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1B
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2002
Falcons claw'Hawks
Quarterback Bill Whittemore picks himself up after scrambling for a short gain. Pressure from the Falcon defense forced Whittemore to run to avoid a loss. Whittemore rushed for 31 yards
Miscues doom Jayhawks
By John Domoney
jdomoney@kansan.com
Kansan sportwriter
As the Kansas football team enters a week of practice preparing for its game Saturday at Tulsa, the Jayhawks are not as concerned with the Golden Hurricane as they are with their own play
"You can't give a good football team an advantage like that," Kansas coach Mark Mangino said. "We're not a good enough football team to give points away like that and come back and win the game."
In Saturday night's 39-16 defeat to Bowling Green, Kansas fumbled twice on successive possessions, giving the Falcons all the momentum they needed to break the game wide open.
Midway through the second quarter, with Kansas clinging to a 9-7 lead, Bowling Green linebacker Mitch Hewitt recovered Kansas quarterback
Bill Whittemore's fumble in the end zone.
The momentum continued to swing in the Falcons' favor on the ensuing kickoff. Kick returner Greg Heagans fumbled the short Bowling Green kick and the Falcons recovered the ball deep in Kansas territory.
In a drive that consumed less than one minute, Bowling Green running back Joe Alls connected with quarterback Josh Harris for a 15-yard touchdown pass that pushed the score to 22-9.
The Bowling Green onslaught continued as the Falcons scored 29 unanswered points in the second and third quarters behind the running of Alls.
Kansas had been giving up an average of 245 yards per game on the ground this year, and Bowling Green exploited the defense for 350 yards. Alls led the Falcons with 161 yards on 20 carries.
"Until we can stop the run and make
a commitment to stop the run, we're going to be in trouble as a defensive unit," Mangino said.
All week the Kansas defense focused on Harris. The junior quarterback concerned the Jayhawks with his ability to combine passing with a dangerous threat to run out of the pocket.
After a first quarter that saw the Jayhawk defense limit the Falcons to 15 total yards of offense, Harris broke loose for 138 yards through the air and 98 yards on the ground.
"I'm disappointed with the mental toughness of our defense," Mangino said. "I thought when they were faced with adversity we did a poor job of responding to it."
Mangino wasn't as concerned with the performance of Bowling Green and Harris as he was with his own defense
- Edited by Matt Norton and Chris Wintering
Elevator ride traps Falcons before game
By Doyle Murphy
dmurpy@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
Bowling Green running back Joe Alls ran circles around Kansas defenders Saturday, but he couldn't go anywhere earlier in the day.
Alls, a senior, was one of 21 Falcons trapped in an elevator at the Overland Park Marriott, where the team stayed the night before.
On its way to the fourth floor the elevator paused between the first and second floors before dropping back down to the first. Bowling Green players and staff waited in
SEE ELEVATOR ON PAGE 6B
Soccer team holds off Oakland
By Nikki Overfelt
noverfelt@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
Heavy rainfall could not stop the Kansas soccer team Saturday, which defeated Oakland 1-0. Because of unplayable field conditions, the team had to play on an intramural field, which was 10 yards short of regulation.
With Saturday's win and a win over Evansville on Thursday, Kansas won the ProRehac Aces Soccer Classic in Evansville. Ind. The win also improved the team's record to 6-1-1, which is the best start in school history.
start in school. Rachel Gillfillan, sophomore forward, scored the lone goal of the game in the opening minutes of the second period off an assist from Carmel Kaplinger, junior forward/midfielder, and Caroline Smith, freshman forward.
Four Jayhawks were named to the All Tournament team: Smith; Lauren Williams, sophomore midfielder; Holly Ryder, freshman midfielder; and Meghan Miller, sophomore goalkeeper. Miller was named the tournament's defensive MVP with two shutouts and 11 saves.
Francis said he was pleased with the team's defense in the tournament and that Miller was a key to the defensive success.
"She didn't get that much to do, but when she did, she came up big," he said.
Miller said that the defense was really starting to gel.
"We're excited for conference play," she said. "We are going in on a positive note with five consecutive wins."
Kansas will open conference play at 4 p.m. on Friday against Colorado at home on SuperTarget Field, West 19th Street, west of Oliver Hall.
Monica Brothers, sophomore forward, said the team would be going into conference play with confidence.
"We are really pulling together," she said. "Conference is like a new season, and we are ready to start that new season."
Edited by Amanda Sears
Nash out four weeks with broken thumb
Kansas officials announced Friday that basketball player Bryant Nash will miss four weeks of preseason work after breaking his thumb.
The junior sustained the injury while trying to defend a drive down the lane by sophomore guard Aaron Miles during a pickup game Thursday night. The injury does not require surgery but Nash will wear a cast.
Nash averaged 1.0 points and 0.7 rebounds in 30 games last season.
Practice for the 2002-03 basketball season begins Saturday, Oct.12 after Late Night with Roy Williams. Late Night is set to begin at 10 p.m.on Friday. Oct.11 in Allen Field House.
