The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, September 26, 2005, Page 9, Image 9
FUmBLES • COnTIIIUED PROITl 10
dominating 12-play, 97-yard
drive that ended with a
touchdown pass to Rice, who
snagged the ball among three
defenders.
“I was the second option on
that play,” Rice said. “I was
coming from the other side, 1
just rolled around. I was telling
(Mitchell) to throw it up, but he
just squeezed it in the crack.”
After a drive by each team
that failed to yield anything,
the Trojans looked to be
moving the ball again early in
the second period. But another
fumble gave USC another
opportunity to score, as
quarterback Antonio Heffner
lunged over a pile of players to
put USC up, 21-0.
Troy finally responded to the
onslaught of offense as Leodis
McKelvin would take the
ensuing kickoff 100 yards for a
Trojan touchdown, making the
score 21-7.
Carlos Thomas responded
on the next kickoff for the
Gamecocks, returning the ball
79 yards to set up a Josh Brown
field goal that would end the
Gamecocks’ scoring in the first
half. The Trojans managed to
tack on a field goal before the
half, making the score 24-10
going into the locker room.
The Trojans opened up the
second half with a 13-play drive
that covered 65 yards, resulting
in a field goal to pull within 11
at 24-13.
After a Gamecock three-and
out, Troy took over at the 48
yard line after a 28-yard punt
from Brown. That drive was
done in one play as Ricardo
Hurley forced one of his two
fumbles, jarring it loose from
the arms of Whingter.
USC failed to do anything
with the ball again, sending it
back to Troy, who would do
exactly the same thing as
before. Hurley forced another
fumble on the Trojans’ first
play, this time knocking the
ball loose with his helmet. The
ball wound up in the hands of
Brandon Isaac, who would
scamper into the end zone for a
score, putting USC up 31-13.
“Ricardo had an excellent
hit,” Spurrier said. “It was a big
play, sort of put the game out of
reach.”
USC’s offense eventually
wore down the Troy defense, as
Daccus Turman would score his
first touchdown of the season
late in the third quarter.
The Gamecocks took a
blow from the Troy defense
before the final period of play,
as Mitchell was sacked for a
loss of yards and an ankle
injury.
In an attempt to run away
from a pursuing defender,
Mitchell was brought down
with a foot tackle that would
result in a sprained ankle.
“Our protection is not good.
Blake didn’t see him there,”
Spurrier said. “I’m not sure how
bad it is. They say it’s not a
fracture.”
With Mitchell out, Heffner
stepped back in for the
remainder of the game,
throwing a jump ball pass to
Michael Flint, who leaped up
and made an amazing grab
from the Troy defender.
“Basically that was God right
there,” Heffner said. “I was
being hit, and I just threw it up.
Coach always says if in doubt,
give them a jump ball.”
With the game well out of
reach, Spurrier brought in 40
year-old Army veteran Tim
“Pops” Frisby in the fourth
quarter. Frisby would record
the first catch of his collegiate
career, taking in a pass and
running for 9 yards, making
him the oldest player in NCAA
history.
“It’s something I’ve always
wanted to do,” Frisby said. “It
was just one of my goals. I just
stayed at it until I achieved it.”
“He scampered for about 8
yards,” Spurrier said. “But we
got Pops a catch for the record
books.”
A late Troy score was of no
consequence, as USC came
away with an impressive win
that Spurrier said he hopes will
jumpstart the Gamecock’s
season.
“It’s a win, and we’ll take it,”
Spurrier said. “I hope we can
play a lot better than this before
the season is over.”
Comments on this story? E-mail
gamecocksports@gwm.sc.edu
Juan aZdl/TilE (iAMKCUOK
USC forced five turnovers during Saturday’s game at Williams-Brice Stadium. Troy fumbled six times on the night.
STARTERS • COnTMUED PROA110
tackles and two forced fumbles
were enough to merit giving
the senior a game ball.
However, even Hurley was not
one to get caught up on the
blessing from the coach,
knowing that one good game
against Troy won’t keep him
from watching the opening
kickoff from the sidelines if he
doesn’t keep up the intensity.
“Your job is always on the
line,” Hurley said. “If the older
guys don’t play, they’ll stick a
younger guy in. They work just
as hard as we do, so they deserve
to play. That’s just how it is.”
Even the younger guys that
didn’t start were making strong
contributions to the defense.
Sophomore linebacker Dustin
Lindsey led the team with six
tackles, while Walker also
added his first career sack to go
along with the fumble
recovery. Redshirt sophomore
Ryan Brown’s second-quarter
sack was the first of his career.
