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SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WWW.KANSAN.COM/5PORTS
1B
MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2002
Erratic Jayhawks
Kansas plays well at times against A&M but loses; QB Whittemore battered,but shines in defeat
By John Domoney
jdomoney@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
If there's one wish of the Kansas football team as it prepares for this Saturday's border war against the University of Missouri, it's for the Jayhawks to play a complete four quarters of football against the rival Tigers.
Saturday's 47-22 loss to Texas A&M was eerily reminiscent of other Jayhawk losses in which Kansas has played well in spurs but not in the consistent fashion that wins football games.
"We got out there and give it our all and we come out with a loss, nobody wants to lose," said senior linebacker Greg Cole. "Then we just go back to the drawing board and try and get ready for the next opponent."
All week the Kansas defense and defensive coordinator Bill Young had focused on the Aggie running game, but it was the passing attack of sophomore quarterback Dustin Long that had the Jayhawk defenders on their heels.
Long torched the Jayhawks for 399 passing yards and three touchdowns on 18-of-32 passing.
Long's 407 total yards of offense was the second best single-game effort in Texas A&M history. The 399 passing yards are the fifth most all-time by a Kansas opponent.
"In the secondary we certainly had
"The matchups and the speed hurt us a little bit but we still have to be able to play the ball better,play some man coverage a lot better and I think we just have to keep at it."
Mark Mangino Kansas football coach
some struggles there," said Kansas coach Mark Mangino. "The matchups and the speed hurt us a little bit but we still have to be able to play the ball better, play some man coverage a lot better and I think we just have to keep at it."
After being outscored 41-9 in the first quarters of last three games, Kansas (2-6 overall, 0-4 Big 12 Conference) was able to hold the Aggies to a scoreless tie through the first period, but Texas A&M quickly established the momentum early in the second.
In less than five minutes at the beginning of the second quarter, the Aggies took a scoreless game and tacked on three touchdowns.
The last of those three touchdowns came on a Randall Webb 12-yard fumble return for a touchdown after he scooped up a Greg Heaggans fumble on the kickoff.
As the second half began with the
Aggies leading 24-0, the Jayhawks showed the never-say-die attitude they have displayed all season.
After Leo Etienne recovered an Aggie fumble, junior quarterback Bill Whittmore found senior wide receiver Byron Gasaway two plays later for an 18-yard touchdown pass midway through the third quarter.
On the next possession, the Jayhawk defense forced another turnover, as Etienne picked off a pass from Reggie McNeal, who replaced Long in the third quarter.
Kansas looked poised to put more points on the board, but a Johnny Beck 35-yard field goal was wiped off the scoreboard because of an illegal procedure penalty. The subsequent 40-yard attempt was partially blocked.
The Jayhawks pulled to within 31-15 at the beginning of the fourth quarter when Whittimore connected with Gasaway for a 12-yard touchdown pass, but the Aggies put the game away with 16 unanswered points.
Once again, Whittemore carried the Jayhawk offense, as he accounted for 230 of Kansas' 289 total offensive yards. The two passing touchdowns and one rushing touchdown moved him into a tie for first place with former quarterback Chip Hilley on the Kansas single-season touchdown list with 20.
But Whittemore took a licking from
SEE KANSAS ON PAGE 6B
Freshman safety Donnie Amadi thwarts Texas A&M receiver Terrence Murphy's effort to try and pull down a pass in the end zone. Murphy racked up 99 of the Aggies' 428 receiving yards against the Jayhawks on Saturday.
John Nowak/Kansan
John Nowak/Kansan
Aggie quarterback Dustin Long drops back for a pass during the second quarter. Long completed 18 passes and three touchdowns while racking up 399 yards against the struggling Jayhawk defense.
Texas A&M sets records
Aggies beat Hawks with record passing receiving yards
By Doyle Murphy
dmurphy@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
The 2002 Kansas football team will be remembered in the record books.
Unfortunately for the Jayhawks, their name will be linked with their opponents' best offensive performances.
