The State from Columbia, South Carolina • 11

I 0 0 0 0 0 0 00 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 00 0 0 0 0 00 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 00 4C Sunday, October 24, 1993 The State Columbia, S.C. 19 pe PC's Gordon rambles for record 254 yards By ERNIE Sports Writer One by mates came congratulations of an with a high ly grip. Gordon just come the field 1:03 left rushing school-record 254 yards Presbyterian College Mars Hill Saturday noon in a Atlantic ence at Bailey When TRUBIANO Mason Gordon's teamto him and offered some in the form handshake, some some with a brother- had off with after for a as pounded 45-28 afterSouth Confermatchup Memorial the Blue one end of the field, coach John Perry paid Gordon one more compliment by flipping the game ball to his 5-9, 193- pound senior tailback from Due West. After all the hosannas, Gordon turned the spotlight back to his teammates. "I just followed the fullback, Steve Gorrie, and the offensive line blocked great," Gordon said, "And when I broke the line of scrimmage, the wide receivers were there to take down the secondary like Corey McKelvin did on the long touchdown run." Gordon's 36-carry workhorse performance included touchdown runs of 44, 4, 1 and 3 yards.

His 254 yards passed the previous mark of 235 set by Steve Parsley in 1989 against Lenoir-Rhyne. Gorrie added 103 yards in 20 trips, including a 9-yard TD. Presbyterian set a school record for team rushing with 397 yards, eclipsing the mark of S.C. State gathers strength for stretch By NEIL WHITE Sports Writer ORANGEBURG South Carolina State needed to catch its breath before playing its final three games of the season against the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference teams ahead of it in the standings. North Carolina Central provided the breather, as the Bulldogs scored on their second play from scrimmage on the way to a 42- 13 rout of the Division II Eagles Saturday afternoon before a Dawson Bulldog Stadium homecoming crowd of 15,727.

S.C. State (6-2) won its fourth straight handily, building a 42-7 lead after its first two possessions in the third quarter before emptying its bench. The Bulldogs (2-1 in the MEAC) play host to Delaware State (5-2, 3-0) next week. They finish the season with games against Howard (7-0, 3-0) and North Carolina (6-1, 2-1). Howard defeated 41-35 in overtime on Saturday.

"We're very happy with the win," S.C. State coach Willie Jeffries said. "We needed a good ballgame going into the Delaware State game. That one's going to be tough." State took a 7-0 lead on the second play from scrimmage when sophomore tailback Michael Hicks burst through the right side for a 50-yard scoring run. Hicks, who had 612 yards in his last three games, had 97 yards on 18 carries against the Eagles (4-4) to up his season total to 913 yards.

He also scored from 8 yards out to up the lead to 14-0 after an NCCU fumble set up a fiveplay, 31-yard drive. But the Bulldogs weren't perfect, turning the ball over four times and being penalized 11 times for 128 yards. "This win isn't exactly the kind of one we wanted," Hicks said. "We'll have to play a lot better next week." The State defense forced six turnovers, recovering two fumbles and intercepting four passes. "You can't make that many mistakes against a good football team like S.C.

State," NCCU coach Larry Little said. Eric McGhee picked off two of those passes on back-to-back NCCU possessions late in the second quarter. 394 set in 1951 against Erskine. Even quarterback Randy Sullivan got into the act, running for 39 yards in addition to completing 10 of 13 passes for 76 yards. "Steve and I got in sync today," Gordon said.

"I was just reading blocks. It may be our best game together as a tandem." Gorrie, who has led the Blue Hose in rushing in two games this season when defenses overplayed Gordon, agreed. "We work really good together. It's inspiring for blockers when you know what Mason can do with the ball," Gorrie said. Gordon has 994 yards for the season, and Gorrie 675.

