The Index-Journal from Greenwood, South Carolina • Page 9

PAGE 9 Tuesday September 24, 1991 The Index-Journal Flying Fleet outplays Senators in OT SPORTS Nickles has added incentive when Lander plays Erskine Wright pleased, Taylor unhappy with squads 11. v- It I "vi U- I tl By DAVID HAYS Sports editor Lander freshman Brad Nickles had plenty of incentive Monday night in his first match against rival Erskine. Unlike many players from both teams who come from out-of-state or other countries, Nickles grew up very close to the Lander-Erskine soccer rivalry. He's from Due West, home of the Flying Fleet, but he chose to play soccer at Lander under coach Van Taylor. Nickles, who played midfield for all 110 minutes in Monday's 2-0 overtime loss to Erskine, said it did indeed feel strange facing the Fleet.

"It would have felt a little wier-der if we had played at Erskine where I played high school ball. But it did feel wierd," he said. "I wanted to win very badly," he added. Nickles played at Dixie High School under coach Mark Wilson. He started five years for the Green Hornets and scored 103 goals.

He has four assists in six games so far for the Senators. Nickles signed with Lander after Dixie's first match of the spring season, in late February or early March, he said. Erskine inquired about Nickles, but he said it was after he had made up his mind. "I have a lot of respect for coach Taylor," Nickles said. "I By DAVID HAYS Sports editor The Erskine Flying Fleet came to play and the Lander Senators didn't.

That's how the coaches assessed Monday night's match be- tween the NAIA District 6 rivals. Scott Sloop scored 3:50 into the first overtime and Brandon Murray added a goal 3:35 into the second OT, lifting visiting Erskine to a 2-0 victor over Lander. The Senators entered the game ranked No. 2 in the nation in the NAIA poll. The Fleet improved to 5-2-1, breaking a two-game losing streak.

The Senators fell to 5-1 and will host third-ranked Boca Raton, Fla. Thursday at 7 p.m. Erskine will play Huntingdon, Saturday at 2:30. "We rose above the occasion today and did well," said Erskine coach Rick Wright. "I'm pleased with the way the guys responded with a lot of intensity.

Lander put us under pressure a good Our backs played really well." While Wright was pleased, Lander coach Van Taylor didn't like what he saw from his team. "We didn't come to play. We played very poorly tonight. I think the players know that," he said. Despite a scoreless 90 minutes of regulation, both teams had several scoring opportunities.

Although the Fleet, like Lander, missed chances in regulation, it didn't in overtime. Sloop, a junior defender from Decatur, scored off an assist from David Murdock at the 93:50 mark. Sloop booted the ball into the right corner of the net beyond the outstretched arms of Lander goalkeeper Chris Wynne. The Fleet virtually sealed the victory when Murray, a sophomore forward from Clarendon, Jamaica, scored off a Frank Matthews assist at the 1:08:35 mark. He broke free in front of the net and kicked it into the right corner of the goal.

Erskine outshot the Senators 22-19. Lander had a 6-5 edge in corner kicks. Wynne had eight saves while the Fleet's Crispin Saint Louis stopped six. The match was physical, especially toward the end. Late in the second overtime, Lander's Eric Magera and Erskine's Murray were red-carded (ejected).

The game was played in front of a large crowd, including several Erskine fans. Lander played without senior AU-American midfielder Louie Smothermon, who went to his Arizona home due to a family emergency. His mother had a heart attack last week. The match began at 7 p.m. and didn't end until 9:40.

The contest was delayed 25 minutes because half the lights at Lander's field BRANDON MURRAY Adds insurance goal for Fleet whether or not we get too big-headed. "We were apparently the better team today. We scored two goals. They didn't. Tomorrow we might turn around and get beat 5-nil.

You never know." Taylor was not nearly as pleased. "What's more disappointing is not only the loss, but the way we played," said Taylor. "We didn't show up. Simple as that. No intensity.

We didn't challenge well. "Erskine did a good job of getting us off our game. We weren't ever really able to establish any playing rhythm. We lost the majority of the 50-50 challenges both on the ground and in the air. (See Erskine, page 11) RICK WRIGHT Pleased the way team responded went out.

An electrician got the lights back on and the game resumed with 19:27 left in the regulation. Wright said Erskine's intensity was a pleasant change. "I was very pleased with the overall intensity. We've had some problems with intensity," he said. "In our loss (2-0) to Wofford on Friday, we were terrible, flat.

But I think tonight we showed a lot of guts, a lot of heart." Wright said he hopes the victory can carry over. "We have a lot of ability, I think. But they had a hard time believing in themselves. They've had a lot of personal problems. Hopefully they're organized and sorted out.