Despite not starting, Joseph
and Bennett, who earlier this
week were praised for handling
the demotions with class,
weren’t kept from the playing
field for long. Both players
returned to the field at the start
of the second defensive series,
and the benching seemed to do
its job. After the Gamecocks
gave up a 39-yard run on the
first play of the series, the next
play saw Bennett intercept
quarterback Carl Meadows’
first passing play of the game.
The pick resulted in a 12-play,
97-yard scoring drive to put
the Gamecocks ahead, 14-0.
The coaches preached
aggressiveness to the team this
week, and rest assured, the
theme will continue in
preparations for next week’s
showdown on ESPN2.
“We didn’t play our best,
but we played good,” Hurley
said. “We just need to stay
aggressive and we need to keep
attacking. We’ve got to come
out playing better against
Auburn.”
Comments on this story? E-mail
gamecocksports@gwm.sc.edu
Soccer splits SEC matchups
Juan aWTHK BAMECOCK
Freshman Alex Mouton, left, leads USC to victory during an SEC
matchup at Eugene E. Stone III Stadium during the weekend.
flliquel Jacobs
STAFF WRITER
Freshman Alex Mouton
scored two goals in a win
against Alabama as USC’s
womens soccer team split its
SEC opening weekend
between Auburn and the
Crimson Tide.
The Gamecocks (5-4, 1-1
SEC) dropped a tough 1-0
decision against Auburn on
Friday before a 2-0 victory
Sunday against Alabama.
“When you’re at home, you
have an advantage, and you
have to take advantage of
that,” USC coach Shelley
Smith said. “It’s tough to play
on the road, and Alabama
knew that. We did a good job
to make sure we got the job
done at home.”
Controlling most of the
game against the Tigers,
Carolina couldn’t capitalize on
opportunities while
controlling the ball for most of
the day. The Gamecocks fired
four shots in the first 10
minutes, but out of their 11
shots in the game, only two
were on target with the goal.
Half of Alabama’s 10 shots
went to goalkeeper Laura
Armstrong, but the lone score
of the day came off a
deflection on a Carolina
defender at 61:24.
“We outplayed them most
of the time,” Smith said. “We
couldn’t find a way to finish.
That cost us in the end. Their
most dangerous opportunity
was a deflection off of our
player. We’ve got to change it
and do something about it for
next game.”
A morning practice Saturday
was all the Gamecocks needed
to fix that problem. After
another scoreless first half
against Alabama, sophomore
Courtney Cobbs played two
nice crosses that managed to
find Mouton in position to
score two uncontested goals.
“That’s the job of a forward,
to be in the right place at the
right time,” Smith said. “Give
her a lot of credit for being in
position. That’s why she’s
earned herself a starting role. “
The Gamecocks next hit the
road for SEC matches this
weekend against the Georgia
Bulldogs and Tennessee.
Comments on this story? E-mail
gamecocksports@gwm.sc. edu
Photo courtesy of'THE ASSOCIATED 1‘HKSS
Quarterback Blake Mitchell hobbles off the field on Saturday.
BRoom • conunucD mom 10
can’t tell if USC really got better
over the week, or if Troy was just
a big fan of fumbling the ball. I
think one of their running backs
might have had some money on
the game, because every time it
looked like they were going to
cover the spread, the ball would
just magically fly out of their
untouched arms. I just wish he
would have let me know about
this ahead of time so I could
have put a little money down on
USC.
Maybe Carolina did improve
some this week as a team, but
our pass protection still couldn’t
block Nicole Richie for more
than three seconds. If we can’t
block people who play for Troy
University, then my first trip to
Auburn next weekend could
very well end with the most
depressing six-hour return drive
in the history of traveling.
I bet Blake Mitchell secretly
hates his offensive line. A week
or two ago I said that if our
running game and pass blocking
didn’t improve quickly, Blake
would end up taking one
unnecessary shot too many and
his game would end badly.
Unfortunately for Blake, who
still surprises me every game
with how much punishment he
can take, if he doesn’t get rid of
the ball in about two seconds, he
is going to be up doing public
service announcements about
the evils of contact sports.
There is still a small part of me
that thinks somehow, someway,
the Gamecocks are going to beat
Auburn. If I didn’t think it was
possible, I surely wouldn’t be
making the trip — because
winning a football game is the
only acceptable reason to travel
to Alabama. I have no idea if
we’ll get spanked or if our
starting quarterback will get
impaled at midfield, but we’ll all
find out together.
I like dunking on' kids as
much as anybody, but,
unfortunately, sometimes you
have to play with the big kids.
RSPORTS
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