"Offensive linemen don't play for many accolades, so we set a goal before the season to get 1,000 yards for Mason, and have Steve right up there too," said tackle John Edwards, a senior from Orangeburg. "Mars Hill NCC SCS First downs 21 22 Rushes-yards 38-174 53-356 Passing 148 67 Return Yards 14 57 Comp-Att-Int 12-38-4 13- 5-2 Punts 5-166 5-175 Fumbles-Lost 2-2 3-2 Penalties-Yards 4-40 11-128 N. C. Central 7 0 6 0-13 S.C. State 14 14 14 0-42 SCS-Hicks 50 run (Young kick) SCS-Hicks 8 run (Young kick) NCC-Simmons 16 run (Houston kick) SCS-Marshall 1 run kick) SCS-Solomon 6 pass Marshall (Young (Young, SCS-Ford 30 pass from Marshall (Young kick) SCS-K.

Manigault 43 run (Young kick) Massey 80 run (pass failed) A Individual statistics RUSHING Central, Simmons 19-101; Massey 1-80; Gibbs 4-19; McGuire 1-9; Houston 1-9; Maners, 2-2-; Adams 1-(- 3); McClauren 5-(-10); Redfearn State, Hicks 18-97; Marshall 7-80; A. Manigault 8-75; K. Manigault 4-74; Sanders 7- 25. Central, Redfearn 8-23-98, McClaren 3-14-40; S.C. State Marshall 5-10-67; Thomas 0-3-0.

RECEIVING Central, Ware 5-79; Brammon 3-26; Slade 2-37; Gibbs 1-2; haney 1-4. S. C. State, Miller 2-24; A. Manigault 1-7; Ford 1-30; Solomon 1-6.

McGhee liked the way the defense played compared to last week's 40-27 win over Bethune-Cookman, when the Bulldogs needed two fourth-quarter touchdowns to pull out the win. "We had a bad week last week, but we accomplished most of our goals this week. We played much better," McGhee said. "We kind of underestimated them at first. They showed us they were a lot better than last year." State beat the Eagles 69-0 last season.

Little was glad his team didn't suffer a similar collapse after Hicks scored on the second play. "We talked about not giving up the big play, and then we gave up the big play early," Little said. "But they're a big-play team. "With a running back like Hicks, you can't give him a crease, because you give him a he'll take a The Bulldogs used the big play to move 97 yards in eight plays to take a 21-7 lead with 6:57 to play in the first half. Aaron Manigault got it started with a 28- yard run up the middle.

Quarterback Marvin Marshall added runs of 26 and 33 yards, and he sneaked over from the 1 for the touchdown. A flurry of turnovers followed. In just more than three minutes, the teams traded two interceptions apiece, with McGhee picking off both for State. But neither team could convert until runs a 3-4 defense just like ours, so I've been working on that a long time." Mars Hill actually outdid PC in total offense (473-472), but the home team did the better job of getting into the end zone. "We gave up some yards and some plays but stopped them when we had to," Perry said.

"And always having the lead helped." On the game's first play from scrimmage, Mars Hill fumbled at its 8-yard line. PC cornerback Jeff Wilson scooted out of a pile with the ball and ran into the end zone to give Presbyterian the lead 18 seconds into the game. "That was a great boost to be ahead 7-0 after one play," Perry said. Quarterback Ashley Abernathy led the visitors from Mars Hill, N.C. He ran for a 2-yard touchdown, and passed for TDs of 36 yards to Chris Goodson, and 23 yards to Gerrard Lee.

Abernathy completed 13 of 26 for 160 yards. Leon Williams ran 14 times for 130 yards for the Lions, 2-6 overall and 0-5 in the SAC. The victory improved Presbyterian to 3-5 and 2-2 and helped take out some of the frustrations of a season in which the Blue Hose lost four games by a total of 18 points. "This one makes up for some of those tough losses," Perry said. "But we've had an inner character all season; we've known we were a decent not great, but decent team all along.

Take a few plays away, and we could have six or seven wins." Shaking Gordon loose did the trick. "We came in with a game plan of running the ball down Mars Hill's throats," Gordon said. After a record day rushing, the Blue Hose chalked up a Mission Accomplished. On third-and-goal from the 6, Marshall scrambled, breaking several tackles, until he wound up at the 30 and heaved a pass to a wide-open Freddie Solomon in the end zone for a 28-7 halftime lead. The Eagles hung in briefly before that.

