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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 30, 2000)
Monday, October 30, 2000 Page 7 October ? Sports THE BATTALION Purple-People Eater with 26-10 win over No. 10 KSU annual w Blaine Dionne TIjc Battalioti I Another Maroon Out, another defeat of a Top 10 team at Kyle Field — this is becom ing routine for the Aggies. J In 1998, the No. 2 Nebraska Cornhuskers came into a sold-out, albeit under construc tion, Kyle Field and lost to a fired-up A&M squad and its rabid, maroon-clad fans. ■ Last year, against the No. 5 Texas Long- Horns, the Aggies rode the emotion of Ma roon Out and the 1999 Bonfire Collapse to a 20-16 victory over their archrivals. I Enter No. 10 Kansas State and the 2000 Battalk* Maroon Out Saturday. It marked the Aggies’ first home game since their loss to Colorado on Oct. 7 and their first matchup with a ■inked opponent all this year. r The result was an impressive 26-10 vic- ttry that kept the Aggies in the Big 12 title m luint and placed them back in the Top 25 for the first time since the preseason. I “This just shows what we can do when , we put our mind to it,” said A&M quarter- tack Mark Farris. ombinge. The A&M offense started quickly on the ieypiano®rst drive, taking the ball 66 yards to the ore wasi'; Kansas State 14 for a quick 3-0 lead off a 31 - cened te yard Terence Kitchens field goal. : side. 01 But the fireworks did not really start until , who tofte Wrecking Crew got its first shot at the ‘Cats, rifled,ire On KSU's first play from scrimmage, out- jckedrf side linebacker Jason Glenn picked off K- le andttJl tatet l uarler ^ ac * < Jonathan Beasley, followed M>y an amazing return to the Wildcats’ 3. , , iA, “The D-line put good pressure on Jonathan oleusa on play,” Glenn said. “I hid behind the There' fickle and [Beasley] threw it to me. I didn’t t the l: Realize I had the ball ’til two seconds later. So inyYer when I started to run with it, I said, ‘Hey, 1 /ardlf need to show these guys I have some moves the P; | ■also when I have the ball in my hand.’ ” ity j/i 1 1 His moves did not help the offense get in Ticult it ^ )C en< J zo,5e < though, as a false start cost the d '4 iciety jement &S2QAL £ga<?.s five yards on tlieir first play. They were not able to convert from the 8 and had to settle for another field goal to put the score at 6-0. Farris and the offense started on their own j!9 after the ’Cats were forced to punt, and fac ing a stiff wind, drove 71 yards to the goal line. [ As time ran out of the first period, fullback (Ja’Mar Toombs scampered into the end zone rom mi j | rom 5 yards out and put the Aggies up, 12-0. in Bryan ve some FUN! f Praise a irsgate lurch >r 18* K-State got the ball on its own 28 to start the second quarter and drove the field with relative ease on a suddenly porous Aggie run defense, until on third-and-six on the A&M 11-yard line, the Wildcats jumped off sides. They jumped again on the next play and, af ter an incompletion on third-and-16, the Wildcats set up for a field goal. A bad snap on the attempt resulted in K- State kicker Jamie Rheem doing his best Garo Yepremian impression that got picked off in the end zone by Sammy Davis for the Aggies’ second interception of the day. A&M was unable to do anything with the opportunity, punting after three plays. The Aggies stopped KSU again, but after a spectacular K-State punt, the Aggies were pinned down on their own 3-yard line. The distance between them and six points apparently did not phase the Aggie O, because 97 yards and 11 plays later, they was cele brating Toombs’ second touchdown of the day, an 8-yard rush that put the score at 19-0. “I thought that was a big, big drive,” said A&M coach R.C. Slocum. “I talked to the team on the sideline. I told them, ‘We’ve got ta get this ball off the goal line, and once we get it out, let’s don’t stop, let’s take it the whole way.’ ” The third quarter served to be the least productive for the Aggies. The offense put together a string of three-and-outs that re sulted in A&M going the entire period with out a first down. The defense, which had been dominant to that point, suddenly sprung leaks. The Wildcats were able to cut into the Ag gies’ lead on their first possession of the half, a 31-yard strike from Beasley to receiver Aaron Lockett that put the score at 19-7. On their next possession, the ’Cats drove down to the A&M 4 yard line before the Wrecking Crew stiffened and held KSU to a field goal, setting the score at 19-10. That would be all the points the Wildcats could muster the rest of the contest as the fourth quarter belonged to the Aggies. K-State got the ball on their own two to begin their first drive of the fourth quarter. On the first play, a sideline pass intended for Lockett, Bautovich made a highlight-reel in terception to seal the victory. Toombs third touchdown a few minutes later, just increased the margin. Texas A&M fullback Ja'Mar Toombs punches into the end zone in the Aggies' 26-10 upset over No. 10 Kansas State. Toombs scored CHAD ADAMS/The Battali all three of the Aggies' touchdowns while pounding the Wildcat defense 24 times for a game-high 89 yards on the ground. Ja’Mar Toombs powers Texas A&M’s biggest victories in Kyle Field TOOMBS Maroon Out #1 No. 2 Nebraska 1998 110 yards 71-yard run broke the Busker's back Maroon Out # 2 No. 5 Texas 1999 126 yards, 2 touchdowns Maroon Out # 3 No. 10 Kansas State 2000 89 yards, 3 touchdowns By Jason Lincoln The Battalion Texas A&M fullback Ja’Mar Toombs has largely stayed away from the spotlight this season. With a strong class of quick running backs right be hind him, Toombs gracefully accepted his new role that involved more blocks than carries, while the younger and smaller tailbacks produced the yardage. But with No. 10 Kansas State entering Kyle Field Saturday, Toombs wanted the ball. He made a simple request to A&M offensive coordinator Steve Kragthor- pe — “Give me the ball.” Toombs’ reputation was on the line. In his first two seasons at A&M, the 6-0, 275-pound fullback always had his best games against ranked opponents. “Over my career, I’ve always done good things in big games,” Toombs said. “I knew that today, if I was given the chance, I was going to come through for the team.” While Kansas State may have had the lowest rank ing of any of Maroon Out opponent, Toombs was not going to leave anything to chance. When Kragthorpe complied with his request by giv ing him the ball 24 times, Toombs did not disappoint. Instead, he gave A&M all three of its touchdowns against the Wildcats while rushing for a game-leading 89 yards and all but sealing A&M’s 26-10 upset. “I talked to Ja’Mar Toombs on the way off the field before the game,” Kragthorpe said. ‘He told me that he would get the job done, so I saddtffj him and rode him off into sunset.” Saturday marked A&M’s third Maroon Out, with all three games against Top-10 opponents. In all three, Toombs produced the big plays that sealed the upsets ' for the Aggies. ’ - “Ja’Mar is really a good football player,” said A&M I coach R.C. Slocum. “When he gets to rolling, he real ly can make things happen.” The first upset came in 1998„where the big freshman' rushed for 110-yards against No. 2 Nebraska. It was a 71-yard rumble to the ’Huskers 1-yard line that broke ! Nebraska’s back and allowed A&M to win 28-21. * ' His second back-breaking came against No. 5 Texas in front of another marooned-out Kyle Field. This time Toombs carried the ball 37 times, gaining a career-high 126 yards and two touchdowns, to set the stage for a 20- 16 upset. “It’s great that I can be looked to, to pull us and keep the chains moving and make big plays,” Toombs said. Soccer wins game rt tis, InC'i ixcellen 1 H entrf' is inoitf : urrentlf ,lus ove' juartefi i Houtf ’ lOpfl' jositiotf free ofl' perfoit jirioka 15 callou [ lt ir 845 j.com |By Brian Ruff I The Battalion ! The No. 9 Texas A&M soccer jteam closed out its 2000 regular sea- Ison on Sunday afternoon with a 3-0 "win over the Texas Christian Univer- jsity Horned Frog's at the Aggie Soc- i|cer Complex. Although the game had ho bearing on the team’s seeding in 1 the Big 12 tournament that begins on [Wednesday, coach G. Guerrieri’s ■team still looked to get some