The State from Columbia, South Carolina • 31

tytti 2 State Columbia South Carolina Sunday September 25 1988 Lott Brewster ignite Clemson spark Tigers past Tech 30-13 Clemson vs Georgia Tech By DAVID NEWTON da ST 20 57-241 32-122 111 204 S3 17 -l-0 17-31-2 5-43 3-44 3-0 4-3 13-111 4-50 3133 29:27 First downs Rushet-vords Passing Return yards Comp-all-int Punts FumMts-bsl Panaltics-vards Time of possession ATLANTA Clemson fullback Tracy Johnson stood on the sideline at Bobby Dodd Stadium Saturday enjoying a 14-0 lead over Georgia Tech when the man on the public address system announced that archrival South Carolina was leading Georgia 17-3 several hundred miles away For a brief moment Georgia not Georgia Tech was on his mind Ctsmsan 14 3 7 4-3 Cowgia Tack 0 3 S-13 Lott separated Tech tailback Jerry Mays from the ball on a short pass and Brewster stepped in for a 68-yard interception return for a touchdown that turned a potential upset into a 30-13 rout in bunt of a crowd of 45100 interception turned the game around for us no doubt about Clemson coach Danny Ford that time the game was still in the Afterwards it was never in doubt The Tigers after a 33-yard field goal by Thomas Palmer dominated the final quarter with their powerful ground game and began the road to a third straight Atlantic Coast Conference title with a victory Tech which defeated a Division I-A team since Nov 1 1986 slipped to 1-3 0-3 in the ACC realize that Clemson is a really good football team and we want to take anything away from Tech coach Bobby Ross said a better For the next quarter and a half it appeared his teammates had something else on their minds as well Clem Johnson 15 run (Saytc kick) CMm Jennings 4 pass from Wiliams (Sevle kick) Tech Mays 20 pass from employ (Palmar kick) Tech FG Palmar 22 Clem FG Gardocki 21 Clam Brewster 61 Interception return (Sevle kick) Tech FG Palmar 32 Clem Henderson 11 run (kick AP RANKING Not until the Yellow Jackets had pulled within 17-10 at the half and had begun driving for the tying score late in the third quarter did the 12th-ranked Tigers return their attention to the game at hand A 45106 Jot Jortm mm Slate James Lott belts Tech's Jerry Mays Doug Brewster moves to intercept and race for TD See Tigers 9-C Thanks that is to cornerback James Lott and line- backer Doug Brewster Ellis defense power USC past Georgia By TEDDY HEFFNER 11 SC VS Georgia It was the kind of situation from which Heisman Trophy winners emerge Late in the first half 81 yards from the Georgia goal line and desperately needing points to capitalize on a well-played first half against a highly regarded foe And in front of a national televi- FlrV downs Ruslm-yardi Passing yards cl urn yards Passos Punls FumMcs-lost PanaHlos-vords Tima of Pouasstan i a i 3 14 3 3 23 i Carolina Ga FG Crumley 27 SC FG Mackic 23 SC Bine 4 run (Mackig kick) SC Brooks 36 mss from EHil (Mock I kick) SC FG Mockla 42 SC FG Mockio 43 Ga Hondarson 3 run (Kasay kick) A 74600 sion audience It was time for the talents of Todd Elli to step forward and get it dona Not come ctoae as ElUs and his Gamecock mates have done so often the past two years but to get it done And Ellis was equal to the task covering that ground with eight straight passes to spark 14th-ranked South Carolina to a surprisingly easy 23-10 victory over the No 6 Bulldogs It took finest outing when the heat was turned up high to overshadow an attacking defense that turned a proud Georgia running game into mush The Bulldogs managed just 102 yards rushing 17 Tim DomwktTke Male raging defense engulfed running game this time hammering Rodney Hampton Gamecocks serve notice: they can play Herman Helms in the second half ly There were by far the better football team sc ore could have been a lot worse than it was It was just a ripping from the early Brooks ignited the decisive march with a one-handed grab when Ellis threw behind him on second down The junior quarterback then picked the Bulldogs apart with wide receiver George Rush chipping in two catches The touchdown came with 1:48 to go in the half Georgia fought back but Steve Crumley missed a 43-yard field goal with 27 seconds to go in the period and that was for all intents and purposes the game Ellis completed 28 of 43 passes for 221 yards and a touchdown He had another pass into the end zone dropped Brooks caught eight for 98 yards and Carl Platt four for 78 I get protection like that and when they play defense backing np like they were doing going to hit some said Ellis Mackie kicked three field goals but also missed once snapping a school-record streak of 15 In a row Keith Bing scored USC first touchdown on a four-yard run off tackle in torpedoes he called a heady game at the line of scrimmage only edge came in punting where a busy Joey Hester averaged