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SWIMMING: Kansas begins season at Southern Illinois. SEE PAGE 2B. SOCCER: Kansas soccer to play at Iowa State and Nebraska. SEE PAGE 2B
SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WWW.KANSAN.COM/SPORTS
1B
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2001
Commentary
Chris Wristen
Columnist
opinionkansan.com
Bundle of joy awaits player
Holloman, is a 6-foot-3, 290-pound senior defensive tackle for the Kansas football team. He's a big man. He has big shoulder pads, wears big clothes and has big shoes. Generally, he likes things big.
But right now the only thing that can make this giant smile is something tiny, about the size of a football — a baby girl.
Within the next two weeks, his wife, Erika, is expected to give birth to a daughter, and she'll be arriving just in time.
Her daddy needs her just as much as she needs him right now.
Erika gave birth to a daughter, Nia last November. It was the happiest moment of Holloman's life, and he cried with joy as doctors handed him his little miracle.
Nia lived every day in a hospital incubator as doctors battled to help her overcome complications caused by Down syndrome, but it wasn't enough to save her.
Nia died 48 days later, and Holloman spiraled into sadness. He looked at pictures of Nia, he thought about her constantly and he cried a lot.
He missed the baby girl he held only three times. He loved her, and he wanted to protect her and care for her just like his mother cared for him.
So was his motivation.
But she was gone.
He stopped going to class and stopped playing football. He lost focus and lived in sorrow and seclusion.
Late last spring he missed his teammates, missed the smell of the locker room and missed learning.
He overcame his sadness and returned to the classroom. He improved his grades and found the courage to step back onto the football field.
But he won't play tomorrow against Texas Tech because another blow struck.
The former Junior College All-American at Garden City Community College has started all three games this year for the Jayhawks and has 15 tackles in three games this season, nearly surpassing the 21 he had in 10 games last year.
Holloman's mother, Bernice Bush,
passed away on Saturday after having a
heart attack last Monday in Wichita
The woman who raised him and 11 brothers and sisters in a small Wichita home died, and Holloman will be at her funeral this weekend.
Now he hurts again, but happier days are coming.
His new baby girl is on the way, and she will bring joy back to Holloman's life. What a perfect gift at the perfect time.
Holloman has already lost a daughter, but that just showed him how much he wanted to be a father. He lost his mother, but she showed him how to love children and give them the things they need to succeed.
Now it's his turn.
Wristen is a Leawood senior in journalism.
Preparing to eye the sky
KANSAN FILE PHOTO
Kansas senior wide receiver Roger Ross breaks away from the Southwest Missouri State defense during the Jayhawks' home opener Sept. 1. Ross could help the Javahaws counter a strong Texas Tech offense tomorrow.
Kansas plans to blitz against pass-happy Texas Tech team
By Brent Briggeman Kansan sportswriter
Air shows have become a weekly occurrence in Lubbock, Texas, but that hasn't always been the case.
When Mike Leach took the coaching job at Texas Tech last season, he turned one of the Big 12 Conference's best rushing offenses into the league's most pass-happy unit.
Leach has been able to make the transition work because of two key players: quarterback Cliff Kingsbury and running back Ricky Williams.
Kingsbury, a 6-foot-4 junior, has averaged more than 50 pass attempts per game and is the composed leader of the offense.
"He has great field awareness," said Tom Hayes, Kansas defensive coordinator. "You can just tell he has a lot of experience."
Kingsbury leads the nation with 35 completions per game and his 139.1 quarterback rating is at the top of the conference. Of the nation's top 50 quarterbacks in number of completions, Kingsbury is the only one who has averaged less than 10 yards per completion.
The reason for the low yardage is that the Red Raiders throw short passes to Williams out of the backfield.
With 29 catches in three games, the fast, shifty back is second in the country in receptions-per-game.
Kansas safety Jamarel Bryant said the defense was concerned about Williams.
"We'll key on him wherever he goes," Bryant said. "He's just a good player. He does everything for their offense."
In addition to leading the team in receptions and receiving yards, Williams has amassed 191 yards rushing, more than the top two Kansas rushers combined. He is the last remnant of the Texas Tech running teams and was among the nation's leaders in 1998 when he rushed for 1,582 yards as a sophomore.
It looked as though Williams would be the third Texas Tech back to run for more than 4,000 career yards since 1986, but injuries and a different scheme have pushed Williams into a new role.
He quickly adapted to his role last year, catching seven passes and carrying 15 times for a total of 120 yards in the Red Raiders' 45-39 win against the Jocks in Lawrence.
Even though the Texas Tech passing game burned Kansas last year for 409 yards, Kansas coach Terry Allen said the addition of Hayes changed Kansas' approach.
Hayes said the game plan would be to rush Kingsbury, forcing him to throw the ball no more than two or three yards downfield.
From there, Hayes said, the defensive backs would have to make tackles, a task senior Andrew Davison is ready to accept.
