The Kansas soccer team finished the weekend with a victory and a loss, falling to Oklahoma State 1-0 in double overtime on Friday before defeating Oklahoma 1-0 on Sunday.
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MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2006
WWW.KANSAN.COM
Most of the Big 12 schools won their games on Saturday, with the notable exception of K-State. 6B
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
SPORTS
PAGE1B
13 HE'S BACK 7
Rvan McGeeneev/KANSAN
Adam Barmann, senior quarterback, hands the ball to Jon Cornish, senior running back, during the first half of Saturday night's game against the South Florida Bulls. Barmann passed for 273 yards, connecting with seven different receivers.
game recap
FOOTBALL
FIRST QUARTER
Kansas scored the first points of the game on a 37-yard field goal by Scott Webb on its opening drive of the half. USF's drive was keyed by a 41-yard kickoff return that helped set up a touchdown to give the team a 7-3 lead. Kansas drove down the field and had the ball inside the five yard line as time expired in the quarter.
South Florida drove the length of the field, down to the three yard line, before turning the ball over on downs. Quarterback Adam Barmann started the game 3-for-3, but Kansas' punted on its first possession of the game. On the Jayhawks' second possession, the team was moving towards midfield as the quarter ended.
THIRD QUARTER
Kansas turned the ball over twice in the quarter. Wide receiver Marcus Henry fumbled a pass in the end zone, giving USF the ball at its own 20 yard line. Barmann fumbled the ball twice on Kansas' second possession. The first fumble was recovered by offensive lineman David Ochoa, but Barmann was stripped again and the ball was recovered by USF, Aqib Talib intercepted a pass at the one-yard line, stopping a USF scoring opportunity late in the second quarter.
FOURTH QUARTER
Adam Barmann looked sharp in Saturday's victory against South Florida.
Almost one year since his last start, Barmann makes immediate impact
BY RYAN SCHNEIDER
Running back Jon Cornish scored on the first play of the quarter, giving Kansas the 10-7 lead, The Jayhawks scored a field goal on their next possession. USF had the ball deep in Kansas territory with less than a minute to play, but wide receiver Ean Randolph dropped a pass that would have given his team the ball inside the five yard line. Kansas' Justin Thornton intercepted a desperation pass on the game's final play.
Believe it or not, that could mean a whole lot of trouble for Mark Mangino.
"I feel like there's so many things that I've seen and so many things that I've gone through in my career," Barmann said. "I just feel a little
Barmann, who played for injured starter Kerry Meier, arguably put together the best game of his career. He completed nearly 70 percent of his passes and threw for a career-high 273 yards in Kansas' 13-7 victory. The senior quarterback looked poised, confident and made few mistakes.
For the first time in years, Mangino entered the season with a set starter at quarterback. Meier's position, however, may be up for grabs after Barmann's performance.
Even though he hadn't started a game in nearly a year, Barmann ran the offense with relative ease. He made passes down the field, converted key third downs and, most importantly, didn't throw the ball to the other team.
SEE FOOTBALL ON PAGE 5B
He looked comfortable in the pocket, leading Kansas on three scoring drives. Not known as a running quarterback, Barmann also executed the option to near perfect
more comfortable back there now."
Barmann struggled the last time he saw any significant action. In last season's loss to Kansas State, Barmann misfired on numerous passes, throwing high or wide of his intended receivers. He also had a fumble and was nearly intercepted.
But it was a completely different
Barmann Saturday night.
DANCING NACHOS
Jayhawks must emphasize blitzing to succeed in Big 12 Conference play
A stopwatch might not have been the best way to keep track of how much time South Florida quarterback Matt Grothe had to make his throws.
You could have used an hourglass, or maybe a sundial. Even one of those word-a-day calendars would have worked.
If that's what Kansas defensive coordinator Bill Young is using, Jayhawks fans should hope today's word is "blitz," as in, "The Jayhawks have yet to seriously commit to the blitz this season."
This isn't to take anything away from Grothe, who made some
BY MICHAEL PHILLIPS
KANSAN SPORTS EDITOR
MPHILIPS@KSAN.COM
amazing throws for South Florida in a losing effort, but Kansas cannot continue to leave the quarterback alone and hope to succeed in Big 12 Conference play.
When the defense did rush, it was usually able to get to Grothe,
although getting sacks was some thing that eluded the Jayhawks
"We've got adequate pressure," coach Mark Mangino said. "We've just got to wrap those guys up and bring them to the ground."
The lack of pressure came back to bite the Jayhawks in what should be one of the most surething situations as a defender: third and long. South Florida converted on third downs from distances of 1,4,6,6,9,9,10 and 11
SEE PHILLIPS ON PAGE 5B
"We did well. I think we did better today than we did yesterday. We are going to get better each day."
Sarah Vertelka freshman pitcher
Lisa Lipovas/KAHSAW Valerie George, sophomore pitcher, pitches on Sunday afternoon against Butler. The Jayhawks hosted the 2006 Fall Jayhawk Classic on Saturday and Sunday.
SOFTBALL
Women finish Fall Classic with winning record of 3-1
BY BETTY KASPAR
The theme for the softball team during its fall schedule is to learn from its mistakes and get better every day.
"We did well. I think we did better today than we did yesterday. We are going to get better each day," freshman pitcher Sarah Vertelka said.
After this weekend's Fall Jayhawk Classic, the players are sticking to it.
After playing four games, Kansas finished the weekend 3-1.
Saturday Kansas dominated the first game of the tournament by run-ruling Pittsburg State 11-2. Senior Kassie Humphreys pitched against the Gorillas, got into trouble in the fifth inning and gave up the only two runs of the afternoon. The game ended when Sophomore Stevie Crisis to hit a two-run home run that
caused the run-rule to go into effect.
In the second game on Saturday, Missouri Western defeated Kansas 2-1. The team scored its only run in the fourth inning off of a Missouri Western error. The Griffons answered in the bottom of the seventh with a game-ending walk-off home run.
"We want that loss to sit in their craw and not let them ever think too much of themselves at this time," coach Tracy Bunge said. "Sometimes losses are the best thing for a team, sometimes for a young team you have to pound it in their head you can't show up against anybody — you have to come out ready to play every time."
Although Kansas lost the game, Bunge was still impressed with sophomore Valerie George's pitching performance.
"Valerie George didn't get many
chances last season behind Serena Settlemier and Kassie Humphreys", Bunge said. "It was nice to see her throw the ball as well as she did with confidence."
The Jayhawks defeated the Gorillas again Sunday 8-0. The game ended at the bottom of the fifth with a home run from freshman first baseman Amanda Jobe that caused the run rule to go into effect again. Bunge was very pleased with Vertelka's shutout-pitching performance in the game. In the last game of the tournament, Kansas defeated Butler Community College 10-3. The team capitalized early in the game by scoring five of its 10 runs in the first inning. Humphreys pitched the first three innings, and didn't give up a hit. Freshman utility player Caitlin Kenney pitched three innings, and gave up three runs. George came in
to close the game in the seventh and struck out the first three batters.
Against Butler, the team had no errors.
During the tournament, Bunge felt the Jayhawks' performance was a little shaky because of inexperience, but was very pleased with the team's final outing for the weekend.
"We are excited about our talent and we are excited about what we can do. We feel our pitching staff is going to be our strength," Bunge said. "I think we are going to surprise people offensively, and I think a lot of people will look past us. I am excited for the year."
Kansan sportswriter Betty Kaspar can be contacted at bkaspar@kansan.com.
- Edited by Erin Wiley