Newspaper Page Text
8 i Monday. November 13, 2000 | The Red & Black
SPORTS
t
Hart Co. alums
go head-to-head
FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK
By DARREN EPPS
depps@randb.com
AUBURN, Ala. — The battle
of Hartwell may have gone
to Auburn quarterback Ben
Leard on the scoreboard, but
feUow Hart County High School
graduate Cory Phillips played
every bit as well as his senior
counterpart on the field
Saturday night.
Phillips, a sophomore starting
in just the second game of his
career, was on target all night,
completing 23 of 35 passes for
164 yards and a touchdown with
one interception.
Leard's performance was just
a shadow of the show he put on
last time these two teams
met. After burning the Bulldogs
for 416 yards and four touch
downs last season in Athens,
Leard netted just 149 yards with
two touchdowns and two inter
ceptions — the first of which
safety Terreal Bierria returned 75
yards for Georgia’s first score —
on 24 of 38 passing Saturday
night.
But the former high school
teammates were more than
congenial after their battle was
over.
“I’m so proud of Ben, I really
am,” said Phillips, who spoke
briefly with Leard at midfield
after the game. “He played really
gutty in his last home game. It
was a great show for Hartwell, I
just wish it could have had a dif
ferent ending.”
Leard felt similar sentiments.
“Cory did a heck of a job,” he
said. “They got him well pre
pared. He doesn’t get flustered or
bothered when he is out there.
He out-played me tonight, but
luckily I out-played him in the
end.”
Some Bulldogs left
battered and bruised
Georgia has several injury
concerns heading into
Saturday’s 6 p.m. home game
with Ole Miss.
Quincy Carter’s thumb still
hasn’t shown much improvement
since he injured it against Florida
and early indications are that
he will not play against the
Rebels.
“It’s too early to say anything
for sure, but right now I’d
TOP 25 POLLS
AP
USA Today/ESPN
Oklahoma (70)
1
Oklahoma (57)
Miami
2
Miami (2)
Florida State (1)
3
Florida State
Florida
4
Florida
Oregon
5
Washington
Washington
6
Oregon
Virginia Tech
7
Virginia Tech
Oregon State
8
Oregon State
Kansas State
9
Kansas State
Nebraska
10
Nebraska
Notre Dame
11
Notre Dame
Ohio State
12
Ohio State
Mississippi State
13
Mississippi State
Texas
14
Clemson
TCU
15
Texas
Clemson
16
TCU
Purdue
17
Purdue
Auburn
18 Michigan
’Michigan
19
Auburn
Georgia Tech
20
Southern Miss.
Texas A&M
21
Georgia
Georgia
22 Georgia Tech
Northwestern
23
Texas A&M
Southern Miss.
24
Northwestern
South Carolina
25
Tennessee
First-place votes in parenthesis
say he’s highly doubtful,”
Donnan said. “It takes a normal
person six weeks to totally heal
from a ligament torn in the
thumb, but we figured with his
dexterity, he’d be coming along
faster. We’ll just have to wait
and see.”
Linebacker Kendrell Bell suf
fered a thigh contusion in the
first quarter and played sparingly
the rest of the game. Junior
Adrian Hollingshed filled in nicely,
making seven tackles.
Comerback Cap Burnett suf
fered a minor concussion, and
Donnan said linebacker Ryan
Fleming injured his ankle and is
probably out for at least the next
week.
But the injury which caused
the most concern for Georgia
and Auburn players, the 85,612
fans at Jordan-Hare Stadium
and a national television audi
ence on ESPN was the head
injury to Auburn wide receiver
Tim Carter.
Carter took a forearm from
Georgia cornerback Tim Wansley
in the first half while attempting
to catch a Leard pass. Carter was
knocked unconscious and laid
on the grass motionless for 10
minutes before an ambulance
took him to a local hospital for
observation.
Georgia and Auburn players
knelt in prayer two different
times while Carter was down.
Carter relieved players and
fans alike when he returned to
the field with 11:39 left in the
game.
