Newspapers / Daily Tar Heel (Chapel … / Nov. 25, 1996, edition 1 / Page 14
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UNC decks Duke despite loss of QB BY JOSEPH ROUSON SENIOR WRITER DURHAM Midway through its game with Duke Satur day, North Carolina’s world was flipped upside down. First, the 13th-ranked Tar Heels had lost starting quarter back Chris Keldorf for the season with four minutes left in the first quarter. Then the Blue Devils, winless since 1995, fought to within 16-10 to start the third quarter. Suddenly, a certain blowout for UNC became a battle for survival. But UNC backup QB Oscar Davenport, known more for his scampering ability than for his arm, answered the call. With 10 minutes left in the third, he rifled an 80-yard touchdown pass to L.C. Stevens that put UNC up 13. And while there wasn’t much flashiness the rest of the way, Davenport & Cos. held on for a 27- 10 win before 30,264 at Wallace Wade Stadium. With the loss, Duke became the first ACC team ever to go 0-11. “The thing that is so pleasing is that the guys rose to the challenge,” UNC coach Mack Brown said. “Their motto all year has been, ‘Do whatever you have to do to win the football game.’ And I thought that’s exactly what they did today.” Keldorf s injury came when Duke’s (0-11,0-8 in the ACC) Chike Egbuniwe wrestled him to the turf after a two-yard scramble and his ankle got twisted into the ground. The junior signal-caller suffered a dislocated and fractured left ankle. “(Egbuniwe) tackled me by the feet, and my feet just got caught under me,” Keldorf said. “I didn’t feel any- thing at first—l just saw it, and I knew something was wrong. ” Still, he sat wearing a cast behind the south end zone and watched the rest of the game. Keldorf underwent surgery Saturday night and spent Sunday at Student Health. The injury will keep Keldorf out of UNC’s bowl game, but he could return for spring practice depending on his rate of recovery. “He’s had such a tough time getting here that I’m sure we’ll see Chris Keldorf back as soon as the doctors will let him be back,” Brown said. See FOOTBALL, Page 6 Davenport steps up from backup role to deliver solid performance BY ALEC MORRISON ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR DURHAM Eventually, North Carolina backup quarterback Oscar Da venport had to walk the walk. His coaches and teammates had al ready done the talking, hyping Daven port throughout the season as a starting caliber player who could easily enter a game and take control if need be. But while Davenport may have chal lenged UNC quarterback Chris Keldorf for the starting job in the preseason, Keldorf had been the man in charge of the Tar Heels’ offense all season. So Davenport found himself on shaky ground Saturday against Duke, entering a scoreless game in the first quarter after watching Keldorf get carted off the field with a fractured and dislocated ankle. Davenport didn’t miss a step, though, Seniors post career performances as field hockey wins national tide BY KURT TONDORF ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. lf the North Carolina field hockey team needed any more reason to worry who would replace its talented four some of seniors for next fall, Sunday’s championship game offered plenty. Senior defensive backs Christy Ut ter, Meredith Lawrence and Susannah Schott a Tar Heel senior SUSANNAH SCHOTT had a goal and an assist Sunday. and midfielder Ashley Hanson un sung heroes for the Tar Heels throughout SPORTS SCHEDULE Monday Men'* Basketball vs. Richmond, Smith Center, 7 p.m. Cross Country at NCAA Champion ships, Tuscon, Ariz., 10 a.m. Tuesday Women's Basketball vs. Radford, Carmichael Auditorium, 7 p.m. Friday Men's Basketball vs. Pittsburgh, Smith Center, 7:30 p.m. WOMEN’S BASKETBALL Page 7 Dazzling debut The 22nd-ranked North Carolina women's basketball team roared to a season opening win against William & Mary on Saturday, topping the Tribe 78-37. Point guard Marion Jones (left) led the Tar Heels with 23 points. Pdf {S i aBL w a jg Hi Hi # 1* v j . J'in,. r .,- ' - ~ m P Si '■ r. t g ' i * p _ DTH/ERKPEREL lar Heel QB Chris Keldorf is taken off the field Saturday after dislocating his ankle in the first quarter. He will not play in UNCs bowl game. Football UNC 27 Duke 10 Johnson breaks conference record See Page 9 using the run to mask his nerves and displaying an efficient passing game that led UNC to a 27-10 victory over Duke at Wallace Wade Stadium. “He was trying to come in with a confidence face,” UNC tailback