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Thursday, October 19, 2006
Golden Bulls regroup for Fayetteville State
JCSU looking for
first-ever win at
Belk Complex
By Herbert L. White
^erb.w/i/fe@fhecr)artotteposf.com
Losing at Belk Complex hasn’t
given Johnson C. Smith’s Golden
Bulls a complex - yet.
Smith’s on-campus futOity streak
reached 13 games with a 15-9 loss
last week to St. Augustine’s, which
all but handed the CIAA West to
N.C. Central. But a home win
Saturday against Fayetteville State
keeps the Bulls (5-2, 3-2) in second
place and clinches Smith’s first win
ning season since the 1998 team fin
ished 6-4;
‘We’ve just got to go back and
reload,” Bulls coach Daryl McNeill
said. ‘Tm stOl proud of our kids,
proud of what we’ve been able to
accomplish. I just hope the universi
ty and the city stay with us.”
Smith stumbled on offense
against St. Augustine’s, which pres
sured BuHs quarterbacks Carlton
Richardson and Donja Goodson and
stuffed the running game. The BuUs
manageed just 109 yards total
offense, St. Augustine’s defensive
end Alex HaU was a terror with 4.5
sacks and safety Marsean Chestnut
came up with the game-winning
score on a 3-yard fumble return in
the fourth quarter. The key was
field position - St. Ai^ustine’s didn’t
allow Smith to establish any in the
second half, and the BuHs were
outscored 15-6.
‘We weren’t able to execute on
some things,” McNeiU said. “A lot of
times when you get backed up you
just tiy to do thir^ safe and we
couldn’t protect. When you can’t
protect your quarterback, he can’t
have a chance to set his feet, these
are the kind of things that happen.”
Still, JCSU has much to play for.
The division, and a possibility of
making the Roneer Bowl as the
CIAA’s runner-up are out. But sec
ond in the West and a plus-.500 sea
son are available with a win
Saturday.
“We know we do, and that’s what
I...told the kids,” McNeill said.
“With some luck fi'om the other side,
we stOl have two conference games
left and most of the teams in the
conference have three left. We stOl
feel like we’re one up on everybody
and we’ll be able to hopefLiUy push
this thing on through.”
PHOTO/CURTIS WILSON
Johnson C. Smith defensive end Elijah Ashley bears down on St. Augustine’s receiver duane Smith in the
Golden Bulls’ 15-9 loss last week at Belk Complex. Smith can clinch its first winning season since 1998 with a
win Saturday against Fayetteville State at Belk Complex, where the Bulls are 0-13 since the stadium opened in
2003. A victory would keep Smith In second place In the CIAA West Division.
—o j j ULUS umig uii ciiiuugii.
With top receiver fully healthy,
Panthers playing up to potential
Continued from oaoe 1C i o i-i^oiUr nrit'
Save on gas!
Fox
Continued from page 1C
it, you don’t get into that con
dition. Steve was a guy who
was on the shelf for a while.
He’s gotten
better each
week.”
So has
Delhomme,
who threw for
a career-high
365 yards and
two touch
downs, includ
ing a 42-yard TD pass to
Drew Carter. Carter also
made a diving catch for a
first down with just over a
minute left that ended the
Ravens’ chances.
If Carter could become a
consistent threat along with
Smith and Keyshawn
Johnson, the Panthers could
be tough to stop.
“Drew hadn’t played a
whole lot until about
halfway through the season
a year ago,” Fox said. “The
second half of the season and
the playoffs he gained valu
able experience and I think
at the end of the day, some
confidence to carry over to
this year.’
While the passing attack
took off Sunday, Carolina
struggled on the ground.
averaging just 1.9 yards per
rush. But Fox said the
Panthers went into the game
knowing they would have to
throw the ball against a
Ravens defense that was
stingy against the run.
“I didn’t go into the game
and I don’t think anybody in
that locker room thought we
were going to ...get 150 yards
rushing,” Fox said. “All
things are possible, but that
was the strength of their
defense. You have to do it
just to make them commit
guys to it, and it opened up
other things and we were
able to execute.”
The Panthers have also
found a way to get their
offensive line functioning
again. After losing left tackle
TraveUe Wharton to a sea-
son-ending knee injury and
center Justin Hartwig to a
groin pull in Week 1, the
Panthers were forced to
make major changes.
