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Sports Tuesday The Miracle Walks Back To Stardom Few people will ever experience the rush of running onto a stadium field and being engulfed by the screams of tens of thousands of people. Adam Taliaferro felt that Saturday, without any intention of playing a sin gle snap. The once-paralyzed 19-year-old stood in the tunnel leading onto Beaver Stadium before Penn State’s sea son opener against No. 2 Miami, clad in sweatpants and a No. 43 jersey. It was a magi cal moment. The scoreboard flashed the words, “We Believe.” Flashbulbs illu- w KELLY LUSK DON'T SWEAT ME minated the newly renovated stadium. The crowd roared, giving a standing ovation to the Nittany Lions’ very own miracle. Many football players dream of running out of a tunnel at a Division I powerhouse such as Penn State. But Taliaferro never could have imagined that merely running from the tunnel would be the culmination - not the jumping-off point -of his dream. What happened on the field Saturday was merely a game. Statistics and scores meant so little, while Taliaferro’s jog onto the field pierced so many people’s hearts. He swatted teammates’ hands, raised his arms to the crowd and broke out in a full jog at the 15-yard line. An amazing feat for someone who only 11 months earlier lay motionless on the moist grass of Ohio Stadium. In an effort to tackle Jerry Westbrooks Sept. 23, Taliaferro shattered a bone in his neck and bruised his spinal cord. His parents, Addie and Andre, watched on TV as Westbrooks stood up and regained his composure while their son remained immobile on the field. He didn’t move a muscle - because he couldn’t. Doctors told Taliaferro’s parents that he had litde chance of ever walk ing again. Paralysis is a horrible blow to any one, but to a football player who daz zled recruiters as a two-way standout during high school and promised to make big plays for the Nittany Lions as a true freshman comerback, the injury more than smashed part of his spinal cord - it crushed his dreams, his heart. But it didn’t take Taliaferro long to rebuild quite a different dream. One not quite as flashy as becoming a pro foot ball star, but a simpler dream. Taliaferro was determined to walk again. Only 12 days after his injury occurred, Taliaferro entered Magee Rehabilitation Hospital. For three long, frustrating weeks, he couldn’t move at all. He struggled through six-hour ther apy sessions of merely trying to wiggle his toes -a challenge the athlete would have scoffed at a month earlier when he was running alongside many of the nation’s top football players. But Taliaferro persevered, and, in the wake of his journey, he has made more of an impact on people than he ever could have as just another football play er. Scott Brown and Sam Carchidi encapsulated Taliaferro’s inspiring story in the recendy released book “Miracle in the Making.” The fact that you cannot get your hands on a copy of the book anywhere in the Triangle is a testament to how much Taliaferro’s tale has moved people. So much of the attention surrounding football players is negative. And many times the players bring it on themselves. Dozens of players are kicked off their college teams every season for stupidity involving drugs, alcohol, fighting or worse. Players trying to be badasses throw away their careers for no good reason. And then there is Taliaferro, a redeeming face in an increasingly trou bled sport His run onto the field sym bolized more than just a personal comeback. It inspired everyone to take a deep breath and take one step - no matter how difficult that may be-in the right direction. Kelly Lusk can be reached at lusk@email.unc.edu. Field Hockey Sets Record In Weekend Barrage By Brad Broders Assistant Sports Editor With time winding down against Virginia Commonwealth on Sunday, North Carolina field hockey coach Karen Shelton was stuck with a dilemma. Pass the ball around or let the youngsters play. The Tar Heels, having already tallied 10 goals through the contest’s first 50 minutes at Henry Field Hockey VCU 0 UNC 13 Penn St I UNC 3 Stadium, could either stop scoring or continue their offensive onslaught. “We kind of wanted to follow Anson’s (Dorrance) rule where he gets to nine as quickly as possible and then passes it around,” Shelton said. “But it got to the point where we were putting in Martin Leadership Key In Weekend Offensive Effort See Page 9 kids who were playing for the first time. We didn’t want to humiliate VCU; that was not our inten tion.” Shelton’s efficient youngsters did continue to Maryland Runs Through UNC's 'D' Jil** mm P * i L—— ■—■ I—l i S DTH/KARA ARNDT Maryland tailback Bruce Perry (1) tries to evade North Carolina linebacker Quincy Monk (41) and the rest of the UNC defense. Perry rushed for 116 yards on 21 carries, the longest a 21-yard run in the fourth quarter. DTH/KARA ARNDT North Carolina first-year coach John Bunting (left) said he felt horrible about UNC's loss to Maryland. Tar Heels Endure ASU Fouls The Mountaineers compiled two red cards and 29 fouls in a physical, losing effort against 12th-ranked UNC. By Owen A. Hassell Assistant Sport Saturday Editor Appalachian State used about every aggressive tactic possible to stymie a big ger and stronger North Carolina soccer team. But the Mountaineers’ 29 fouls and seven cards did not keep the Tar Heels from scoring, as UNC defeated ASU 3-0 Monday night at Fetzer Field. score, pushing three more goals home in the wan ing minutes to set a school record in the 13-0 vic tory. The triumph came a day after UNC (3-0) defeat