They cut the lead to 14-7 with 2:13 to play in the first quarter when Joe Simmons, whose 101 rushing yards upped his season total to 1,007 yards, broke a tackle at the line of scrimmage on fourth-and-1 for a 16-yard touchdown run. Two SCSU penalties, one for holding and one for a personal foul, kept the 75-yard drive going. The Associated Press Michael Hicks skirts N.C. Central's Michael Lattimore on 50-yard score. S.C.

State linebacker Melvin Spradling recov- "We wanted to keep the ball out of the ered a fumble at the NCCU 9. hands of their offense," Little said. "We wanted to control the football." However, the Bulldogs, who gained 356 yards on the ground, took control again. "Our offensive line blocked well, and as long as it's blocking well, we'll gain our yards," Hicks said. The Bulldogs blew the game open on Marshall's 30-yard touchdown pass to tight end Alford Ford and Kelly Manigault's 43-yard scoring run in the third quarter.

The Eagles managed their only second-half score when punter Billy Massey scooped up a bad snap and ran 80 yards down the right sideline for a touchdown. South Atlantic SAC Overall Carson-Newman 5 005 1 1 Lenoir-Rhyne 3 1.0 0 6 1 0 Catawba 3 204 30 Elon 3 2 0 6 2 0 Wingate 2 2 0 5 3 0 Presbyterian 2 2 0 3 5 0 Gardner-Webb 0 04 0 1 60 Mars Hill 0502 6 0 Catawba 27, Elon 21 Lenoir-Rhyne 27, Wofford 24 Presbyterian 45, Mars Hill 28 Wingate 63, Chowan 21 Carson-Newman 47, Gardner-Webb 10 Southern SoCon Overall Ga. Southern 5 1 0 6 2 0 W. Carolina 4 1 0 4 30 Marshall 2 10 4 20 Furman 2 20 3 3 1 East Tennessee 2 3 0 4 4 0 The Citadel 2 3 0 3 5 0 UT-Chattanooga 1 3 0 3 40 VMI 3 0 1 6 0 App. State 1 3 0 1 6 0 Appalachian State at Marshall, night Air Force 35, The Citadel 0 Clemson 27, East Tennessee 0 Georgia Southern 57, VMI 0 Western Carolina 41, UT-Chattanooga 10 Mid-Eastern Athletic MEAC Overall Howard 30 0 07 0 0 Delware St.

3 0 004 20 N.C. 2 10 06 10 S.C. State 2 1 0 6 20 Florida 1 3 0 3 30 1 30 2 6 0 Morgan State 0 402 5 0 Delaware State 65, Morgan State 4 42 S.C. State 42, N.C. Central 13 Howard U.

41, N. Carolina 35, OT Central Florida 34, Bethune-Cookman 14 Florida vs. Albany State, night MH PC First downs 22 27 39-269 68-396 Passing 204 76 Return Yards 13 67 Comp-Att-Int 14-27-1 10-13-0 Punts 4-144 2-83 Fumbles-Lost 2-1 2-1 Penalties- Yards 6-59 4-45 Mars Hill 7 7 7-28 Presbyterian 14 7 10 14-45 PC -Wilson 8 fumble return (Jordon kick) PC -Gorrie 9 run (Jordon kick) MH-Goodson 36 pass from Abernathy (McCall kick) MH- Abernathy 2 run (McCall kick) PC-Gordon run (Jordan kick) MH-Lee 41 pass from Sharpe (McCall kick) -Gordon 4 run (Jordan kick) PC- Jordan FG 23 -Gordon 1 run (Jordan kick) MH-Lee 23 pass from Abernathy (McCall kick) PC -Gordon 13 run (Jordan kick). Individual statistics RUSHING- Mars Hill, Backers 1-17; L. liams 14-10; Fowler 1-4; Gooden 6-37; James 1-3; Abernathy 15-70.

