The Times and Democrat from Orangeburg, South Carolina • 13

9 1 3 lv Is emncrat Page 1B, Orangeburg, S.C., Sunday, October 16, 1994 Duke blocks Clemson's chance of victory, 19-13 straight victory, 19-13. Farmer had blocked one field goal and nearly blocked an earlier punt, and he overshadowed the first real rally of the Tigers' 2-4 season. They drove from their own 20 to Duke's 31 with enough time to score a tying touchdown, but even then, they would have had to kick the extra point over Farmer, who has blocked five of those in his career. "We did everything we had to do to win the game," Clemson coach Tommy West said, "and Please see Duke, 4B Happy Blue Devils Duke's Ray Farmer (22) is swarmed by teammates after blocking a Clemson punt and recovering it in the endzone with 3:37 left in the game on Saturday in Durham, N.C. Duke remained undefeated on the season, beating Clemson 19-13.

(AP Photo) survives scare, 28-26 jTK By TOM LAYTON The Greenville News DURHAM, N.C. On the brink of an uplifting victory against Duke, the Clemson Tigers were undone Saturday by a tight end and a couple of loose ends. The game was so close that it came down to two blocks on one play: Clemson's punt-protection team neglected to block Ray Farmer, and Farmer blocked Nelson Welch's punt into the end zone. He recovered it there with 3:37 left and gave Duke its sixth Marshall throws fourTD passes in homecoming win By GREG CARSON Sports Writer The last time South Carolina State was defeated in its annual homecoming contest was 1985, when they lost 45-36 to Mid- bastern Athletic Conference rival Bethune-Cookman. Saturday at Oliver C.

Dawson Bulldog Stadium, the scenario was the same, but the outcome totally different Willie Jeffries as S.C. State edged the Wildcats 28-26, raising its overall record to 5-2 and MEAC worksheet to a perfect 2-0. Again, it was the magnificent play of the "Little Georgia keg of dynamite" Marvin Marshall that ignited the Bulldog win. The Augusta native, who is known as the "Magic Man" to some, continues to silence his critics, and has transformed himself into the true leader of the new-look S.C. State offense.

Against Bethune-Cookman, 2-5 and 1-3, Marshall threw for four touchdowns, three of which were snagged by his favorite re Incomplete pass South Carolina's Toby Cates (12) eyes the football as Mississippi State's Charlie Davidson comes in to break up the pass intended for Cates during the first quarter of Saturday's game at Williams-Brice Stadium. Mississippi State defeated the Gamecocks, 41-36. (AP Photo) USC's bid for first denied by Bulldogs 1 i i The Gamecocks (4-3 and 3-2 in the SEC) looked like they had won the game after rallying from a 21-point deficit to surge ahead 36-35. The go-ahead touchdown was set up when Lee Wiggins blocked his fifth kick of the year, a 31-yard field goal with 5:23 left. Steve Taneyhill drove USC down the field, scrambling for 12 yards on third-and-6, and then hitting Toby Cates for a 19-yard touchdown.

Taneyhill, who hit 16 of 32 passes for 200 yards, then added a two-point conversion pass to Stanley Pritchett. A few minutes earlier, the Florida-Auburn score had been announced. The Tigers had beaten the Gators 36-33, opening the way for the Gamecocks to move into a first-place tie with Florida if they beat MSU. "We talked about it," Cates said. "Coach mentioned that if we won, we controlled our own destiny because Florida lost." Please see USC, 4B ceiver this season Freddie "Mr.

Excitement" Solomon. The duo hooked up for four completions, which totalled 103 yards. Marshall completed 12 of 21 passes for 194 yards, raising his passing total to 1,237 yards and 15 touchdowns. He rushed for 53 yards in the contest, and has a total of 746 rushing yards on the season. "We knew we had to pass the ball because they have a great defense," Marshall said.

"It was a tough game for us. The fans didn't realize how good a team Bethune-Cookman was, but we did, and we didn't take them for granted." The senior signal-caller is still on pace to be the first Bulldog quarterback ever to rush and pass for 1,000 yards in a season. "We threw the ball a little bit today," a happy Bulldog Coach Willie Jeffries said. "We had to because they had nine men in the box on us. We just had to try and take what they gave us.

"They have a great football team. I've been telling people this, but nobody wanted to believe me. This was a good football team we defeated. It could have gone either way. They are not a 2-4 team.

This has been happening to them all year, losing these one and two point ball games. "We didn't play well in some spots, but I have to give Bethune-Cookman the credit, they made us not play well," Jef- Please see SCSU, 4B ''S--V -J Vi 7 1 Out of the grasp South Carolina State runningback Michael Hicks (4) dashes around left end during the Bulldogs' 28-26 victory over Bethune-Cookman Saturday at Oliver C. Dawson Bulldog Stadium. South Carolina State, with the victory, improved to 5-2 on the year and 2-0 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. photo by Amy Tripp) Auburn knocks off No.

1 Florida, 36-33 quarter. It looked like Wuerffel would be the hero after he entered the game in the third quarter following starter Terry Dean threw his fourth interception. But Auburn, which has shown amazing resilience during its winning streak, would not fold. Nix, who was 28-of-51 for 319 yards and three touchdowns, kept the final drive alive with a fourth-down, 14-yard pass to Thomas Bailey. Two plays later, he connected with Sanders for the winning touchdown.

