The Item from Sumter, South Carolina • 13

TV Highlights: Noon MBNA 500 (TNN) 4 pm Patriots at 49ers (WIS) Complete listings 6B NFL 4-5B Scoreboard 6B Baseball 8-9B Outdoors 10B Sumter SC SUNDAY September 17 1995 IB i mSQ to SCtf-l-G Morton 42 SCar-Prttchaid 9 pass tom Taneyhill (Morton klcty SCar-FG Morton 26 LaTech-Mackey 72 mn (Kent kick) SCar-Means 36 pass tom Taneyhill (Taneyhill pass) LaTech-Maitln 1 mn (Kent kick) SCaHicklow 37 pass tom Taneyhill (kick SCar-Means 9 pass tom Taneyhill (pass failed) SCar-Staley 36 mn (Morton kick) SCar-Means 93 pass tom Taneyhill (Morton kick) SCar-Staley 3 mn (Florto kick) SCar-Staley 14 mn (Florto kick) LaTech-flagsdale 76 mn (Kent kick) SCar-Cousin 73 kick return (Florto kick) A-70411 LaTech SCar Cf! AP photo South Carolina quarterback Steve Taneyhill runs out of a tackle by Louisiana Derrick More (74) as the Shannon Jenkins closes in during the 68-21 win Saturday USC shows promise in 68-21 win AP photo Wake Forest punter Mike Strazzeri (35) tries to get off a punt after he fumbled the snap as he gets pressure from Tony Horne (80) during first quarter action Saturday Smith scores 4 TDs as balanced Tigers down Wake 29-14 I show against the outmanned Bulldogs Quarterback Steve Taneyhill led the way completing 24 of 41 passes for 389 yards and a school-record-tying five touchdowns Wide receiver Monty Means caught six of those passes for 184 yards and a record-tying three touchdowns All told the Gamecocks rolled up 679 yards of offense Yet it was the play of the beleagured defense that was the difference in this game After giving up 93 points and 1001 yards in the first two games USC still allowed 434 yards of total offense to Tech However Carolina made some big plays defensively against the Bulldogs something lacking in the first two games big plays really give confidence to our said USC head coach Brad Scott secondary guys made some big plays for a change knocking down some passes We just told them to turn it loose relax and if you make a mistake at least you do it going full Things look so bright for the USC defense late in the second quarter After USC jumped out to a 13-0 lead Louisiana Tech began to match the Gamecocks with touchdowns 4 first 200-yard passing performance by a Clemson quarterback in two years had poise in this game Clemson coach Tommy West said looked like he belonged He made good decisions and protected the ball very Priester had 154 yards on 27 carries in a steady rain for the Tigers (2-1 1-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) He came to Clemson as a tailback was switched to fullback and went back to the tailback spot this season because of injuries kind of felt at home I felt comfortable running the Priester said The Demon Deacons were trying to win their first ACC game at home since an 18-15 upset of Clemson in 1992 a streak of eight games They also were hoping to open their ACC schedule with a victory for the first time since 1987 After stunning the Tigers by scoring first and going into halftime tied Wake Forest (0-3 0-1 ACC) struggled for the final 30 minutes The Demon Deacons plunged deep into Clemson territory three times in the fourth quarter One drive died on downs See TIGERS page 3B STATISTICS tom LaRua (Chavis ran) (Beene ran) (Sauve kick) (Sauve kick) (Sauve kick) IttHVDUAL STATISTICS RUSHNG-Loulsiana Tech Ragsdale 5-96 Mackey 1-72 Armstong 10-27 Thomas 3-15 Ausdon 2-5 Martin 3-4 Wilson 1) Bulks 1 -(minus 8) South Carolina Staley 11-85 Pritchett 981 Moritz 3-43 Hood 1-30 Taneyhill 6-22 Alexander 3-16 Reddick 4-13 PASSING-Louisiana Tech Bulks 11-24886 Martin 10-198138 Armstong 0-1-08 South Carolina Taneyhill 2441-1-389 Wnght 2-38-20 RECEMNG-Loulsiana Tech Bradley 457 Mackey 438 Armstong 419 Figaro 3-39 Jackson 3-31 Williams 1-36 Sultulovich 14 Thomas 18 South Carolina Davis 785 Means 6-184 Bridges 439 Mcklow 244 Pritchet 2-29 Pritchard 2-15 Staley 28 Hood 1-7 Carolina led 27-14 with 3:18 left in the first half However the Bulldogs had the ball and had confidence after scoring on their previous two possessions USC defensive end Selvesta Miller took that confidence away with one hit Miller broke free from the left side and hit Tech quarterback See USC page 3B to carve up the Temple defense the game we had last week we made a lot of mistakes and not used to making a lot of Richardson said Joe always says the biggest improvement in a