VOLLEYBALL The Jayhawks went undefeated at this weekend's Oral Roberts Classic in Tulsa. PAGE 48
SPORTS
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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2004
JACK WEINSTEIN
iweinstein@kansan.com
Beck helps 'Hawks save big victory
What an opening weekend for Kansas' fall sports. The basketball team had the pleasure of thumping its foes on the court and hopefully dished out a little extra for all those Canadian disasters like Celine Dion, the Montreal Expos and mayonnaise on hamburgers. Maybe you could tell, but I'm not a big fan of our neighbor to the north. But, I didn't make the trip to Canada, so I'm not going to talk about those games.
The reason the Jayhawks were able to stay in the game in the first half, and ultimately win, was the defense. Yes — the defense. Not the offense that, prior to the season, was expected to be the strength of this team. Kansas outplayed and outmanned a Tulsa team that won eight games and appeared in a bowl a year ago.
I did, however, travel to Memorial Stadium on Saturday to see the Jayhawks stick it to that meteorological phenomenon known as the Golden Hurricane. Who knew Oklahoma had hurricanes?
KANSAS 21—TULSA 3
The star on defense for the 'Hawks was none other than Gabe...not..so...fast. The star was junior linebacker Kevin Kane, Yep, Kevin Kane. Who knew? I'm not saying that fellow junior linebacker and last year's defensive leader/force/anchor, Gabe Toomey didn't play well. He had several tough tackles, but I'm sure I wasn't the only one surprised to see Toomey at outside linebacker instead of roaming the field from the middle.
Members of the KU football team celebrate with senior wide receiver Brandon Rideau after he recovered the ball from a blocked punt during the third quarter of the game against Tulsa Saturday afternoon at Memorial Stadium. The game concluded in a Jayhawk victory of 21-3.
Kane was a stud on Saturday. He recorded four total tackles, including a sack and an interception that he nearly ran back for a touchdown.
While Kane was great and a nice surprise, the biggest present for this team was the superb play of the defensive line. The line chased Tulsa quarterback James Kilian, a Johnny Unitas Award candidate, and sacked him seven times. If Kilian were not as fast or as mobile, that number would be much higher.
The sacks were highlighted by a safety by junior defensive tackle, Tim "The Tool Man" Allen, early in the fourth quarter. That was lovely, but the key stat of the game was KU's defense holding Tulsa to only 17 yards of total offense and four first downs in the second half.
This was an odd game filled with bizarre plays and strange scoring. There are arguably three plays that could be considered key defensive plays. The obvious one would be the blocked punt late in the third quarter by senior wide receiver Brandon Rideau, who made up for dropping several passes that hit him squarely in the mitts. Junior cornerback Theo Baines intercepted a pass in the second quarter on the first play of a Tulsa drive in Kansas territory.
But my play of the game came from everyone's favorite punching bag, senior kicker Johnny Beck. Beck did miss a field goal, albeit a long one from 45 yards, and an extra point. But he may have saved the game with an open field tackle after a kickoff early in the third quarter.
After Beck's twenty-yard field goal, he kicked off to Tulsa's Ashlan Davis who eluded several tacklers before Beck was able to take out his legs prior to Davis running straight to the end zone with nothing but fake grass in front of him. A touchdown would have given Tulsa a 9-6 lead before the extra point and a ton of momentum. It would have been tough for the Jayhawks to recover after a play like that.
Luckily for Kansas and thanks to Johnny Beck, they didn't have to.
Weinstein is an Overland Park senior in English.
Kansas defeats Tulsa
Kit Leffler/KANSAN
Defense holds Golden Hurricanes to three points
BY JONATHAN KEALING
jkealing@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTSWRIETER
Last season, a blistering offense overwhelmed Kansas' football opponents. If Saturday's game is any indication, the hallmark of this Jayhawk team will be its defense.
Kansas coach Mark Mangino hadn't won a season opener in his previous two years with the Jayhawks. That streak ended Saturday when Kansas rode a strong defensive performance to a 21-3 victory against Tulsa.
The first half of the game started slowly with neither team able to score. Each team's first two series resulted in punts. In the first half, Tulsa accumulated five first downs, while Kansas managed just one.
The only scoring opportunity of the half came when Kansas notched its one first down. After a Tulsa punt gave Kansas the ball at the 50-yard line, a four-yard rush by junior running back Clark Green and a 15-yard pass from sophomore Adam Barmann to junior wide receiver Mark Simmons set up Kansas at Tulsa's 31-yard line.
After two short rushes by Green, Mangino called on senior kicker Johnny Beck. Beck, who had difficulty with short field goals and extra points at the end of last season, attempted a 45-yard field goal. His kick went wide right of the uprights. Beck later missed an extra point on one of Kansas' two touchdowns.
"We missed an extra point, and that's an issue with me. We're past that," Mangino said.
Tulsa had 10 offensive series in the first half, but the Kansas defense hold
tough almost every time. To start the second quarter Tulsa went 50 yards in eight plays and drove to the Kansas sixyard line before stalling and kicking a field goal to go up 3-0.
Junior transfer defensive end Jermial Ashley knocked down a pass and forced a third and goal that Tulaa didn't convert.
Mangino said he was impressed with Ashley's plav.
"Jermial Ashley, for his first collegiate start, did a very good job. Put pressure on the quarterback, played the run well, I think he batted down a
pass," Mangino said. "That's the kind of play that we need on defense."