Sharpe 1-8. Presbyterian, Sullivan 12-39; Gorrie 20-103; Gordon 36-254. PASSING- Mars Hill, Abernathy 13-26-160; Sharpe 1-1-44. Presbyterian, Sullivan 10-13-76. RECEIVING- Mars Hill, Sharpe 3-20, L.

WIlliams 3-14, Goodson 4-91; Lee 3-75; Barkers 1-4. Gordon Stadium. Hose huddled at Wofford stunned by Lenoir-Rhyne freshman By ERIC BOYNTON Spartanburg Herald-Journal HICKORY, N.C. Lenoir-Rhyne walk-on freshman Gerald Childress was sixth on the depth chart two weeks ago. Saturday, with his team's receiving corps riddled by injuries, he was forced to start.

Was he nervous? Well, yes. "I was actually close to throwing up before the game knowing I was starting," said Childress. Did it matter? No. Childress caught seven passes for 157 yards and two touchdowns to rally Lenoir-Rhyne to a 27-24 victory over Wofford He caught two passes on the Bears' game-winning possession, including the touchdown. Trailing 24-21, Lenoir-Rhyne faced fourth-and-goal from the 7 with 1:45 remaining.

Childress ran deep in the end zone then came back to the front corner and beat Wofford's Chad Starks to the ball. Tommy Obst's kick was blocked for a three-point lead. "Once (Starks) hips turned knew I had him beat," said Childress. The play was designed to go to the freshman all the way. "We even blocked (with) our other receiver to make sure the quarterback had full protection and could get outside," said Bears' coach Charles Forbes.

"It was a great throw and definitely a play we had to have." The loss dropped the Terriers to 5- 2-1, damaging their Division II playoff hopes. Lenoir-Rhyne is 6-1. Wofford appeared to have ensured victory on Lenoir-Rhyne's previous possession. The Bears held the ball nearly seven minutes but Todd Smith forced a 1 fumble and Leslie Lilienthal recovered for Wofford on the 15-yard line. Wofford's Brian Taylor fumbled it right back four plays later, however, to set up the Bears' final score.

The Terriers played the fourth quarter without starting linebackers Byron Kilgore and Andre Patrick. Kilgore injured his neck and shoulder and will miss up to two weeks while Patrick sprained a knee and is lost for 2-to-4 weeks. Fullback Anthony Livesay also sprained a knee and could be gone for up to a month. "We got a couple of guys hurt there at the start of the second half and just didn't hold up said Wofford coach Mike Ayers. "We gave up too many big plays on the pass." The Bears played without receivers Shannon Myers, Clee Atkinson and Pedie King, opening the door for Childress.

The Terriers were caught napping. "They usually split the tight end out where (Childress) was and we saw him and he was tall and big and we figured he was the tight end," said Wofford free safety Sean McGinley. "Coach said he couldn't run fast and then he ended up streaking down the field right by me." Childress was wide open all night and he burned McGinley for a 42-yard score to pull the Bears within 14-7 in the second quarter. It was the first Blazers blitz Buccaneers with passes The Associated Press CHARLESTON Quarterback John Witcomb threw for 354 yards and two touchdowns Saturday as Alabama-Birmingham defeated Charleston Southern 48-20. Alabama-Birmingham running back Pat Green ran for three touchdowns, and the Blazers (5-2) turned three Charleston Southern turnovers into touchdowns.

The Buccaneers (3-5), who trailed 28-14 at the half, were led by Eric Gommillion's 109 yards rushing. Gommillion scored all three Charleston Southern touchdowns, including a 71-yard run in the fourth quarter. Witcomb, who completed 22 of 40 passes, dominated the second half, Air Force thumps Citadel By JOHN MOSSMAN COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. Desperate times call for desperate measures. Air Force coach Fisher DeBerry's frustration at his team's six-game losing streak had reached such depths that he resorted to inviting his mother-in-law to Saturday's game.

