SPORTS
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Monday, August 30,1993
11
Jayhawks no match for No.1 Seminoles
Kickoff Classic worthwhile team needs work, Mason says
Kansan sportswriter
By Matt Doyle
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Gale Sayers came close on one of his predictions regarding the Kickoff Classic. But Kansas coach Glen Mason said he was going to make sure Sayers was dead after another one of his predictions after No. 1 Florida State smashed the Jayhawks 42-0 Saturday at Giants Stadium.
Earlier this month, Sayers, former Jayhawk great and pro football hall-of-famer, said that if his alma mater got beat 40-0 in the game, it could discourage many of the players and possibly hurt the program in the long run. Once again, Mason had to defend his decision to play the game.
"Id do it again in a second," Mason said after the game. "We had an opportunity to play the No. 1 team in the nation and we got a good measuring stick of where we are as a team. I know we are capable of being a better team."
The opportunity the Kickoff Classic gave the Jayhawks showed that Florida State is indeed one of the top teams in the nation and that Kansas is not among the elite in college football — yet.
Kansas failed on two good scoring opportunities in the first half, and subsequently the
Senior Jayhawk running back George White returned the opening kickoff 48 yards
to the Seminole 38-yard line, Kansas' drive stalled at the 19-yard line and senior kicker Dan Eichloff made a 36-yard goal. But Florida State was penalized for 12 players on the field, which gave Kansas a first down. Mason decided to take the points off the board, a move that would haunt the team because four plays later, Eichloff missed a 23-yard field goal, the shortest miss of his Javhawk career.
"I normally don't take points off the board, but if you get a chance like that, you go for it, especially that early. "Mason said. "You are going to need more than a field goal to stay with Florida State."
Florida State took advantage of the muss and marched 80 yards in 12 plays, culminating in Sean Jackson's 4-yard touchdown run for a 7-10 lead.
Late in the first quarter. Eichloff had a punt blocked by Sinegale tight end Lonnie Johnson. Cornerback Clifton Abraham recovered the ball in the end zone for the touchdown.
"When you play a team like Florida State you hope nothing bad happens." Mason said. " actually you hope something good happens to get some sort of momentum."
Any chance Kansas had of getting momentum before halftime was stuffed by a valiant goal line stand by the Seminole defense. The Jayhawks had eight consecutive plays from inside the Seminole 2-yard line, four of which resulted from Florida State penalties.
With 3:15 left in the first half, Seminole corner back Corey Sawyer and linebacker Derrick Brooks stopped freshman running back June Henley short of the goal line on fourth down from inside the 1-yard线 to thwart Kansas' best opportunity of the afternoon.
"I thought I was in," said Henley, who ran for 45 yards in his collegiate debut.
Florida State coach Bobby Bowden said he thought that series hurt the Jayhawks more than it helped the Seminoles.
Florida State seized the momentum by going 99 yards for a touchdown just before halftime. Fullback William Floyd ran in from 2 yards out for a 21-0 halftime lead.
The Seminoles relied on the passing of Charlie Ward in the first half. Ward threw for 137 of his 194 yards in the opening 30 minutes. After that, the Seminoles used the running game to defeat the Jawhaves.
Smith led all rushers with 105 yards on 11 attempts and Jackson added 64 yards. White led Kansas' running game with 74 yards on 15 attempts.
Jackson scampered in for a 30-yard touchdown only 1.31 into the second half, and reserve sophomore running back Marquette dropped the running run in the third quarter for Florida State.
Bowden said he was pleased by the effort of his team but added that Florida State will be tested later this season by a better caliber of teams than Kansas.
Mason said the Jayhawks did not play well and had a lot of work to do before facing Western Carolina in Saturday's home opener.
"Sometimes you think you are good and you're not," he said. "I know we are a better team. We got knocked down today, but we'll get up and go again."
Florida State's goal-line stand stymies Kansas
By Matt Doyle
Kansan sportswriter
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Florida State linebacker Derrick Brooks said he knew what was in store for him and his teammates if Kansas scored a touchdown after it got inside the Seminole 10-yard线.
"In practice, we have conditioning drills for every touchdown we give up down near the goal line," Brooks said. "We believed that Kansas would not score. We kept telling ourselves, 'they can't get in.'"
Brooks and his defensive teammates kept the Jayhawks out of the end zone on 12 consecutive plays inside the 10-yard line late during the first half, thus keeping Kansas scores in Florida State's 42-0 victory against the Jayhawks in Saturday's Kickoff class at Giants Stadium.
Kansas trailed 14-0 late in the second quarter and was looking for a momentum building halftime. The Jayhawks drove 70 yards to the Seminole nine-yard line with less than eight minutes left in the quarter. But about five minutes and 12 plays later, Florida State denied Kansas access to the end zone.
Kansas reached the Florida State two-yard line in four plays, but the Seminole defense, led by Brooks, held off touchdowns — and extra conditioning during its next practice.
On first down, senior running back George White was stopped by Brooks, resulting in a one-yard loss. Three of the next four plays were offsides penalties on the Seminoles.
On third down, Brooks dropped junior full-back Costello Good short of the end zone. On fourth down, Brooks teamed up with cornerback Corey Sawyer to keep freshman June Henley out of the end zone and thus take away the best scoring opportunity for the Javahaws.
Brooks' goal line performance helped him win the game's Most Valuable Player award. He finished with 11 tackles and one quarterback sack.
Coach Glen Mason said his team's inability to reach the end zone was embarrassing.