Leon Johnson said. “He was happy he got into the game, but he was a little bit scared. He kept doing everything on first down, first down, first down, you know? It’s like, ‘Mix it up a little bit.’” Davenport went to Johnson repeat edly on his first series, and LJ capped that drive with a 1 -yard TD run—on his sixth straight carry to put the UNC up 7-0. “I think that it’s an attitude, and when Chris got hurt, I felt like our football team and (UNC quarterbacks) Coach (Greg) Davis said, ‘We need to help Oscar,”’ UNC coach Mack Brown said. “‘We need to pick him up and let him get into this football game before we ask him to the 1996 season all peaked in the NCAA title game with Princeton, their last contest in UNC uniforms. “We won this national championship on the backs of our seniors today,” Tar Heel coach Karen Shelton said. "They led the way. All four seniors had prob ably their career games in terms of execu tion.” UNC forwards Kate Barber, Nancy Pelligreen and Cindy Werley had an easy time of it against Princeton’s generous defenders, but it was the defense’s ability to create Tiger turnovers in the midfield that sparked the Tar Heel transition of fense. It began with Utter and Lawrence, the forgotten pillars of a Tar Heel ‘D’ that made phenomenal strides throughout the second half of the season. Utter sealed off See SENIORS, Page 11 Saturday Woman's Basketball vs. East Tennessee State, Carmichael Audito rium, 2 p.m. Woman's Socear in NCAA Quarterfinals, vs. Florida. Fetzer Field, 1 p.m. Wrestling in Carolina Open, Carmichael Auditorium, all day. Sunday Fencing in Dual Meets at Penn State, all day. SPORTS MONDAY El)p Daily (Tar Uppl go win it.’” The sophomore QB listened to Johnson and mixed it up before the day was over, hitting wideout L.C. Stevens for an 80-yard TD pass and completing 10 of 13 passes for 162 yards. The snaps Dav enport took marked his first Sophomore QB OSCAR DAVENPORT was 10 of 13 for 162 yards Saturday. critical playing time since he sustained a tom anterior cruciate ligament against Clemson last November. Since then he has been through months of rehabilita tion and an intense battle with Keldorf for the starting job. Brown said before the season started Confer’s 2 goals lift soccer to quarterfinals ■ The Tar Heels will play No. 8 Florida on Saturday for the right to advance to the women’s final four. BYPAULSTRELOW ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR Canying the scoring load for North Carolina’s women’s soccer team must weigh heavily on Robin Confer’s shoul ders. She played only 22 minutes against James Madison and spent much of that time sprawled on the grass. But in that short span, Womb's Soccer James Madison 0 UNC 5 she still sunk the competition. Confer’s two goals and one assist car ried No. 2 UNC over the Dukes 5-0 on Saturday in front 0f4,235 at Fetzer Field. With the victory, the Tar Heels advance to an NCAA quarterfinal matchup against Florida on Saturday. Confer continues to spark North Carolina’s offense. She has amassed nine goals in five postseason contests. But more importantly, the Clearwater, Fla., junior keeps pushing UNC (22-1) toward its ultimate goal—a national champion ship. “I thought we kept the pressure on the whole game,” Confersaid. “Wehadalot of great chances to score. Our offense is playing real well right now. I think we are playing in the goal and organizing the box real well.” ‘Real well’ maybe an understatement. that either quarterback could lead the Tar Heel offense, but he opted for Keldorf s strong arm and quick head in a pass-oriented offense over Davenport’s keen scrambling and quick feet in a more run-based attack. Keldorf stepped into the spotlight, and Davenport was used only in trash time when the outcomes of games had already been decided. Now, with Keldorf out for the remain der of the season, the tables have turned. Davenport used Saturday’s game to prove he could run the show when it counted. “Me and Chris, we’re real tight, ” Dav enport said. “It was hard playing second team, but Chris did a good job when he was (the starter). I had to step in for him because of the injury, and I felt like I did a pretty good job." Johnson served as the offense’s engine for most of the game, racking up 167 rushing yards. But Davenport kept the Confer sliced a spinning cross from Cindy Parlow over Dukes goalie Stacy Bilodeau to give UNC a 1-0 advantage just 12 minutes into the match. The play show cased the abilities that crippled JMU all day: the speed, accuracy and