ed ninth-ranked Penn State 3-1. The Tar Heels’ previous high mark for goals was 10, most recendy attained on Oct. 10,2000 against Radford. Though the team didn’t intend to set records Sunday, the final score was somewhat mind-bog gling. “Normally, you don’t aim to score that much on a team because it’s not really good sportsmanship,” senior forward Abbey Woolley said. “But (die goals) came, and Ihere were the opportunities, and you couldn’t pass them up.” From the opening faceoff against VCU, the Tar Heels were able to perpetually keep the ball on their side of the field. North Carolina’s aggressive offense led to 11 penalty comers, two penalty strokes and 35 shots on goal. UNC’s backs applied constant defensive pres sure as well, holding VCU without a shot on goal the entire 70 minutes of action. See FIELD HOCKEY, Page 9 Barnard's Punts Frustrate Tar Heels By Kelly Lusk Assistant Sports Editor COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Maryland punter Brooks Barnard didn’t need to eat any Wheaties to play like a champion. This was fortunate for his team, because Barnard, whose long punts gave die North Carolina football team such poor field position that it couldn’t move the ball, missed the team breakfast Saturday morning in the Byrd The game’s physical nature placed a strain on the Tar Heel offense, but it was the first half’s overall Men’* Soccer fiKc 5t ..5 ECU I UNC 8 effort that concerned UNC coach Elmar Bolowich. “I was not very pleased at halftime with the way we performed in the first 45 minutes,” Bolowich said. “They played extremely hard and they tried to not let us get into our rhythm.” ASU coach Dave Golan wanted his players to play hard, even if it meant attaining a few fouls in the process. H ~ m ii w ¥ m m§ *hL ik wm i y IBM | ! ’ ....—.. I Stadium fieldhouse. “I had to go,” said Barnard, who was fourth in the country in punting last season. He rushed to the restroom just seconds before Terrapin coach Ralph Friedgen locked the door to the cafeteria. “I couldn’t hold it anymore, so I was in a dead sprint to the bathroom. Breakfast started at 8 o’clock and I probably showed up there at 8 o’clock and 30 seconds. (Friedgen) said ‘Out.’” “We knew to play a team of this cal iber that we’d have to play aggressive,” Golan said. “It is not like we went after any of the players, but we wanted to play hard and come out with the victo ry” Tar Heel Mike Gell posted the first goal for the second-straight game, scor ing in the 11th minute of play on an assist from Chris Leitch for the 1-0 game. Gell scored against East Carolina in the Tar Heels’ (2-0) season opener, an 8-1 home victory against the Pirates (0-1) on Friday night. But it was die hard-nosed play of the See MEN'S SOCCER, Page 9 ipi^i^SlS DTH/KARA ARNDT North Carolina sweeper Abby Martin (center) tries to take the ball from Virginia Commonwealth. Martin scored 10 points with four goals. Terrapin tailback Bruce Perry rushed for 116 yards on 21 carries for 5.5 yards a run in Maryland's 23-7 win against the Tar Heels. By Rachel Carter Sports Editor COLLEGE PARK, Md. - For Ralph Friedgen, it was a joy ous beginning, a glorious start to his first year as Maryland’s football coach. For John Bunting, it was a bitter disappointment, a depressing start to his first year as North Carolina’s football coach. Sweet redemption for the Terrapins, a squad whose doubters were many and loud. Stinging defeat for the Tar Heels, suddenly weary faced with the long and difficult season ahead. As the Tar Heels trudged off Byrd Stadium’s field to gather in the lock er room, to puzzle over what had gone so wrong and to ponder when a win would come, Friedgen and the Terps ran in front of the student sections, singing the fight song, laughing at the coach’s uncharacteristic display. The rotund Friedgen climbed on top of a platform to lead the song as the 23-7 Maryland victory burned into the score board and into the Tar Heels’ hearts. “No, we certainly can’t feel very good about it,” Bunting said. “I don’t think there’s a guy in there who feels good about what just took place. I know I feel horrible about it.” Two games into the season, and North Carolina finds itself in a 0-2 hole, with Texas, Southern Methodist, Florida State and N.C. State looming in the near future. If the Tar Heels made any progress from its opening day 41-27 loss to defend ing national champion Oklahoma, no one could tell. The running game could not get going. The passing game was not much better. Even North Carolina’s talented defense See FOOTBALL, Page 9 T."Z . DTH/KIMBERLY CRAVEN UNC midfielder Matt Crawford (right) tries to keep the ball from Applachian's David Edison. Crawford scored a goal against ECU on Friday. INSIDE: ■ Wake Forest defeats ECU in first game. Page 7 ■ Barry Bond hits his 58th homer. Page 7 ■ Florida State butchers Duke. QB Dantzler Leads Tigers To Victory Clemson quarterback Woodrow Dantzler said he was disappointed with his performance in the Tigers' win against Central Florida. See Page 7 Page 7 Football UNC 7 Maryland 23 Durant's Day Raises More QB Questions See Page 9 Despite missing breakfast, Barnard didn’t take long to make an impression on UNC’s offense. The junior’s first punt only sailed 27 yards to go out of bounds at the Tar Heels’ 23-yard line. UNC running back Willie Parker scored on a 77-yard run on the next play, but that was the last time the Tar Heels would break through Maryland’s defense -a fact largely due to Barnard’s superior boots down the field. See BARNARD, Page 9 12
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