Texas A&M's sophomore quarterback Dustin Long became the latest to
post record-breaking numbers against Kansas when he set the Aggies' passing mark by completing 18 of 32 passes for 399 yards to lead his team to a 47-22 win Saturday.
Long's display came just one week after University of Colorado junior running back Chris Brown turned in the third-most yards (309) in a single game by a Buffalo ball carrier.
Like Brown, Long gave most of the credit for his statistical explosion to his teammates.
"It's easy when you throw it 20 yards and they run the rest of the 60 for an 80- yard touchdown," Long said.
Long's numbers might have been even better. He missed part of the third quarter when Texas A&M
coach R.C. Slocum pulled him so freshman quarterback Reggie McNeal could get some playing time. McNeal completed two of five passes for 29 yards, and threw an interception before Slocum decided to reinstate Long.
Slocum said Long had missed opportunities early in the game, but he found his groove when he returned.
"He had a good day, made some big plays, a couple of beautiful balls," Slocum said. "The last long pass there was just perfectly thrown."
The Aggies' top three wide receivers abused an inexperienced Kansas secondary all afternoon. Junior Jamaar
SEE TEXAS ON PAGE 6B
Weekend race tough on runners
The Kansas men's and women's cross country teams finished 28th and 26th, respectively, Saturday at the NCAA Pre-Nationals Invitational hosted by Indiana State in Terre Haute, Ind.
The women (33-27, 4-2 Bi0g 12) competed against 36 teams in the six kilometer White race. Big 12 rivals who also participated in the race included Baylor, Texas A&M and Iowa State.
The Kansas women were led by junior Laura Lavoie who placed 64th of 254 runners with a time of 21:42. Junior Paige Higgins was the second Jayhawk to cross the finish line. She came in 98th overall with a time of 22:02. Sophomore Megan Manthe was the third for the team with a time
SEE CROSS COUNTRY ON PAGE 6B
Soccer scores victories
By Daniel Berk dberk@kansan.com Kansan sportswriter.
Heading into weekend play, Kansas soccer coach Mark Francis said it was vital that his team play hard and rebound from a tough loss to Oklahoma last Sunday.
The Jayhawks won both games without the help of three players. Seniors Nikki Wahle and Lindsay Hunting and junior Carmel Kaplinger were suspended for the pair of weekend games for violating two team rules.
"The girls were suspended one game for each rule they broke," Francis said. "They served their suspension and are back with the team and will play with us this weekend."
His team did just that by defeating Central Missouri State on Fridav 5-0 and conference rival Iowa State 2-1 yesterday.
Francis said he would not comment on what rules had been violated.
Both Wahle and Hunting missed the annual senior day game against Iowa State yesterday. Two seniors, Brooke Jones and Brianna Valento, were honored at the pre-game ceremony.
Having absent players did not stand in the way of the Jay hawks. Kansas scored four goals in the first half of the game against Central Missouri State on Friday. The team struck early as it scored three goals in the first 17 minutes of action.
John Nowak/Kansar
The first goal came at the 7:54 mark when junior Maggie Mason tallied her second goal of the season. Freshman Jessica
Freshman Jessica Smith dodges a slide tackle from an Iowa State defender. Smith scored the game-winning goal in yesterday's game, putting the Jayhawks ahead 2-1.
Smith and sophomore Rachel Gilfillan followed with goals at
SEE SOCCER ON PAGE 6B
Team falls to rivals over break
By Jason Hwang
jhwang@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
Fall break was not kind to the Kansas volleyball squad.
The Jayhawks (14-4, 5-4 Big 12) dropped two matches 3-0 to two conference rivals. The first sweep (30-27, 30-25, 30-22) came courtesy of the Kansas State Wildcats (11-6, 7-2 Big 12) Wednesday in Lawrence. Saturday, the No. 22 Missouri Tigers (17-3, 7-2 Big 12) rolled over the Jayhawks (30-22, 30-16, 30-24) at the Hearnes Center in Columbia, Mo.
The Jayhawks set a single-match season low for team hitting percentage .089) against Missouri. The Tigers' offense registered a .325 team hitting per-
SEE VOLLEYBALL ON PAGE 6B