football team comes between the first and second Penn defense had its second straight impressive performance holding the Owls to minus-10 yards and no first downs in the first 26 minutes By TOM FOREMAN JR AP Sports Writer WINSTON-SALEM NC -Emory Smith be calling his big brother about his big night in Winston-Salem going to let him hear it on ESPN if they show Smith said after becoming the first Clemson player in nine years to score four touchdowns in a game leading the Tigers to a 29-14 victory over Wake Forest on Saturday night call The brother of Dallas Cowboys running back Emmitt Smith finished the night with just 33 yards in 13 carries but he was main man in short-yardage situations close to the end zone offensive line was doing a good job a great job of coming off the ball blocking Smith said WF-Davls 25 pass Clem-Smlth 2 ran Clem-Smlth 1 ran Clem-Smith 2 ran Clem-Smlth 3 ran RUSHNG-demson Smith 1333 Downs Team 2 (4) Wake Lewis 916 Ballou PASSING-Ctemson Forest LaRua RECEMNG-Oemson Woods 335 Books Solomon 1-7 Ballou 947 Lewis 28 Clark 139 opportunities IMMX1AL Temple Penn St 0 7 7 0-14 17 14 21 14-66 PSU-Archle 22 inn (Conway kick) PSU-FG Conway 32 PSU-WItman 1 1 pass tom Richardson (Conway kick) PSU-Enpam 26 pass tom Richardson (Conway kick) PSU-Milne 1 ran (Conway kick) TU-Baxter 5 pass tom Bunis (Mlchalskl kick) PSU-Stephenson 3 pass tom Rlchaidson (Conway kick) PSU-Enls 24 ran (Conway kick) PSU-Mllne 1 ran (Conway kick) TU-Buirts 18 ran (Mlchalskl kick) PSU-Enls 1 ran (Bamlnger kick) PSU-Enls 6 ran (Bamlnger kick) A-95926 TU Penn SI By DENNIS BRUNSON ITEM Assistant Sports Editor COLUMBIA It happened two weeks later than hoped and it come against a Southeastern Conference opponent but the South Carolina Gamecocks finally showed some of the promise anticipated for them prior to the season After a pair of embarrassing road losses in the SEC USC returned to Williams-Brice Stadium for its home opener and rolled to a 68-21 victory over Louisiana Tech Saturday offense put on a Penn St cruises past Owls STATE COLLEGE Pa (AP) -Could the opening coin flip have determined the outcome of a 66-14 game? Joe Paterno thought so No 7 Penn State beat Temple for the 20th straight time Saturday extending the longest winning streak to 19 games and Paterno said the biggest play came when the Nittany Lions won the flip Penn State deferred to the second half meaning Temple could have the ball but against a gusty 15-mph wind Temple (0-3) struggled offensively in the first quarter and punter John Shay get the ball much past midfield as the Nittany Lions (2-0) jumped out to 17-0 lead In his postgame conversation with Temple coach Ron Dickerson a former Penn State assistant Paterno told him the coin flip was the key told Ron first quarter killed Paterno said had to kick the ball into the wind a couple of times When you get those short drives easy" Against the wind or with it Temple put up much of a fight I i i i i Priester 27-154 Beene 935 923 Aden 1-1 Harvey 1 (-8) Forest J- Lewis 1141 1-13 LaRua 1911 Brevis 2-5 Beane 19258239 Wake 2132-1-205 Wyatt 536 Home 471 2-1 3 Union 2-17 Smith 1-10 Wake Forest Davis 973 423 Braswell 923 Estes AP photo Brian Milne left Penn State fullback gets a block from teammate Jon Witman (38) on Temple defenders as he leaps into the end zone from the one-yard line for a touchdown ItOVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHNG-Temple DDavis 5-24 Burts 5-15 Lee 914 Culbreathl-10 Gaddy 2-1 Bonner 2-1 Been 1-(minus4) Penn St Enls14132 Eberty 1 288 Archie 1 180 Bay 928 Milne 917 -Richardson 1-14 Sload 913 Stephens 2-10 McQueary 2-5 Wltman 34 Callman 1-2 PASSING-Temple Burris 19241-1 46 Bonner 9 2-18 Penn St Richardson 19291-198 McQueary 24834 RECEMNG-T ample Kersey 343 Baxter 2-39 D-Davis 230 Lee 2-1 (teen 232 Whitehead 1-2 Gaddy 1-(minus-1) Penn St Enpam 973 Jurevlclus 478 Scott 2-13 Olsommer 2-19 Milne 2-14 Archie 2-16 Stephenson 13 Bay 1-5 Wltman 1-11 I can come up with something positive to Dickerson said there anything Penn State quarterback Wally Richardson started to emerge from Kerry shadow rebounding from a mediocre opener to throw for 198 yards and three touchdowns A week earlier Richardson looked confused and tentative in a 24-23 victory over Texas Tech On Saturday he appeared comfortable and confident using an array of short passes and rollouts were there I just took scores matched Terrence