw his role increase.
At Vanderbilt in the season opener,
Boyd had just four carries for 16 yards.
Following the Georgia game, Boyd
carried eight times for 46 yards against
South Florida. The back then had a
season-high 12 carries at Alabama for 51
yards — not amazing numbers but
productive enough in at^ offense that
runs with multiple backs.
After a close loss to Mississippi,
Holtz was adamant that Summers
would get more carries against
Kentucky, possibly 20-25. Holtz said
Boyd, who had only one carry for 5
yards against Ole Miss, would also likely
take a bigger role but noted his first
priority was getting Summers the ball.
Things did not go according to plan
against the Wildcats. Summers fumbled
twice and Gonzie Gray once, leaving
Boyd as the only back Holtz trusted to
hold on to the football.
Summers finished as the team’s
leading rusher, but Boyd added 10
carries for 51 yards and had four catches
for an additional 54 yards. One of those
receptions was for 13 yards on the
Gamecocks’ winning drive. Boyd also
ran four times for 26 yards on the drive,
including a 14-yard explosion on
fourth-and-1 that gave USC a first
down near midfield.
“He really steps up and plays and
plays tough,” Holtz said. “He caught
the ball and ran the ball and blocked,
and he’s a heck of a competitor. Cory
Boyd just stepped up. He’s a tough
young man and a good player.”
If Summers continues to have
trouble holding on to the football, Boyd
will likely be called upon as USC faces
the “Orange Crush” portion of its
schedule to close out the season.
The Gamecocks take on Tennessee
following their bye week, a team
Summers lit up for 158 yards on 27
carries in a 23-20 loss in Knoxville last
season. The question will be whether
Holtz trusts Summers to limit his
mistakes in a game with vast
implications for USC. If not, Boyd
should get a fair amount of carries.
Last season, Boyd rushed for just
248 yards with 58 attempts, playing
second fiddle to Summers’ breakout
freshman season. Employing a running
back-by-committee style this season,
Holtz has passed out carries to five
different backs, ensuring that no one
back would stand out from the rest. If
any have, though, it would be Boyd.
While Summers is noted for his
elusiveness and Gray for his speed,
Boyd brings a complete package, a back
who can pound through the line to pick
up needed yardage or catch passes out
of the backfield. When not used as a
receiver, Boyd provides valuable pass
blocking skills.
Being used as a receiver is nothing
new for Boyd. Last season, as a
freshman, Boyd caught 11 passes for
145 yards. Just past the halfway point
this season, Boyd has already doubled
his catches and is well on his way to
doubling his yards as well.
Whether receiving, rushing,
blocking or anything else, this Orange,
N.J., native will continue to do
everything he can to help the team win.
Comments on this story? E-mail
gamecockspoits@gwm.sc. edu
CHARLIE DAVENPORT/THE GAMECOCK
Sophomore running back Cory Boyd runs through the Kentucky line Saturday in Lexington, Ky.
Boyd was key in the Gamecocks' victory, running 14 yards on a fourth-and-1 inside USC’s territory.
Carolina went on to win on a 19-yard touchdown pass from Michael Rathe to Troy Williamson.
Brown garners second weekly honors of season
For the second time this season, USC place
kicker/punter Josh Brown is the SEC special teams’
player of the week. The junior kicker connected on his
two field-goal attempts, including one from a career
long 43 yards in the Gamecocks’ 12
7 win at Kentucky. Brown’s only
punt of the game was a season
• long 56 yards that pinned the
Wildcats at their own 6-yard line.
The SEC offensive player of the
week is Auburn quarterback Jason
Campbell, who completed 89.5
percent of his passes as Auburn
defeated Arkansas 38-20. Campbell was
17-19 for a career-high 297 yards and
three touchdowns.
Tennessee defensive end Parys Haralson is the SEC
defensive player of the week for his efforts against Ole Miss.
Haralson had career h%hs of 10 tackles and five tackles
for a loss in the Volunteers’ 21-7 win in Oxford. The junior also tied
his career high of two sacks.
Bama, Tennessee rivalry highlights week 8
Florida plays at Mississippi State for the first time since 2000 when
the Bulldogs beat the Gators 47-35. This game might tell a different
story with Florida coming in with a 4-2 record while State is just 1-5.