The bold ploy worked as the Falcons whipped The Citadel 35-0. Backup quarterback Scott Teigen threw two touchdown passes, and an opportunistic Falcon defense contributed two scores. It was the most lopsided Air Force shutout win since a 37-0 triumph over Idaho in 1974. Dot Coppedge of Cheraw, S.C., has proved to be a good-luck charm for DeBerry, who married Coppedge's daughter, LuAnn. Since Saturday's game against The Citadel was the first of three in a row at Falcon Stadium, the time for a visit seemed ripe.

"She never has seen us lose a game," DeBerry said. "I called her early in the week and said she needed to get out here. "It cost me a lot of money to get her out here, and she's going to stay for three weeks now. You're going to great extremes when you ask your mama-in-law to come stay three weeks with you. You knew I'd had it." Besides the visit, the Falcons adopted a new identity for the game.

Instead of the plodding, grind-it-out wishbone offense and the vulnerable defense that had been their calling card this season, they unveiled a quick-striking passing game and a stout defense. The Falcons (2-6) snapped a sixgame losing streak by beating their second Division I-AA opponent of the season. They capitalized on five turnovers by the Bulldogs (3-5). Two of those turnovers led directly to Air Force touchdowns. Cornerback Brian Watkins returned an interception 42 yards for a touchdown less than three minutes into the game.

Safety Kelvin King recovered a fumble in the end for a TD in the second quarter. King had a third-quarter interception that set up Teigen's second TD throw, a 22-yarder to tight end David, Eaglin. Teigen, who entered the game late in the first quarter after starter Demond Cash was taken to the academy hospital with a hyperextension of the neck area, threw a 53-yard TD pass to halfback Obasi Onuoha in the second period. The Falcons' other score came on third-string quarterback Preston McConnell's 19-yard run with 32 seconds left. The Citadel's deepest penetration was to the Air Force 16-yard line in the final period.

That drive ended when quarterback Kantroy Walker threw incomplete on fourth down. The Bulldogs were 0 for 9 passing and finished with just 211 total yards. Citadel coach Charlie Taaffe said he was "very disappointed in our offense and kicking game. We couldn't sustain drives because of penalties or missed assignments. Our defense played well enough to win, but we had too many turnovers." Walker replaced the ineffective C.J.

Haynes, whose three first-half turnovers helped fuel Air Force's early surge. CIt AF First downs 14 17 Rushes-yards 60-211 47-217 Passing 0 129 Return Yards 15 86 Comp-Att-int 0-9-2 6-14-0 Punts 6-35 5-49 Fumbles-Lost 4-3 2-1 Penalties- Yards 5-30 7-68 Time of Possession 36:02 23:58 The Citadel 0 0 0 0-- 0 Air Force 7 14 7 1-35 AF -Watkins 42 interception return (Macinnis kick) -King fumble recovery in end zone (Macinnis kick) AF-Onuoha 53 pass from Teigen (Macinnis kick) AF Eaglin 22 pass from Teigen (Macinnis kick) AF -McConnell 19 run (Macinnis kick) A Individual statistics RUSHING -Citadel, Sands 16-53, Haltiwanger 8-49, Rivers 5-45, Little 7-37, Walker 17-30, Haynes 7-(minus 3). Air Force, Parisi 7-80, Maloy 11-65, McConnell 4-27, Addison 3-27, Young 4-9, Cash 5-7, 1- Onuoha 2-6, Campbell 2-2, Teigen 5-0, Dalton (minus 1), Johnson 3-(minus. 5). PASSING -Citadel, Haynes 0-4-1-0, Walker 0-4- 1-0, Little 0-1-0-0.

Air Force, Cash 1-2-0-9, Teigen 5- 001-0-0, McConnell 0-1-0-0. RECEIVING- -CItadel, none. Air Force, Marsh 2-29, Campbell 2-25, Onuoha 1-53, Eaglin 1-22. play following a failed on-side kick attempt by Wofford. "I think part of the problem was me on some of the calls and I've got to take responsibility for this loss," said Ayers.