"We've got to be ready for the challenge," said Davison, a three-year starter at cornerback. "We know they're going to make some plays, but we've going to prevent the big plays."
'Hawks look for fresh start
Contact Briggeman at 864-4858
By Jeff Denton Kansan sportswriter
Instead, the team has taken the last 13 days to get rejuvenated to play the rest of its season.
The Kansas football team has not spent the last two weeks dwelling on what exactly went wrong in its second-half meltdown against Colorado on Sept. 22.
A win tomorrow against Texas Tech would create an even 2-2 slate for the Jayhawks before they march into their most difficult stretch of the season.
And Kansas coach Terry Allen said he had seen a fire in his club since its second loss. He sees a team prepared to play against an opponent it thinks it can beat.
"It's good to be playing football." Allen said. "It's a game they think they can win, and they're excited to play."
Winning on the road has been difficult for Kansas — it has a 1-10 record away from Memorial Stadium in the past two seasons.
But the time off has allowed the
Kansas offense to get more comfortable with its diversified approach.
After operating from a one-back, no-huddle look in its first two games, the Jayhawks used more two-tight end and fullback formations to bolster its running attack.
An extra blocker on the line and another in the backfield helped, allowing starting running back Reggie Duncan to gain 70 yards, by far his largest output of the season.
Offensive coordinator Rip Scherer said he had intended on using the running game to move the football against Texas Tech.
Texas Tech has averaged more than 50 passes a game and has usually lined up with four wide receivers to complement junior quarterback Kliff Kingsburv.
"You can't be one-dimensional," Scherer said. "You've got to run the football to be productive."
A fifth weapon, Red Raider running back Ricky Williams, is Texas Tech's leading receiver.
Kansas defensive coordinator Tom Hayes knew that his defense would have its hands full.
Hayes said a key to stopping Texas Tech was to rotate in fresh defenders.
"They present a lot of challenges," Hayes said. "You can get gassed up front if you are not mixing your guys in there. And when they put wide receivers on the field, there are, at times, when we are going to match them with more defensive backs."
Hayes said junior safety Matt Jordan and senior cornerback Quincy Roe would be the extra defenders in passing-down situations.
Senior linebacker Algie Atkinson said he thought that this game would be the season's turning point.
"It's a big game for our program because a loss here would set us up to have to beat some good teams like a Kansas State or Nebraska on our schedule," Atkinson said.
Kansas is 0-7 all-time against Texas Tech.
Contact Denton at 864-4858
Volleyball team to face equal foe
The Texas Tech volleyball team will try to overcome its recent difficulties on the road when the Red Raiders visit Kansas at 7 p.m. tomorrow at the Horeisi Family Athletic Center.
By Steve Laurenzo Kansan sportswriter
The Red Raiders have lost both of their Big 12 Conference road games to
Missouri and Colorado. Playing at home in Lubbock, Texas, Texas Tech (8-4, 2-2) defeated No. 25 Kansas State on Sept. 22, and swept Iowa State on Wednesday.
Kansas coach Ray Bechard said Kansas (11-4, 2-4) and Texas Tech were evenly matched.
"It'll be two enthusiastic groups
trying to play well and come away with a win." Bechard said. "Tech will come in extremely motivated. It's a match both opponents would like to win in order to move up."
Jayhawk sophomore outside hitter Abbie Jacobson had a career match Wednesday night in a losing effort
SEE VOLLEY PAGE 3B
Rantala:named to SoccerBuzz magazine's elite team
She is the first Kansas player to receive the honor.
"Hilla deserves it," said coach Mark Francis. "She's had a great season."
Rantala posted a school record of four assists in Kansas' 5-3 victory against the Cowboys last Sunday. She added another assist in the Jayhawk's upset 2-0 victory against Oklahoma a week ago.
Soccer Buzz, an online magazine devoted to women's collegiate soccer, selects players each week to make up the nationwide elite team. No other Big 12 Conference player made this week's list.
"That's a great honor for her and for our program," Francis said. "They only pick 11 players in the country, and for someone from Kansas to get recognition, is awesome."
Rantala said that people were starting to take notice of the Jahawks' success on
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
Soccer player honored again
By Ryan Wood Kansan sportswriter
St. Louis 10
Senior forward Hilla Rantala is having the most prolific offensive season Kansas has ever seen — and the honors keep piling up as a result.
Rantala was named to Soccer Buzz magazine's Elite Team of the Week yesterday. She received the award for her efforts in the Jayhawks' victories against Oklahoma and Oklahoma State last weekend.
SEE RANTALA PAGE 36
Milwaukee 3
Philadelphia
2
RECORDS CHASE
Barry Bonds hit his 70th home run last night, tying Mark McGwire's 1998 single-season record. Bonds will attempt to break the record in the Giants' final three games against the Dodgers. The Padres 'Rickey Henderson hit a home run and scored the 2,248th run of his career, breaking Ty Cobb's record for runs scored. Henderson is completing his 23rd season in the majors.
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