Jeremy Bridges, who wasn’t
in the league in at the start
of the season, has filled in
nicely at right tackle and
Geoff Hangartner has done
so well at center Hartwig
may have to stay on the
bench when he’s ready to
retiun.
“It’s really not a considera
tion of how much a guy
makes, what round he was
taken in or what part of the
country he’s from,” Fox said.
“We’re going to put the best
guys out there that give us a
chance to win.”
Despite losing middle line
backer Dan Morgan (concus
sion) for the season, the
Panthers defense has
improved dramatically after
allowing 252 yards rushing
to Atlanta in the opener.
Carolina has gone four
straight games without
allowing 100 yards on the
ground.
Carolina’s defensive
anchor, Julius Peppers,
leads the league with eight
sacks after notching two
more against Baltimore and
forcing a fumble.
The team continues a
tough stretch next week
when they visit Cincinnati
and then host Dallas the fol
lowing week, but Carolina
appears to be in good shape,
as long as Smith continues
to outrun everyone in the
league.
“We feel pretty good right
now,” Foster said. “We’re
going in the right direction,
but we’re not done yet.”
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A thoughtful star, Cardinals’
Carlos Delgado carries team
By Ronald Blum
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
ST. LOUIS - Most of the New York Mets were
putting on their snazzy dress clothes, ready to
head back to their hotels. Carlos Delgado was
still in the clubhouse wearing sweats and car
rying a bat, his work day not yet done.
In his first postseason of a major league
career that began in 1993, Delgado has carried
the Mets within two wins of the World Series
with a polished performance that most players
only dream of
‘It’s fun when you’re winning. It’s fun when
you’re going out there getting hits,” he said
with a wide smile and a chuckle on Monday
after Game 5 of the National League champi
onship series was rained out.
His 1,711 games without a postseason
appearance had been the most among active
major leaguers, a distinction now taken over by
Jeromy Bumitz (1,694). Delgado is batting
.414 (12-for-29) with four homers and 11 RBIs
in seven games.
But it’s not just what he’s hitting, it’s when
he’s hitting. His home run against the Los
Angeles Dodgers tied the first-round opener,
and all three against the St. Louis Cardinals
have broken ties.
‘When there’s runners in scoring position,
you almost see him switch modes into this
automatic run-producer. It’s special to watch,”
Mets third baseman David Wright said.
Delgado is not just a teammate - he’s also a
teacher and motivator. He records each of his
plate appearances in a notebook for future ref
erence.
“I had it for like probably 10 years,” Delgado
said. “The last few years, it’s a habit. It’s part of
my routine. I write it down, and at the end of
the day I have a little bit more customized - for
lack of a better term - scouting report. My
memory’s not as good as it used to be, so I’ve
got to write (stuff) down.”
With a shaved head, mustache and goatee,
the 6-foot-3 (1.91-meter) first baseman is a
fierce batter for pitchers to face. But away from
the plate, he has a grin that lights up the room,
and he gives some of the most intelligent, eru
dite responses among major leaguers.
“That real cerebral approach,” manager
WOlie Randolph said.
Delgado’s gregarious, inquisitive personafity
filters down to teammates.
“He was one that spent so much time study
ing pitchers, I thought that stuff was conta
gious,” Mets general manager Omar Minaya
said.
But talking, of course, isn’t enough in the
major leagues. You have to produce.
Delgado became the 11th player to get four
hits in his postseason debut, according to the
Elias Sports Bureau, and against the
Cardinals he became only the fifth player with
nine or more RBIs in the first four games of a
league championship series, joining Graig
Nettles, Don Baylor, Matt Williams and Hideki
Matsui.
“This guy’s got it aU,” Cardinals manager
Tbny La Russa said. “Guys like that, they have
the ability to hit a lot of different pitches and
they make adjustments. That’s Carlos
Delgado, can’t go to the same place to get him
out. You’ve got to mix it up, and if you’ve made
a mistake hke we’ve made, he punishes you.
He’s a big-time producer.”
Before the Mets acquired him fix)m Florida
last November, Delgado was probably known
best in New York for his refusal to stand on the
field during “God Bless America” in 2004 and
2005, a protest of the U.S.-Iraq war. Once he
got to the Mets, he dropped that protest
because Randolph expects his players to “stand
at attention and honor the flag” during the
song.
#
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