It was the second straight year that Auburn beat a Florida team that was 5-0. Last Please see Auburn, 4B the winning drive. The Tigers (7-0, 5-0 Southeastern Conference) drove 55 yards in seven plays, and took the lead when Sanders made a leaping catch in the end zone between two defenders. Following the kickoff, Florida took over on its own 11. But the Gators (5-1, 4-1) couldn't move the ball and saw their 17-game home winning streak in the SEC come to an end before a record crowd of 85,562 at Florida Field.

The victory pushed Auburn into serious contention for the national championship, even though the Tigers are on probation and can't play in a bowl. It was a remarkable game that featured six lead changes, including four in the fourth By RICK WARNER AP Football Writer GAINESVILLE, Fla. Patrick Nix threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to Frank Sanders with 30 seconds left and sixth-ranked Auburn stunned No. 1 Florida 36-33 Saturday in a seesaw game to extend the nation's longest winning streak to 18. Florida's Danny Wuerffel came off the bench in the second half and threw three touchdown passes, including a 28-yarder to Jack Jackson that put the Gators ahead 33-29 with 5:51 left.

But Auburn's Brian Robinson intercepted his third pass with 1:20 remaining to set up ByRICKSCOPPE The Greenville News COLUMBIA South Carolina had first place in its sight with 3:15 left and leading Mississippi by one. All the Gamecocks needed to do was hold on to pull into a tie with Florida atop the SEC Eastern Division. But USC couldn't finish off the Bulldogs, who drove 78 yards 20 yards more than they had managed in the second half to defeat the Gamecocks 41-36 Saturday before 64,902 at Williams-Brice Stadium. For the second week, USC rallied from a huge deficit and scored enough points to win. But for the second straight week the defense, which had given up just 56 points in the first five games, came up short.

In their last two games, the Gamecocks have given up 97 points, which ties the school record for most points surrendered in two games a record that dates back to 1914. "There's things you can see that you're proud of," coach Brad Scott said. "But that sounds like a broken record right now about how we fought and we got so close but we didn't win. "What we've got to get this football team do and us as coaches as well is to learn how to finish people off when we get into that position. Until we do that we're not going to win many games in the Southeastern Conference." There's no Greg Carson sports writer strike agony in South Carolina's coastal city of Charleston Harper also excited with their physical play and power drives, but it was a rookie who received the majority of the fans' support that rainy evening.

Charlie Ward, who led the Florida State Seminole football team to a national championship and earned the Heisman Trophy, in addition to his duties as the point guard for the Noles basketball squad, was cheered lustily each and every time he touched the ball Although he made some rookie mistakes in the contest, Ward sparkled with brilliance on several plays, which will do much to quell the rhetoric about whether or not he can make the transition to the professional level. Ward collected 10 points and two steals while dishing out five assists and turned the ball over their laps. Attendance is up at Stingray contests, and college football action in the area has been good, to say the least. Sports fever in Charleston has even trickled down to the high school level. Heading into Friday's contests, four area high school football teams Macedonia, Stratford, Berkeley and Cainhoy were a combined 28-0 for the season.

To further understand the sports fever that the fans in Charleston are enjoying right now, consider what they're willing to endure in pursuit of satiating their athletic pleasures. The weather this past week was in a word horrible. Charleston was bracing itself Thursday night for the flood that was sure to hit, as the high tide rolled in and added its wetness to an already soaked landscape. If you had been at the North Charleston Coliseum for Thursday night's exhibition contest between the Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers, there was no way you could have known a serious flood warning was in effect. The fans packing the Coliseum were having the times of their lives, as if the skies outside were clear and the ground was bone dry.

The Knicks didn't disappoint, taking a 112-83 victory over Philadelphia. Knicks guard John Starks led all scorers in the contest with 19 points, and gave the fans their money's worth by brandishing all of the game faces for which he has become noted. Charles Smith, Charles Oakley, Anthony Mason and Derek While major cities across the nation are writhing in agony because of the loss of professional baseball and hockey due to ongoing strikes, the beautiful South Carolina seaport city of Charleston may be more aptly titled the "sea-sport" city. College football is large and in living color in Charleston, with The Citadel and Charleston Southern University providing the gridiron entertainment. Minor league hockey is front and center courtesy of the Stingrays, and National Basketball Association action is fa-a-a-antastic, thanks to the New York Knicks, who have made Charleston their pre-season training camp home.

Citizens of the seaside city are taking full advantage of the sports heaven that has grown in only once in 19 minutes of play. New York also received solid minutes from rookie Monte Williams, who scored seven points and had one steal, one assist, and one turnover, to boot -in his 12 minutes on the floor. Ward and Williams, as the only two rookies on the roster, are causing the usually stoic Pat Riley to smile a bit while he prepares his team for the 1994-95 season. On the opposing bench, Clemson standout Sharone Wright looked good, despite scoring only three points and grabbing only four rebounds. The new-look Sixers have a long way to go under new Head Coach John Lucas, but with players like Wright, Lloyd Daniels, Clarence Weatherspoon, Shawn Bradley and "Texas Comet" J.

Please see Carson, 4B.