WC L-R First downs 18 13 Rushes-yards 68-335 44-143 Passing 9 205 Return Yards 87 70 Comp-Att-Int 1- 9- 2 11-17- 2 Punts 5-205 4-151 Fumbles-Lost 2-0 2-0 Penalties- 2- 97 8-60 Time of Possession 34:42 25:18 Lenoir-Rhyne MO 7 14 6-27 Wofford 10 7 0-24 W-Wiles 14 run (Porzio kick) W- Robinson 46 run (Porzio kick) LR -Childress 42 pass from Stamey (Obst kick) W-Porzio 36 FG LR -Davis 20 run (Obst kick) W-Taylor 1 run (Porzio kick) -Davis 5 run (Obst kick) LR -Childress 7 pass from Stamey (kick failed) A -5329. Individual statistics RUSHING-Wofford, C. Robinson 9-112; Arnold 10-27; Taylor 15-43; Wiles 21-66, B. Robinson 1-13; Burris 2-3; Livesay 10-71. Lenoir-Rhyne, Davis 28- 137; Walker 6-20; Melton 4-9; Stamey 6-(-23).

-Wofford, Wiles 1-9-9. Lenoir-Rhyne, Stamey 11-17-205. RECEIVING-Wofford, Umbreg 1-9. LenolrRhyne, Childress 7-157; Roux 2-20; Peters 1-7; Johnson 1-21. UAB CSU First downs 21 20 Rushes-yards 32-96 44-277 Passing 373 122 Return Yards 7 20 Comp-Att-Int 23-41-1 12-28-2 Punts 5-159 5-127 Fumbles-Lost 0-0 2-3 Penalties- 12-95 6-50 Time of Possession 33:04 26:56 throwing for 240 yards and both of his touchdown tosses.

The scores came within 90 seconds of each other. The first, at 10:30 left in the half, was a 12-yard pass to Eric Nation. After Charleston Southern's Brad Johnson fumbled at the Buccaneer 22, Witcomb hit Marcus McKinney for a 23-yard score. Gommillion's long run did put Charleston Southern within 15 points with plenty of time left in the fourth quarter, but Alabama-Birmingham scored two touchdowns in the final six minutes. "I was very pleased with our passing game," said Alabama-Birmingham coach Jim Hilyer.

"Witcomb) had an outstanding game as did our receivers." McKinney was the Blazers' leading receiver, catching five passes for 131 yards. His longest catch was a 50- yarder. Buccaneer coach David Dowd complained that Charleston Southern gave Alabama-Birmingham too many chances. "UAB scored four times after our turnovers. We can't compete against a team like them and make those types of mistakes," Dowd said.

"We gained enough yards to score with them, but the turnovers killed us." Charleston Southern had 399 yards of offense to Alabama-Birmingham's 469. Alabama-Birmingham 14 14 7 13-48 Charleston Southern 0 0 6-20 UAB-Green 1 run (Thompson kick) UAB-Thornton 7 run (Thompson kick) CSU 2 run (Decker kick) UAB-Nation 12 pass from Witcomb (Thompson kick) UAB-McKinney 23 pass from Witcomb (Thompson kick) -Culmer 2 run (Thurmond kick) CSU -Gomillon 10 run (kick failed) UAB-Green 15 run (Thompson kick) CSU-Gomilion 71 run (kick failed) UAB-Green 3 run (Thompson kick) UAB-Coalson 19 pass from Holladay (kick failed) A Individual statistics RUSHING-UAB, Green 24-91; Thornton 6- 10; Sinclair 1-3; Witcomb 1-(-8). CSU, Gomillion 15-109; Dereef 7-37; Gordon 8-69; Johnson 11-36; Oliver 1-10; Brinkerhuff 2-16. PASSING -UAB, Witcomb 22-40-354; Holladay 1-1-19. CSU, Johnson 12-26-122.

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