This result will certainly go a long way. Now, it's W'n. 4 2 -i i mil umiii i VYN tif. rwm GHS's Freeman, Wideman among TD Club honorees Twelve area high school athletes were honored Monday night by the Greenwood Touchdown Club for their performances in football games Friday and Sept. 13.

Honored were Desi Freeman and Nicholas Wideman, Greenwood High School; Emmanuel Leverette and Rodney Johnson, Ninety Six High School; Brannon Babb and William Nelson, Ware Shoals High School; Wiley Booth and Neal Dawson, Abbeville High School; Leon Dotson and Eric Gray, Dixie High School; Ken Martin and Marcus Smith, McCormick High School. For Greenwood, Freeman had four individual tackles and assisted on four other tackles in the Eagles' 48-8 victory over C.A. Johnson on Friday. Freeman, a junior defensive tackle, graded out at 83 percent for the game: A week earlier, Wideman made eight tackles and broke up two pases in Greenwood's 20-3 loss to Laurens. Wideman, a junior outside linebacker, graded out at 79 percent for the game.

For Ninety Six, Leverette made 10 tackles and caused two fumbles during the Wildcats' 15-0 loss to Ware Shoals on Friday. Leverette, a sophomore linebacker, graded out at 88 percent in the game. A week before, Johnson gained 92 yards on 18 carries during the Wildcats' 13-7 loss to Saluda. Johnson, a junior tailback, scored one touchdown. For Ware Shoals, Brannon Babb made six tackles during the Hornets' 15-0 win over Ninety Six on Friday.

Babb, a junior strong safety, graded out at 85 percent during the game. A week earlier, William Nelson graded out at 70 percent on his assignments on both offense and defense during the Hornets' 27-6 loss to Abbeville. Nelson, a senior, starts at both offensive and defensive tackle. For Abbeville, Dawson made seven individual tackles, broke up 3 passes, and had one interception during the Panthers' 20-7 win over (See Honoress, page 11) Players of the Week mick; Rodney Johnson, Ninety Six; and Emmanuel Leverette, Ninety Six. Top row from left are Desi Freeman, Greenwood; Brannon Babb, Ware Shoals; William Nelson, Ware Shoals; Marcus Smith, McCormick; and Eric Gray, Dixie.

(Staff photo by David Porreca) The Greenwood Touchdown Club on Monday honored area high school athletes for their football performances for games Sept. 13 and Sept. 20. Front row from left are Neal Dawson, Abbeville; Wiley Booth, Abbeville; Nicholas Wideman, Greenwood; Leon Dotson, Dixie; Ken Martin, McCor BRAD NICKLES Due West native at Lander played for him when I was younger, so I had made my mind up." Several family members watched Nickles play Monday. The Dixie graduate did have a couple of shots on goal, including one, ironically, seconds before half the lights went out on the Lander field, causing a 25-minute delay.

Erskine scored twice in overtime to hand the second-ranked Senators their first loss of the season. (See Nickles, page 11) Woods hopes Gamecocks aren't too confident COLUMBIA (AP) South Carolina may have beaten East Carolina 37-7 last season but the Gamecocks better have their minds on other things when the two teams meet again this Saturday, coach Sparky Woods said Monday. "We've won one football game in three weeks, 60 1 hope we don't have a problem with that (over-confidence)," Woods said. "In college football anybody can win, so you better be prepared each week. "I still think our biggest challenge is us rather than the people we're playing against." South Carolina entered the win column last Saturday by beating Virginia Tech 28-21 after starting the season with a 24-24 tie against Duke and losing 21-16 to West Virginia.

"We've faced some adversity and we've had a little bit of success," Woods said. "So now it's important to see how our team is going to react. Playing on the road will be interesting to see if we can carry our enthusiasm with us." Woods, who is 13-10-2 at South Carolina, said the ups and downs of this season have been consuming. "It's been real exciting each ball game," he said. "It causes you to sleep a little bit and worry a whole lot, I guess.

The biggest challenge we still have is our football team. "It's strange how the season's gone. We beat the best team we've played and we feel like we had opportunities to win the other two." At the start of the season. Woods said he knew he had a young team but hoped its enthusiasm would carry it through the season. "I like learning when you come out ahead and not when you come out behind," he said Monday.

"The victory (against Virginia (See USC, page 11) nied when Harbaugh was tackled just short of the goal line. Now the Jets were in command. They were running Blair Thomas, who gained 125 yards on 27 carries, and working the clock. "They had no timeouts and the formula says we needed a first down to run the clock out," Jets coach Bruce Coslet said. It appeared to be a winning formula until Steve McMichael stole the ball from Thomas at the Jets' 32 with 1:54 remaining, giving the Bears another chance.