Another 1-5 SEC team, Vanderbilt, hosts 3-3 Eastern Kentucky.
The Colonels are riding a three-game winning streak while the
Commodores are coming off a 33-3 loss at Georgia.
The undefeated Auburn Tigers try to stay perfect against a
Kentucky team that is 0-3 in the SEC. Auburn has yet to allow a
rushing touchdown this season.
Alabama plays hated rival Tennessee in Knoxville after knocking
off then No.24 Southern Miss 27-3. Tennessee is ranked No. 11 and
is 5-1 on the year.
Georgia travels to Fayetteville to take on a dangerous Arkansas
team. The Razorbacks are 3-3 on the year but have outscored their
opponents 52-7 in the fourth quarter.
LSU comes off its bye week to play Troy in Baton Rouge. Troy is
3-3 and 0-1 against SfcC teams this season.
It’s time to
recognize
Gamecock
heritage
■ Hall of fame would
give long-overdue
props to Carolina's best
“Black Magic” has come to describe
the Gamecocks’ new football uniforms
and the lure of success meant to come
with them. But
this isn’t the first
time Black
Magic has been
with the USC
football
program.
In 1984, the
Gamecock
football team
ALEX pulled off USC’s
RILEY most successful
season ever,
FIRST-YEAR going 10-2 and
PRINT earning a No. 2
JOURNALISM . . * ,
STUDENT rank ,n polls.
The term had
nothing to do
with the uniforms — the team’s defense
was termed the Fire Ants for its
swarming tackling style and garnet
jerseys. It was then-head coach Joe
Morrison’s all-black attire that spawned
the phrase.
Too many students don’t know
George Rogers won USC’s first and
only Heisman or that Todd Ellis holds
most of the passing records in the
Carolina books. Sterling Sharpe had his
number retired after playing for USC,
and in 1946 the Gamecocks played in
the inaugural Gator Bowl. It wasn’t
until 1995 that USC got a bowl victory
against West Virginia in the CarQuest
Bowl.
Legendary basketball coach Frank
McGuire won his 500th game here, and
NBA star Alex English broke all sorts of
records on the Carolina hardwood.
USC has finished second three times in
the College World Series and is
shooting for a fourth-straight
appearance.
Knowledge of things like this is
commonplace at schools from
Southern Cal to Florida State.
But at USC they aren’t out there to
be seen.
Treatment of our teams’
accomplishments is shocking. Would
you believe that the three runner-up
trophies from the College World Series
sit in the locker room and have water
damage from where the ceiling leaks?
USC enshrined George Rogers’
locker after his amazing success at USC
only to take it down later. When Bob
Fulton, the original voice of the
Gamecocks, retired in 1995, the
university tossed him a plaque at
halftime of the Tennessee game and
sent him on his way. Clemson
ukuikaiku ail kiiuik uamuiiv. ouutv iu
him, including gifts, speeches and a
victory lap around the stadium.
USC doesn’t remember its past.
Generations of fans come through the
university and never truly understand
they are a piece of something bigger.
USC is on its way to a capturing its
500th victory as a football program and
could pull off the feat with a win over
any of its last four opponents. There’s
no better time than now to remember
the heroes who got us here.
Kentucky and Clemson have “Rings
of Honor” around their football
stadium to honor legends and legendary
games. Kentucky has a basketball hall of
feme, while Alabama has a football hall
of fame that features coaching legend
Bear Bryant’s office just as he left it
upon his departure. Alabama’s hall of
fame was featured on ESPN during the
USC/Alabama game. Clemson is
working on constructing an athletic hall
of fame on its campus that would be
open to fans before home games.
USC also has an athletic hall of
fame, only it’s in the back of the
school’s media guide.
So what’s the hold up? Well, there
are two ways to look at it — the fens’
view ana me amietic aepartment s view.
For fens, an athletic hall of fame
would be a great way to connect to
USC’s past and see where we have come
from. When students graduate and
come back, they might see someone or a
big play that happened while they were
here and reminisce on their time at
Carolina.
In reality, it’s the athletic
department’s view that counts. USC
Athletic Director Mike McGee, who’s
in Duke’s hall of fame, knows how they
work. President Andrew Sorensen also
knows how athletic halls of fame work
it*
♦ Please see RILEY, page 14