The Jayhawks will play their first exhibition game on Nov. 4 against the EA Sports All-Stars.
-Kansanstaff report
Kansas volleyball sweeps Sooners
Jason Hwang
jhwang@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
The Kansas volleyball team earned its first Big 12 Conference win Saturday when it swept the Oklahoma Sooners three games to none (30-23, 30-19, 30-20) at Horeisi Family Athletics Center.
The volleyball team (9-1, 1-1 Big 12) is now 5-0 against the Sooners (3-7, 1-1) in Lawrence under the reins of coach Ray Bechard. This match marks the third consecutive time Kansas swept Oklahoma in three games at home.
homa in three games under Kansas had more digs (42-32) and more service aces than Oklahoma, and the Jayhawks held the Sooners to a .126 team hitting percentage. Junior outside hitter Abbie Jacobson said the team got in front of the Sooners' hitters and read the defenses well to register blocks and digs.
"Our team is going out with relentless pursuit right now to every ball," she said.
pursuit right now to every game. She Jacobson had match-highs of 14 kills and 10 digs to record her first double-double of the season. Freshman middle blocker Josiane Lima registered her third double-double of the season with 12 kills and a match-high 10 digs. Senior defensive specialist Jennifer Kraft tallied six digs and three service aces. Kraft moves up to be tied for second place in all-time career aces with 123. Freshman setter Andi Rozum dished out 39 assists.
In game one Kansas began slow, trailing 5-1 in the start. But the team countered with an 11-2 run to take the lead at 12-7. The Jayhawks manufactured scoring runs of 5-0 and 4-0 to win the game 30-23. Kansas blocked six attempted kills from Oklahoma, which committed 10 hitting errors.
"We knew they would be excited and
to play and we just kept our composure." Bechard said. "This team trusts each other showed that by not losing their poise and coming back to play a clean game."
The roles reversed in game two as Kansas came out with a fast 12-2 start. Oklahoma made a 4-0 run to trail Kansas 16-12 but the game never came any closer and Kansas won 30-19. The Sooners were held to a .000 team hitting percentage in game two.
In the final game, the Jayhawks broke out with a start of 12-4. With their smallest deficit, the Sooners came within six points of Jayhawks. The Jayhawks took the game 30-20.
the game 5 to the Jayhawks' next match is against Colorado at 7 p.m. Wednesday in Boulder, Colo.
Edited by Lauren Beatt
Brandon Baker/Kansan
Jordan Garrison, Aurora, III., junior spikes as two Sooners attempt to block. The Jayhawks defeated Oklahoma Saturday at home.
Lack of effort against Bowling Green frustrates Mangino
Kansas football coach Mark Mangino has always promised that his players would never give up. Since his hiring last December, Mangino said he couldn't guarantee anything except that his guys would battle for four quarters. That until the final seconds wound off the clock, there would be no quit in his boys.
Yep, after just three games and two quarters this season, Kansas decided to pack it up Saturday night during the second half of its 39-16 loss to Bowling Green.
Apparently never for the Jayhawks means 210 minutes.
"I think everybody basically gave up," freshman linebacker Nick Reid said of the Jayhawks, which were outscored
only 17-7 in the second half, but outgunned 339 yards to 131. "We didn't play to the end like we should have, or like we did the three previous games."
"You have to call what you see," said Mangino. "Tonight was the first night that it showed that we have some areas that we have to be mentally tougher in."
After nearly a half hour private postgame tongue lashing with his players, Mangino, for the first time as a coach, publicly chewed out his squad.
And that made Mangino mad — furious, in fact.
SPORTS
"I can't stand up here and tell you we did a good job, and we were just outplayed, that makes me a liar and I'm not going to do that."
Andy Samuelson asamuelson@kansan.com
If Kansas continued the way it started Saturday against one of the most talented mid-major level teams in the country, Mangino wouldn't have had to even discuss the issue.
But after holding the Falcons to 15 first-quarter yards in a scoreless game, the Jayhawks gave away a 9-7 lead when
Bowling Green scored three straight touchdowns in a five-minute span at the end of the second and beginning of the third quarters.
"That's not good enough for any team at any level," he said. "There's no question, whatsoever, that the attitude,
But that wasn't Mangino. If anything he looked more like a pit bull when he ripped into his team after the game.
Mangino said mental mistakes and lack of effort led to the Jayhawks' collapse against Bowling Green.
"There were a couple of guys here and there that had that sad, dog face look," said Greg Cole, senior linebacker, of his teammates' attitudes after giving up 29 unanswered points.
working on attitude and mental toughness and expecting to succeed rather than waiting for something bad to happen, those are the key issues."
pen, those are the lopsided score that led to the mass exodus of Jayhawk fans in the second half, it was Kansas' lack of effort.
"We don't need it sugar-coated," said quarterback Bill Whittemore. "We'll look at the film on Monday and make the necessary changes."
Like not giving up. Otherwise Kansas fans won't have seen their last sour defeat.
Samuelson is a Wichita senior in journalism.