Ashley downplayed his performance. "Our coach is always talking about making plays, and I wanted to make something happen. The guys around me are who made everything happen."
Going into the locker at halftime, the score was tied 3-3 after a 51-yard Johnny Beck field goal late in the first half. The stats were not in Kansas' favor. Barmann was 7-19 with a net of 57 yards. Tulsa quarterback James Killian threw for 76 yards while going 8-18. Kansas accumulated just 23 yards
rushing. while Tulsa notched 48
"We talked at halftime about some of the things we needed to do to win," Mangino said. "We knew we had someone coming off the bench in the second half that wasn't going to play in the first half."
Mangino was alluding to the first-half suspension of sophomore running back John Randle. Randle had three run-ins with Lawrence law enforcement this past offseason, and Mangino intended to punish him by not allowing
SEE DEFEATS ON PAGE 8B
Basketball wins north of border
BY JESSE NEWELL
jnewell@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTSWRIVER
Editor's Note: Kansan sportswriter Jesse Newell spent the weekend in Canada, serving as the eyes and ears of Jayhawk basketball fans who were unable to watch the men's team play north of the border. To read Newell's game stories, notes and observations from the entire exhibition tour, check out www.kansan.com. Pick up Thursday's Kansan for Newell's wrap-up column, summarizing the four-game trip.
BURNABY, British Columbia Subbing out of the game, Burnaby forward Aaron Christensen tried to warn teammate Pete Guarasci.
Unfortunately for the Burnaby All-Stars, they found this out too late. Senior forward Wayne Simien took over for the Jayhawks, scoring 25 points in 25 minutes to lead Kansas to a 98-76 victory over Burnaby.
"That 23," Christensen said, "he's a good player."
The All-Stars, made mostly of players from Simon Fraser University, provided the Jayhawks with its toughest test of the exhibition trip. Burnaby pulled to within eight at 55-47 in the second half, but could not find a match for Simien inside. The senior made 12 of 14 shot attempts, including a three-pointer in the second half.
"Simien plays like a pro already," Guarasci said. "He knows when to shoot, when to score and when to pass."
Couch Bill Self said he felt Simien was the only player who would be able to compete if the season started in
"I worked hard this summer on my range and getting up a lot of shots," Simien said. "It's paid off so far."
September.
"Wayne shot the ball unbelievably this trip." Self said.
Burnaby hung around early, taking a 13-12 lead on a Brent Clement three, but Kansas responded two minutes later with a 26-6 run to build its lead.
Simien and the rest of the Jayhawks lit up the nets in the second half, making 20 of their 27 shots for 74 percent.
Temperers flared after an incident in the first half when Charleton gave freshman forward Alex Galindo a shove in the backcourt. Self became upset with the officials, then yelled at Scott Clark when the Burnaby coach defended his player's actions and directly addressed Self.
Senior guard Michael Lee added 17 points, while freshman Alex Galindo added 15, knocking in four consecutive three-pointers in the second half. Sophomore guard J.R. Giddens also added double figures with 13, and guard Aaron Miles had 10 assists. Senior guard Keith Langford did not play in the game because of his injured knee.
Keesas notes —
A bagpipe player provided musical entertainment before the game.
Simon Fraser had the only cheerleaders the Jayhawks saw during the trip.
Self yelled at an official, saying Darnell Jackson couldn't have been in the lane for three seconds on a three-second call. The official responded by saying, "He was in there for four." Self managed a smile.
Observations
First half — The jayhawks came out with hot shooting, making four of their first five shots ... Simien had a nice drive to the basket at the 17-40 mark, finishing with a right-handed baby hook
SEE BASKETBALL ON PAGE 8B
--to help the team anyway I can. Just keep scoring and be an offensive threat."
Rylan Howe/KANSAN
Kansas forward Jessica Smith prepares to kick the ball past St. Louis defender Kara Kornfeld. The Jayhawks defeated the Billikins 2-0 on Sunday at SuperTarget Field.
Weekend victories bring soccer to 4-0
BY JASON ELMQUIST
jlemquist@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTSWRIVER
The Kansas women's soccer team did double duty over the weekend, playing Wisconsin-Milwaukee and St. Louis University at the KUstore.com Crimson & Blue Invitational.
On Friday, the Jayhawks faced Wisconsin-Milwaukee, a team coming off its first loss of the season. The Jayhawk team outshot the Panthers in the first half 7-3, but did not get on the board until sophomore transfer Nicole Cazuillo scored off a pass from sophomore midfielder Jessica Killpatrick at the 27:59 mark of the first half.
The goal was Cauzillo's first as a Jayhawk and came on her 19th birthday.
"It ites great to score this early on in the season," Cauzliu said. "I just want
In the second half, WisconsinMilwaukee attacked the net more effectively. The team made five shots on goal, but Kansas goalkeeper Meghan Miller blocked all five shots to reach six saves for the game and a third consecutive shutout to start the season. The shutout increased Miller's career shutout total to 22 and brought her current shutout streak to 270 minutes for the season.
"The back four that are in front of me, whoever's out there, they do an awesome job." Miller said.
Coach Mark Francis credited Miller's performance for the 1-0 victory. Despite the outcome, Francis was not happy with the rest of the team's play in
SEE SOCCER ON PAGE 8B
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