an impressive 453 yards on eight kicks What we saw in hot and humid weather was more than simply a football game It was a coaching clinic staged by Messrs Joe Lee Dunn and A1 Groh defensive and offensive coordinators respectively of the USC squad Rarely has any team been better prepared for a game on both sides of the football than were the Gamecocks The fact that Georgia is 96th in the nation in pass defense escape Groh who brought Ellis out of the chute throwing Carolina threw 43 passes against 28 running plays Dunn's theory on defense was to penetrate and make things happen Carolina match up to beefy offensive line in size But the Gamecocks had one important advantage They had it all over the monstrous Bulldogs in quickness Grata's and nice work tells you something about Joe Morrison He knows how to organize a coaching staff and he also knows a thing or No it was not a last-ditch drive against the clock to pull out a victory that was Ellis' finest hour It was a precision move 81 yards in eight plays all passes and all completions and against one of the top programs And yes Robert Brooks made a sensational catch for the touchdown on a 38-yard play But Ellis put the ball in the only spot where a completion was possible The touchdown and Collin ensuing extra-point made it 17-3 at the half That drive all but settled the issue After that Ellis-led assault the only question was how bad it could be And it could have been a lot worse The Gamecocks have picked a better time to play a beautiful football game Sold-out stadium national television audience over 400 member! of the news media and six representatives from bowl games watching It was showtime Saturday afternoon at Wil-liams-Brice Stadium and the Gamecocks let America know they can play this game It is difficult to remember when a USC squad has performed better whistle to whistle against a quality opponent than the Gamecocks did in overwhelming sixth-ranked Georgia 23-10 Only one thing went awry The scoreboard It stiffed us The 23-10 score waa deceiving The game was nowhere near that close This was supposed to be one of those impact games a showdown between heavyweights But the suspense lasted a mere four minutes and 26 seconds when Georgia's first possession ended in a 27-yard field goal by Steve Crumley After that it waa all Gamecocks Unlike the scoreboard statistics lie fearsome ground attack which led the nation with an average of 355 yards per game huffed and puffed to only 102 yards against the fiery Carolina defense It figured 14th-ranked Carolina would burn the Columnist Bulldogs with Todd Ellis' passes but 28 completions for 321 yards were more than the most ambitious USC fan should have anticipated Lucky for the Bulldogs that receivers dropped about a half dozen catchable deliveries Ellis cashed in on an opportunity to display his Heisman Trophy qualifications to the nation and some influential voters In addition to throwing took us to the woodshed and whipped us pretty Georgia coach Vince Dooley said whipped us offensively and defensive- See USC 9-C See Helms 7-C At long last Johnson beats nemesis to reach 12-year goal Old order falls Griffith Joyner Phillips sparkle SEOUL South Korea After all that heavy lifting the fastest human should have been exhausted at the starting line He bench-pressed 396 pounds the week of The Race and then sandbagged the field and the watching multitudes flirting with waves of disaster in the trial heats his starts jittery and his stride bourgeois But in the end with one last cutting glance at the American three lanes away Ben Johnson stole the Olympic wind and caught the breath of the world One hundred meters and 979 seconds later Carl Lewis at his trailing heel Johnson celebrated moment wanted for the last 12 On a track too soft in air too heavy Benjamin Sinclair Johnson Jr outran his nemesis the man who beat him first in 1980 and beat him last a month ago and he outran himself as well His world record bat- 1 Sc Jolhaon 2-C 1 SEOUL South Korea The old order fell at the Summer Games on Sunday Florence Griffith Joyner ended Evelyn reign as the fastest woman and age put an end to gold medal hopes for Edwin Moses and Chris Evert Griffith Joyner won the 100 meters in 1054 seconds That waa five one-hundredths off her own world mark but under the Olympic mark of 1062 she set Saturday in qualifying although it will not count because it was wind-aided feel ao good that it's Griffith Joyner said "That's the first for me in the Olympics I thank God it'a FloJo as she's known crossed the finish line raised her arm and then dropped to her knees Ashford 1984 gold medalist won the silver in 1083 and Heike 0 Sc Olympics 2ft Ben Johnson raises arm in triumph Canadian leads jpalvin Smith Linford Christie and Cjarl Lewis across finish line.