four-touch-down game against Wake Forest in 1986 Maxcey Welsh and Stumpy Banks share the school record of five touchdowns Quarterback Nealon Greene and tailback Raymond Priester accounted for much of the yardage to help get Smith near the goal line Greene completed 18 of 25 passes for 239 yards the Gordon Hendrick not interested in mind games By MIKE HARRIS AP Sports Writer MBNA15001LINEUR from getting involved in any of it All we need to do is keep doing what been That philosophy has helped Gordon extend his lead to the biggest margin by anyone this season He goes into 500-mile race with 11 straight top-10 finishes Overall though the statistics appear to give Gordon that much of an edge The youngster has failed to finish three of the 24 races run so far while Earnhardt has failed to finish only twice Both have an impressive 14 top-five finishes while Gordon leads Earnhardt in top 10s by only three 19-16 The big difference is in bonus points with five for leading a race and five more for leading the most laps Gordon who leads the series with eight poles and six race victories and has led in all but one race has accumulated 165 bonus points to 100 for Earnhardt not over Earnhardt going for his third straight Winston Cup title has become a master at playing mind games with his opponents Even with everyone knowing that The Intimidator can be effective This time his opponents are a car owner who never has won a title in 11 previous years on the top stock car circuit and a precocious 24-year-old driver in only his third season of Winston Cup racing always trying to get into your Hendrick said of Earnhardt other day he walked by me and said I said right Go play with someone Gordon who leads just about every important statistical category this year is trying hard not to get involved in such mind games either know what he tries to Gordon said stop him from trying but I can just keep Cup race MDova Downs ManHoiel Speedway will 26 Teay labonte Chevrolet Monle Colo 151334 21 Rich Blckle A PonCac Wand Prtx 151471 22 Ricky Creven Chevrolet Marie Cato 151 407 29 Bobby tMn A Fad ThundabH 151 406 24 Joe Neroechek Chevrolet Marie Cato 151 362 26 Jett Burton Fad ThundabH 161337 26 Dele Jan6 Fad ThundeibH 152736 27 Lake Speed Ford Thundertrid 152594 26 Dele Eatnhorl Chevrolet Monte Carlo 152239 29 SMrtng Martn Chevrolet Morrit Carlo 152176 36 Michael WaMp Ponttac Wand Prtx 152046 31 Morgan Shephod Ford ThundabH 151726 32 Bobby Hsmltton Ponttac (hand Mr 161 719 39 Eton Sanyo Ford ThundabH 151 707 34 Jimmy Spenca Fad ThundabH 161316 36 Dare Marcia Chevrolet Morrie Colo 151337 36 Ken Schreda Chevrolet Marie Carlo 151222 37 Ihs Borina Ford Thundertrid 151 096 36 Mike Wattacs Fad Thundertrid 151032 36 Beol Bodlne Fad ThundeibH provWaial 46 Michael Rrich Chevrolet Marie Colo prevWonaL 00VBI Del (AP)-Lineup la Sunday1! MBNA 500 Winston va typo of car and quaNytng spsort In mptu 1 Rick Mast Ford ThundabH 159446 svsnt guaNy-Ing racont previous reconi 152846 Good Bodtne 1994 I Jut Gordon Chevrolet Monte Onto 159176 9 Kyle Potty Portlac Grand Prtx 152834 4 Bobby Labonte Chevrolet lumlna 1 52814 9 Wart Burton Ponttac tand Prtx 1 52806 6 Ricky Fkidd Fort Thundertrid 152699 7 Rusty Wallace Fort ThundabH 152626 6 HutSHckim Fort Thundertrid 152342 1 6 John And rottt Fail ThundabH 151969 16 Jeremy Mayflekt Ford Thundertrid 151 969 II Torld Bodkie Fad Thundertrid 151812 12 Robert Pressley Chevrolet Monte Carto 151886 19 Ted us grave Ford ThundeibH 151 796 14 Sieve atssoiii Chevrolet Monte Carts 151 736 16 Dick Trickle Ford ThundeibH 151 719 16 Mart Martn Ford ThundeibH 151 681 17 BM £No6 Fad ThundeibH 151676 16 Darike Cape Fad Thundertrid 151586 19 Doran Waktp ChevroW Monte Colo 151347 DOVER Del With the stretch run for their first Winston Cup championship under way car owner Rick Hendrick and driver Jeff Gordon are hoping not to get too caught up in the mental aspects of the point race Going into MBNA 500 at Dover Downs International Raceway Gordon who drives a Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet holds a 279-point lead over seven-time series champion Dale Earnhardt But Earnhardt who also has lost some of these tension-filled late-season point battles is not about to concede anything with seven races remaining team has been pretty consistent but all it takes to lose a big lead like that is some bad luck in a couple of races Earnhardt said It.