CICjTs Pfe^at
Our Pizza’s Even Better Than The Price.™
ALL YOU CAN
EAT BUFFET
Pizza Pasta Salad Dessert
3190 Atlanta Hwy. 706-613-2424
Dogs get Au-bumed by Johnson
By JOSH KATZOWITZ
jkatzowit@randb.com
AUBURN, Ala. — Richard Seymour issued
a challenge to Auburn’s Rudi Johnson before
Saturday night’s game at Jordan-Hare
Stadium.
“We welcome him to run at us,” the defen
sive tackle said last Wednesday.
Johnson did, and after Seymour and the
Georgia defense held him to 23 yards on 12
carries in the first half, he took the challenge,
made some Bulldog defenders miss their
tackles and then almost single-handedly
delivered a 29-26 Auburn win.
Apparently, challenges don’t faze the
junior college transfer from Ettrick, Va. — at
least Seymour’s didn’t on Saturday night.
Johnson, who averaged 1.9 yards per
carry coming out of intermission, tore
through the Bulldogs for 104 yards in the
third quarter alone and set up Auburn quar
terback Ben Leard’s game-winning score
with a 7-yard gain in overtime to the Tiger 1
— all without netting a touchdown himself.
“After the defense (held Georgia to a field
goal) in overtime, the offense knew we were
going to go out and get the job done,” said
Johnson, who finished with 152 yards on 34
carries. “We came out, executed and won the
game.”
_ But really, the process of taking the con
test started when Johnson emerged from the
Tiger locker room for the second half.
On the first play from scrimmage in the
third quarter, his team down 13-3, Johnson
took the ball up the middle — remember the
challenge? — got to the left sideline and
sprinted to the Georgia 4 for a 54-yard gain.
CAMERON SWARTZ ! The Red* Buck
a Auburn running back Rudi Johnson
ran for 1%2 yards in the Tigers'
29-26 overtime victory over Georgia.
Two plays later, Leard threw a 6-yard touch
down pass to Reggie Worthy to put Auburn
back in the game.
“They came back out (from halftime) and
made some adjustments,” Seymour said.
“They switched the run up with, the pass,
and they came back out with the running
plays on the outside and then on the inside.
They kind of kept us off balance. We really
didn’t know what to expect.
“He’s a great player. And great players
make great plays.”
Indeed, after Georgia went three-and-out
on its next possession, Auburn coach
Tommy Tuberville handed the team’s reins
over to the workhorse himself.
On second-and-two, Johnson went
around the left end for nine yards. Then 10
on the next. Then 3, and finally 4 after mak
ing Marcus Stroud and Charles Grant miss
tackles. A play-action pass from Leard to
Lorenzo Diamond, and before you knew it,
place-kicker Damon Duval had tied the
game with a 37-yard field goal.
“He’s a big boy, of course, you could see
that just by looking at him,” safety Jermaine
Phillips said. “He has nice feet, and he keeps
them moving. He has real good vision. He’s
like a (Tennessee running back) Travis
Henry with better balance. He doesn’t run
with a lot of power, but he’s so big and heavy.
Once you hit him, you bounce right off
him.”
But don’t tell that to the Bulldog defend
ers — they already know. Especially Terreal
Bierria, who went one-on-one with the slip
pery Johnson on fourth-and-two at the
Georgia 17-yard line and the game tied — a
monumental play to say the least. The
result? Three yards, a first down and an
eventual lead-taking touchdown for the
Tigers.
“I tried to cut him back inside and wrap
him up,” the safety said. “But undoubtedly it
didn’t happen. In the first half, we felt like we
kept him contained. In the second half, they
started throwing some different things at us,
and it took us a little while to adjust. You
have to give all the credit to him.”
Close, but no cigar for Trail Dogs’ automatic bid
By CHARLES F. SHEPARD
cshepard@randb.com
The Lady Trail Dogs just missed an auto
matic berth to the NCAA Championships
and the men finished 14th Saturday at the
NCAA South Region Championships in
Tuscaloosa, Ala.
The women tied for second place with
Georgia Tech at 107 points, but the Jackets’
fifth runner — Amy Edwards (36 points,
22:18) — edged out Georgia senior
Alexandra Knoke (43 points, 22:31) to carry
Tech to an automatic bid with South Florida
(71 points).
A chance remains for the Georgia women
to take one of the nation’s 13 at-large spots
to the NCAA Championships on Nov. 20. The
announcement will be made today.