"I'm an old offensive-line coach, and we won't wait until tomorrow to straighten that out." Mason said. "We'll straighten that out tonight because we're better than that."
The Kansas offensive line was affected by injuries in the game. Senior center Dan Schmidt snapped the ball only during field-goal attempts, and his replacement, freshman Jared Smith, left in the second quarter with a sprained ankle. Starting left tackle Rod Jones, a sophomore, suffered a sprained right knee, and senior tight end Dwayne Chandler sprained his right foot.
Jones' replacement, junior Derek Brown, was playing in his first competitive football game. He didn't play during high school or his first two years in college at Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia.
Junior guard John Jones said the goal-line stand by Florida State left the offense with many questions.
"It was tough to have so many shots to score from the two and come up with nothing," Jones said. "We can't afford so many mistakes in such a key situation."
Sterling softball success
Senior softball pitcher Stephani Williams relies on her rise ball pitch in most games. "When it works, it's the only thing I have to use," she said.
Pitching, school and talking natural to player
By Gerry Fey
Kansan sportswriter
The appearance of a rainbow probably means there is a pot of gold hidden under it for the typical person.
Kansas softball pitcher Stephan Williams is not a typical person.
"She thinks different than the normal person," Kansas coach Kalum Haack said. "We were on a van trip going somewhere for a game, and it was raining really hard. The rain stopped and a rainbow appeared. Someone on the team said, 'Look at that rainbow. You know what that means.'
Haack said Williams then replied with a detailed explanation of how raindrops form when light is reflected off the water droplets.
"School is in the forefront of my mind," Williams said. "In the fall I like to work on academics, in the spring I like softball. I'm torn between the two."
Williams is a returning National Softball Coaches Association all-American, and still maintains a grade point average above 3.80 as a senior majoring in environmental studies.
"If you want to know about anything, ask Stephan." Haack said.
Monica Gormley, Boulder, Colo., senior, joined the softball team with Williams as a freshman and has lived with her for the past three years. Gormley is no longer on the team, but said Williams has made her look at life in a different way.
"She gets all these interviews, but she stays level-headed." Gormiley said. "It's the same with grades. If I had the grades she has I would tell everybody. You have to squeeze that stuff out of her."
Calm and collected on the mound
on the mound
William's intelligence is what makes her a good pitcher. Haack said.
Williams, who pitched 41 of the Jayhawk's 47 games last year, racked up 292 2/3 innings accounting for 29 Kansas wins. As a returning softball star, she gets a lot of press, but Haack said she is an unselfish player.
"She never gets rattled," Haack said. "No matter what happens, she maintains her composure."
"She thinks of everybody before herself." Haack said. "All the personal awards she gets are no big deal. She would rather have you talk to someone else besides her. Stephani gets along with everybody."
William's sunny disposition was one of Haack's concerns during her freshman year. "I was concerned that she was being too nice," Haack said. "Your pitcher is a good athlete. What makes them good is their intensity."
"When I'm frustrated, I'm very analytical on the mount." Williams said. "I feel weird when I talk on the field. I'm not the kind of person to tell people what to do because if they make a mistake, I know that I have made those mistakes myself."
Williams said she was always thinking on the mound and therefore was not a vocal player during games.
Williams has been successful, but Haack said actual wins, losses or grades were not that bit a deal for her.
"She's not really into grades." Haack said.
"She just wants to be a good student. She is going to do her best in whatever she does. If she loses games, gae, she's not happy, but
"She never gets rattled.No matter what happens,she maintains her composure."
Kansas softball coach on senior pitcher
Stenbain Williams
she doesn't let it bother her."
This is William's philosophy, but she said she might have fallen slightly from it last season.
"Last year, I sort of adopted the philosophy that winning is everything." Williams said. "Winning and losing became a focus. I need to get out of that thinking this year."
Williams' energy and enthusiasm off the field
Williams says she tries to lead by example "I'm more of a person that goes out there and does it." Williams said.
Despite William's lack of a cheerleader personality when she pitches, she is definitely vocal off the field. She said she finally realized that she talked a lot her freshman year
"We were on a road trip, and I was taking the whole time." Williams recalled. "I was
telling everyone what each road sign said.
Finally, I realized I wasn't talking to anybody. Then, after about an hour, everyone told me to just shut up."
Another thing Williams does is eat nonstop — but she won't be seen munching on hamburgers or French fries, she prefers snacks on the healthier side. Haack said he wished he had the 5-foot-7, 145 pound pitcher's metabolism.
"She's always eating on the bench between innings," Haack said. "She eats sandwiches, fruit and drinks. When we're on the road we'll send Coach Luede and her to the grocery store to fill up her bag."
Williams said she was always worried about losing energy when she did not eat.
"I always eat stuff before the game," Williams said. "I need energy, especially when it's hot and humid. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are good."
As fall practices and games start, and Williams prepares for her senior season, she said she miss playing softball at the end of this year, but was anxious to get a job.
"Coach demands you to work hard," she said. "That has a lot to do with me being successful. I also glad that I had a lot of good classes here."
"I'll miss it, but there will be other things to take its place." Williams said. "If I had a choice, I would be a professional student. Those other things may not replace the competitiveness of softball, though."
"It's been a learning experience. I will never forget the people I've met or winning the championships with them."
After it is all over at Kansas, Williams said she will be grateful for Haack's instruction, the University's academics and the people she has met.
Senior Stephen Williams works up during practice at the jamaican field. Last year he pitched 41 of the 57 runs in his debut season.