one-on-one moves of the Tar Heels’ attackers. Even though UNC’soverbearingskills proved the key, the Tar Heels used a little trickery to notch their second score. Con fer booted a direct kick from the left flank towards the right goalpost. Laurie Schwoy swung at the shot, confusing Bilodeau. But Confer’s 30-yard attempt one-hopped past everyone and into the comer of the net. The goal marked Confer’s 19th tally of the season. And despite her recent scor ing blitz,.she contends that she’s playing the same way she always has. “A lot of it’s just the team,” Confer said. “I’m getting a lot of great services from my teammates. Also, it’s just the tournament, everyone’s playing really hard, and we want to send our seniors out winners this year.” James Madi son (15-6-1) Midfielders lead UNC to victory See Page 4 tried several different formations in an attempt to stymie UNC’s frontrunners. But all failed in one area or another. The Dukes finally settled on using four de fenders and only two forwards in the second half, but the damage had already been done. While the JMU defense struggled, its offense fared worse. The Dukes couldn’t mount any surge of its own with only two See WOMEN’S SOCCER, Page 11 National Football League Scores Detroit 14 Chipago 31 Indianapolis 13 N. England.... 27 J'ville 28 Baltimore 25 New Orleans 7 Tampa 8ay.... 13 Carolina 31 Houston 6 San Fran 19 Washington 16 Denver 21 Minnesota 17 Atlanta 31 Cincinnati 41 Duke defense guessing with clutch passes. His TD pass to Stevens came on third down and put the Tar Heels up 24-10. Davenport also kept a scoring drive alive in the second quarter, finding re ceiver Darrin Ashford for a 22-yard pass, on a slant pattern on third and 8 at the UNC 22. Johnson scored his second touchdown of the afternoon three plays later, making the score 13-0 UNC. Much of Davenport’s success hinged on the Tar Heels’ ability to rally around their QB. LJ’s yards diverted attention from Davenport, and the offensive line bullied Duke around the line of scrim mage, allowing Davenport time to either pass or scramble for yards. “I have to give credit to the offensive line,” Davenport said. “I don’t think I got touched, really, the whole game. The offense, we did real well. We went for the protection, and we did the job.” • ~ _. , DTH/BRADSMITH UNC midfielder Cindy Parlow attempts to evade a slide tackle from a James Madison defender Sunday. She finished the game with an assist. Arizona 3C Philadelphia 3C Green Bay at St. Louis... (late) Monday night: Pittsburgh at Miami N.Y. Jets 10 Buffalo 35 San Diego 28 Kansas City 14 Dallas 6 N.Y. Giants.... 20 Oakland 27 Seattle 21 Monday, November 25,1996 Tar Heels tumble in Tip-Off loss ■ UNC’s men’s basketball team lost its first season opener in 14 years Friday. BYROBBIPICKERAL SPORTS EDITOR SPRINGFIELD, Mass. lts shots came in spurts, its aggressiveness came in waves, and its defense well, the North Carolina men’s basketball team showed more Men's Basketball Arizona 83 UNC 72 zone than the promised old school man to-man. But the Tar Heels were never able to sustain any of those elements long enough for a comeback Friday night, much less the expected win. So the unexpected occurred at Spring field Civic Center in the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Classic. For the first time in 14 years, No. 7 UNC lost a season opener, this time to No. 19 Arizona, 83-72, in front of a crowd of 8,999. Arizona moved to 1-0 on the season. The last time the TarHeels(o-l)lost their first game of the season was in 1982 when they fell to St. Johns, also in theTip-OffClassic, UNC sophomore VINCE CARTER scored a team-high 20 points Friday. 78-74 in oyertime. “I thought that we were a little bit ahead of where we are, ” a dejected center Serge Zwikker said after Friday’s loss. “Obviously, we still have a lot of work to do.” Obviously. But the work Tar Heels take on Richmond tonight See Page 11 might be more mental than physical. What the Tar Heels lacked Friday was an element essential to all Dean Smith coached teams pure aggression that leads to a closing knock-out punch. All UNC could conjure up were a few power-packed jabs. With the score knotted at 29 after the opening half, the Tar Heels came out flat, waiting to view the Wildcats’ strategy instead of enforcing theirs. “The second half, they just jumped on us early and kept it going the rest of the game,” UNC forward Antawn Jamison said. See MEN’S BASKETBALL, Page 11 14
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