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SPORTS/ICIe CltrUtte
Thursday, January 5, 2006
PanOwis need losier
topeundtheliall
Continued from page 1C
first i^ayer to break the 100-
yard rushing meirk for
Carolina this season.
It earned Foster the start
ing job for the first time in his
career, but he
didn’t exactly
race out of the
gates. He
failed to crack
100 yards in
his next three
starts despite
Fox giving
him every
Fox
opportunity to p)oimd the ball.
Sometimes it didn’t make
sense, likp in a critical loss to
Dallas in which Foster could
n’t crack the Cowboys’
defense for more than a 9-
yard run. But Fox kept call
ing Foster’s number - even
though Steve Smith, who
ended the year on top of the
NFL in catches, yards and
receiving touchdowns - could
have taken over the bulk of
the ball-handling duties.
Fox’s faith in Foster finally
paid ofif against the Falcons, a
game Carolina had to win to
lock up a playofif berth.
TDeShaun has been waiting
in the wings for a while now,
and he’s answered the bell
quite a few times for us," Fox
said. “He came up big for us."
Not everything went well
for Foster, thou^. He strug
gled in the red zone and was
stopped for no gain on three
consecutive runs fi*om the
Atlanta 1.
He especially erred on one
of the runs, a sweep to the
right side when he was forced
out of bounds before getting
the ball across the goal line.
As Carolina lined up for a
field goal attempt, Foster was
met on the sidelines by a
street-clothed Davis - his
mentor - who scolded him for
not putting his shoulder
down and bulldozing his way
into the end zone.
The two have a unique rela
tionship, with neither jealous
of the other’s success. Davis
assures that even fiom the
sidelines, he’ll continue to
tutor Foster.
“I think they’ve cheered
each other on since they’ve
both been at the position,"
Fox said earlier this season.
“I dctti’t know that it’s unusu
al, but it doesn’t always hai>
pen like that. Sometimes peo
ple are little more selfish
than selfless.
“But I think it’s unique and
I think it’s important in win
ning. They don’t walk around
like they’re ‘it.’”
Playoffs put Carolina in a
New York frame of mind
Continued from page 1C
Giants in what Fox calls a “very hostile envi-
rcmment.” But the Panthers will be lieading up
nortli with a lot of moxy and momentum.
*^6 have a lot of hi^ character guys in the
locker room. We won in a place that’s been very
tough on against us,” Fox said. “We need to
carry this on in the playoffs.”
Against Atlanta, Carolina rushed for 229
yards and threw for 174 yards without an
interception The Panthers didn't turn the ball
over, something they’ll need to continue
against the Giants, who had 17 interceptions
during the regular season.
And what about the run? Giants running
back Tiki Barber racked up 1,860 yards during
the regular season and averaged^5.2 yards per
carry
Panthers’ defensive lineman Brentson
Buckner said the Panthers can play with any
body
“We match up with .anybody,” he said.
“Everything we want is still ahead of us. We
didn't win the division, but we’re in. The ulti
mate goal was to make the playofls. You want
to win your division and get a chance to play in
fix>nt of your home fans. But we’re in and we
have a chance to play”
linebacker Chris Draft, a former Falc»n,
said Sunday’s win was a great springboard into
the playoffs.
“Hopefully well come out with the same type
of vibe in New York next week,” he said.
This season, the Panthers were 6-2 away
from Bank of America Stadium.
Buckner said when the players get on the
field, it’s not just about the Xs and the Os, “it’s
about the Jimmy and the Joes,” he said.
“That’s what the players say I like our chances
(against the Giants), We match up well with
anybody When you’re in this dance, I don’t
care who we dance with.”
He added that, ‘You don’t want to limp in (to
the playoffs) you want to walk in with your
head up.”
The Giants and the Pantha^ have met twice
in the regular season, with Carolina wimiing
both games.
Golden Bulls take on No. 1
Va. Union at Brayboy Gym
Continued from page 1C
in check.”
The Bulls will have to do
it with less depth. Backup
guards TVavoris Howerton
and Karl and Edmund
Rainey left the team during
the holiday break, but the
starting rotation is
unchanged.
“We’re down to 10 play
ers, but it’s just another
hunlle you have to get over
this season,” Joyner said.
“We’ll probably play nine
players for m^or minutes,
but certainly the starters
will get most of them.”
Despite the Union loss,
Los Angeles proved to be a
productive trip for Smith.
The Bulls beat Wley and
Wilberforce to finish third
behind VUU and Bowie
State.
“We had a lot of time to
gel as a team,” Joyner said.
“We had a good time to gel
against good competition
on a neutral court.”
The Panthers, last year’s
national and CIAA champi
on, is stout defensively and
a dominant rebounding
team. Tb spring an upset.
Smith will have to execute
on offense and limit
Union’s inside game.
“Union is a confident,
strong, defensive-minded
team,” Joyner said. “Union
is probably stronger defen
sively this year than they
were last year and they
might be a little bigger.”
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