They got down to. the 3 before the Jets stiffened. Jeff Lage- (See Bears, page 11) sees USC's rocky a test of character tively against West Virginia, but fought back in the second half. We came back after that with a 28-21 win over a Virginia Tech team that was the best team we've played this year. Our football team gained confidence after Saturday night's game." This Saturday the Gamecocks travel to Greenville, N.C., to take on the East Carolina Pirates.

"We've got a tough football game ahead of us," Woods said. "East Carolina played tough against Illinois in the first game of the season (a 38-31 Pirate loss). Illinois beat Houston badly on Saturday. East Carolina beat Memphis State (20-13), after Memphis State upset Southern Cal. They beat Central Florida (47-25) last week.

"They've got a good offense. Traveling to Greenville will be a Woods start as By DAVID PORRECA Area news editor South Carolina's rocky start during the 1991 football season has been a test of character for the Gamecocks' young squad, Coach Sparky Woods told the Greenwood Touchdown Club on Monday. "The Duke game was a blow to everyone," said Woods, now in his third year as USC coach. In the season-opener against the Blue Devils, South Carolina led through much of the game only to see Duke mount a sudden comeback to tie 24-24. USC is 1-i-l after defeating Vir-gina Tech 28-21 on Saturday.

A week before, the Gamecocks lost to West Virginia 21-16. "Rebounding from the Duke game has been a difficult thing," Woods said. "We came out tenta is CASTILLEJO McBRIDE women's tennis coach during the spring, was impressed by her players' efforts. "We just had a great tournament," she said. "That was our first tournament this, fall.

I couldn't have asked them to play any better. They kept their composure and poise. They didn't force anything." The Lady Senators will compete in the Rolex regional tournament at Presbyterian College Saturday. USC coach Sparky Woods Has some laughs after TD Club meeting Lander's Castillejo, McBride win titles at ETSU tourney challenge for our team. We've responded well to adversity.

Now, after our first win, we'll see how we can respond to success." The tough start this year was not unexpected, according to Woods. When he took the job in February 1989 after Joe Morrison's death, Woods could see that the third and fourth years of his program would have some rough patches, he said. "The class that we signed in 1989 is our junior class now," Woods said. "That was the class that was recruited during the 1989 steroid controversy. They signed right after Coach Morrison's death.

We were very concerned with the junior class. But we've got a good sophomore class, and an even better freshman class. I see improvement each year." Anderson, then won it on Har-baugh's 1-yard quarterback sneak with 18 seconds left in OT. "I don't know what to say but to thank the good Lord," said Harbaugh, who had a career night as the Bears improved to 23-2 in September under Ditka. "I thought we had lost it several times." They had.

The Jets took a 13-3 lead on Brad Baxter's 1-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter. Kevin Butler's second field goal of the night cut the lead to 13-6 early in the fourth quarter and the Bears were driving for the tying touchdown only to be de Chicago needs two rallies to edge Jets in OT, 19-13 (Stair photo by DovM Porroco) of UNC-Greensboro 6-1, 6-2 in the opening round, defeated Brandi Aull of Winthrop 6-0, 6-1 in round two, topped Barbara Grooms of Davidson 6-2, 6-0 in the third round, beat Kristin Reeder of ETSU 6-3, 6-3 in the semifinals, and handled Heather Crown in the finals. McBride and Castillejo advanced to the third round via two defaults, fought back to win their third-round match 6-7, 6-2, 6-3, and topped ETSU's Tooley and Cotrell 6-2, 6-2 in the finals. Freshman walk-on Sarah McTaggart lost her first-round match, won a consolation match before losing in the second round of consolation. Anne Williamson, who replaced Katrina Sacoco as Lander JOHNSON CITY, Tenn.

The Lander Lady Senators got their fall tennis season off to a good start over the weekend. Lander's Sarah Castillejo won the Flight 1 singles title and teammate Whitney McBride the Flight 2 singles title at the 12-team East Tennessee State fall tournament. Castillejo and McBride also won the Flight 1 doubles crown. Castillejo received a first-round bye, beat Lisa Hayden of Transylvania 6-2, 6-2 in the second round, downed Joanna Bias of UNC-Greensboro 6-2, 6-3 in the third round, topped Jennie Cotrell of ETSU 6-3, 6-1 in the semifinals, and Kim Toohey of ETSU 6-0, 6-0 in the finals. McBride downed Alex Pauley CHICAGO (AP) The New York Jets did everything right but win the game.

"Maybe it's luck, maybe it's divine intervention," Chicago coach Mike Ditka said after Monday night's 19-13 overtime victory over the Jets gave him his 100th victory as a head coach. "We didn't play our best football but we won the game." It was a game they apparently had lost several times before winning. The Bears, now 4-0, tied the game on the final play of regulation on a 6-yard touchdown pass from Jim Harbaugh to Neal.