“We’re still hoping,” Knoke said. “Our
problem is that a lot of people think that our
region is the weakest in the nation. If people
realize that it was a tie (with Tech), maybe
they will have some mercy.”
There are four criteria NCAA judges use
to determine at-large selections. A team’s
regional finish carries the most weight, but
the second-most important criterion is
based on which automatically selected
teams an at-large candidate beat earlier in
the season.
Georgia has beaten none of this year’s
automatic selections, and that causes head
coach Rachel Cook to worry, she said.
“According to the formula it doesn’t look
good,” she said. “It’s a waiting game.”
Senior Erin Jones paced the Lady Trail
Dogs, finishing seventh, and setting a per
sonal best in 21:19 for the six-kilometer
course. She was followed closely for the sec
ond race in a row by junior Erin Kelley
(eighth, 21:20). Senior Robin Carver
(20th, 21:49), junior Jackie Seibert (29th,
21:57) and Knoke rounded out the Georgia
scorers.
Jones, who might have run in her last race
as a member of the Georgia track program,
is on the bubble for an individual berth to
the national championship, depending on
what happens in other regions.
The Georgia men were led again by fresh
men Tom Hopkins, scoring 45th in 33:04, and
“Scoobie” Steve Geiser (59th, 33:29) on the
10-kilometer course on their way to 339
points. Sophomore Brendan Jackson (64th,
33:47), junior Chevazz Brown (80th, 34:22)
and senior Benjamin Corona (91st, 34:51)
also scored.
“The reason we went was to get experi
ence,” Cook said. “They ran hard, and there
were indications of a very good team in the
future. They’re just young.”
It was Cook’s last chance to coach the
men’s team in competition, and possibly the
last to coach the women, as well.
“You don’t want to get too upset when it’s
such a close loss,” she said. “I had a little bit
of history with this team. It’s been an awe
some season.”
■■■— wa ■ J ■ ■ O
1C C B N E B BAB A CB 11 I I
WIN $100 00 TONIGHT!
You could win $100.00 - Live Trivia at 8:00
Enjoy Monday Night Football on the Big Screen
and ©MU3 at Halftime
558 W. Broad Street otc icci
(Across from Holiday Inn Express) OlU'lOvl
THE AMERICAN
UNIVERSITY
OF PARIS
Two 5-week
Summer Sessions
I. June 3-July 5
H. July 9-Aug. 10
Over 100 Courses
I-renth Immersion
Other Special
Programs
Summer in
Paris 2001
■
Tel: (33/1) 40 62 06 14
Fax: (13/1) 40 62 07 17
or in NY (212) 9K3 1414
Mimniert“ ! aup.fr
w ssw.aup.edu
With our staff of
experienced travelers,
a global network of offices,
great prices,
ticket flexibility and
a ton of travel services,
we know first-hand
what it takes to put together
a mind-blowing trip...
STA
TRAVEL
800.777.0112
Book Your Ticket On-Line
www.statravel.com
HUE REVIEW
cKOWDOIr.
A Ati a uta’c JUact Wa kJTcrs \V J
'< Atlanta’s Most Wanted ☆
-vs-
'( Topper’s Dreamteam >
THE COMPETITION OF THE YEAR!
V
jt
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 15
Doors
open
at 8 pm
613-0504
18 to
party
21 to
drink
Coming Wed. December 6th:
MR. NUDE ATHENS COMPETITION
THIS NIGHT MAY BE THE CLOSEST YOU'LL
EVER GET TO A SPORTS SCHOLARSHIP.
Score and win free tuition. Fill out the address form below and,
if your name is selected, you'll get a chance to win free tuition for
a semester, compliments of The Real Yellow Pages®. Four selected
participants will shoot it out at every UGA Men's Basketball game,
with two winners out of the four heading to the finals next February.
r i
| Name: j
I Address: *
I I
I Telephone: I
I ■
I Year at UGA: — |
^ Mail this form or a copy to: UGA Athletic Association,
I ATTN: John Bateman, "Shoot for Tuition," P.O. Box 1472, *
| Athens, GA 30603. Rules available on request. I
J
C2000 BAPCO