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UK football needing an offensive boost, hoops begins and Mason County grads are now foes
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By CHUCK HAMILTON Sports Writer
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SPURRIER HEX CONTINUES
LEXINGTON -- The frustration, along with not one, but two losing streaks continued on a glorious Saturday afternoon at Commonwealth Stadium for the Kentucky Wildcats.
Not only did the ol' ball coach, Steve Spurrier, continue his mastery against UK with his 16th consecutive win without a loss, but South Carolina has now won nine in a row over the Cats.
The latest installment of the Spurrier streak evolved into a bizarre football game, even by Kentucky standards.
Both offensive units struggled most of the afternoon, primarily because, oddly enough, the strength of the 2008 version of both teams is defense.
The first score of the game was a result of the opportunistic UK defense when cornerback Trevard Lindley picked off South Carolina quarterback Chris Smelley's pass for a 28-yard touchdown return.
The Gamecocks had a quick answer, when Captain Munnerlyn returned the ensuing kickoff 84 yards to the Kentucky 16. Smelley hooked up with Kevin McKinley for a touchdown pass on the only play of the drive to tie the score.
Another big South Carolina special teams play came early in the second quarter, when it appeared UK was about to regain the lead on an easy, 21-yard field goal. Instead, Jordan Lindsey's block of Ryan Tydlacka's attempt turned into an 81-yard run to pay dirt for Munnerlyn, after the ball naturally bounced directly into his hands.
At that point, the UK band should have cranked out the old Grateful Dead tune, "What a Long Strange Trip It's Been," because this was definitely turning into yet another Twilight Zone type of affair for the Wildcats.
Just a few minutes later, the Gamecocks fumbled the ball back to UK after a reception, and the Cats were able to take advantage, scoring what would prove to be their final touchdown of the game with 6:23 left in the first half. Tydlacka's 51-yard field goal near the end of the half gave Kentucky a 17-14 halftime lead.
Neither team was able to score in the third quarter, with South Carolina's Ryan Succop missing a pair of field goal attempts, and Tydlacka missing one.
Spurrier's penchant for giving his backup QB a shot proved to be the right move when redshirt freshman Stephen Garcia entered the fray with 6:46 left in the third.
Garcia ran for eight yards on his first play, and added a 25-yard run three plays later. That drive ended with Succop's third missed field goal attempt, but after a UK three-and-out series, a 27-yard completion from Garcia to Jason Barnes on a 3rd-and-14 burned the UK secondary. Succop finally connected, booting a 42-yarder to knot the score at 17-17.
Another three-and-out series for the woeful UK offense followed and the Gamecocks again used the Garcia-to-Barnes connection to torch the Cats. Facing a 3rd-and-12 at the Kentucky 40, Garcia calmly tossed a 16-yard completion to Barnes, and one play later, Barnes took the ball to the UK seven on a 38-yard reception. Garcia then hit Weslye Saunders with a seven-yard scoring strike and the Kentucky offense responded with another three-and-out.
After Succop missed from 39 yards, UK quarterback Michael Hartline tried to rally his team, but misfired on five passes before completing one. The problem was, that pass was caught by South Carolina's Chris Culliver, his second interception of the game.
Bottom line of this odd game?
Kentucky still needs to find a running game to help Hartline, and they also need to find a playmaker on the outside after senior Dicky Lyons Jr. went out in the first quarter with a MCL injury.
Expect to see freshman Randall Cobb lining up behind center more often in the near future, but Cobb is also effective as a receiver, which is where Kentucky's primary need is right now.
BASKETBALL TIME IN THE BLUEGRASS
Wednesday marks the official starting date for basketball practice to begin in Kentucky high school basketball, but because of an NCAA technicality, coach Billy Clyde Gillispie and his second Wildcat squad hit the court for the fun and festivities of Big Blue Madness on Friday night.
It should be another very interesting season in Lexington and Big Blue Nation is already dreaming of an SEC title and a return trip to the Final Four.
I would never bet against Billy G., but the Cats appear to be a year away from contending for a national title.
Gillispie has more depth and talent at his disposal, but it will take some time to get this team to jell.
Questions still must be answered at point guard, and Mason County's Darius Miller may even see some time in that all-important position. Jodie Meeks should step into the shooting guard spot and by all accounts, he and last year's super freshman, Patrick Patterson, are fully healed and ready to go.
Barring more injuries to key players, and any other unforeseen occurrences, this team will be dangerous once March rolls around.
ROYAL REUNION
On Thursday evening at Toyota Stadium, Kentucky Christian University faced a tall order, taking on traditional NAIA heavyweight Georgetown College.
The Knights, in their first full year playing a varsity schedule, dropped a 58-33 decision to the Tigers, but proved they could put points on the board.
Lining up at the starting center position for KCU is freshman Ray Huron, a former standout at Mason County High School.
On the other side of the field was another true freshman, former Royals star Jackson Tolle, who said, "It was kind of weird playing against him."
Tolle, a polite and respectful young man off the field, collected four tackles for Georgetown from his defensive end position and also starts on the kickoff team.
"Everything's going great," said Tolle. "School's tough, but I'm having the best time of my life playing football. We have had a couple of tough losses, but the coaches are doing a great job of keeping us going and getting us ready for the next game."
The Tigers are 2-3 against a challenging NAIA schedule, and the Knights are still seeking their first win, despite being in almost every game they have played. |
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