work in I before the single-elimination tourna- Irnent begins. R Just seven minutes into the game ■ midfielder Alison Peters, playing in ■her final regular season game a the ■Aggie Soccer Complex, beat the (TCU goalkeeper by finishing a Kris- Iten Strutz header that sailed over the ■goalie’s head to give the Aggies an I early 1-0 lead. Later in the half, Strutz would contribute once again to A&M of fensive production, pounding in | Heather Wiebe’s corner kick past the leaping TCU goalkeeper with 17 minutes left in the first half. When the Aggies came out for the Volleyball sweeps OU A&M retains grip on second place BERNARDO GARZA/The BATTALfoN Texas A&M midfielder Kristen Strutz heads a ball into the goal against TCU. The Aggies defeated the Horned Frogs 3-0 Sunday afternoon at the Aggie Soccer Complex in the final game of the regular season. second half with a 2-0 lead, the team’s play was a little sluggish, not advanc ing the ball into the TCU penalty area for most of the half. Strutz and the Aggies found a way to overcome the team’s second-half problems when the midfielder added her second goal of the game and her ninth of the season with only 10 min utes left to play in regulation. Strutz was set up nicely by the team’s top point producer, forward Heather Ragsdale, who sent the ball to Strutz inside the TCU penalty box. Strutz pounded the ball into the left half of the net, scoring the game’s fi nal goal and giving the Aggies a 3-0 lead. A&M goalkeeper Esther Thompson posted yet another shutout Sunday by saving five TCU shots on the day. “We were a little disappointed in the way we played in the second See Soccer on Page 10. By Bree Holz The Battalion The No. 21 Texas A&M volley ball team improved its conference record to 10-3 when it defeated the University of Oklahoma, 15-4, 15-5, 15-9, Friday in front of 1,351 fans at G. Rollie White Coliseum'. The Aggies remain in second place in the Big 12 with a 15-5 overall record, while Oklahoma sits in 11 th place with a 1 -11 league mark. “We had specific things in mind for our game plan, and I thought the team executed them very well, espe cially early in the match,” said A&M coach Laurie Corbelli* “Overall, I was really pleased with their effort.” A&M established a 7-0 lead early in the first game of the match with kills from outside hitter Erin Gibson and middle blocker Heather Marshall. The Sooners managed to score four consecutive points on A&M hit ting errors and two Oklahoma kills, but a kill from A&M outside hitter Michelle Cole ended the streak. Marshall, Gibson and Cole post ed kills to score four straight points and then end the first game on a kill by middle blocker Tara Pulaski. The Aggies jumped to a 3-0 lead in the second game, but Oklahoma forced 10 sideouts before A&M scored its fourth point. Setter Claire Harvey and Gibson produced the fifth and sixth points, respectively, putting the Aggies ahead, 6-0. Oklahoma scored its first two points of the game by an ace and an A&M hitting error. However, Okla homa could not control its own mis takes and handed A&M a 9-2 lead af ter committing four hitting errors. After the timeout, Oklahoma found some momentum and scored another point on a kill and two more points on A&M mistakes. A&M called its first timeout of the match with the Aggies leading, 11 -5. An ace and a kill from outside hit ter Brandi Mount gave the Aggies two more points, and a Sooner hitting error ended the second game. The third game was much differ ent from the first two, as Oklahoma jumped to an early 5 1 lead to force See Volleyball on Page 10. Twelfth Man restores Kyle Field magic W ho better to set the tone for Texas A&M’s upset bid against No. 10 Kansas State, than the Twelfth Man? Robert Jor dan, the Aggies’ Twelfth Man representative on special teams, posted a tackle on A&M’s.first kickoff against No. 10 Kansas State Saturday. Then A&M’s Twelfth Man in the stands came alive and sealed the deal. A crowd of 80,659 turned out for A&M’s third annual Maroon Out and helped the Aggies win their third straight victory over a Top-10 opponent in Kyle Field. Ironically, the tradition of Ma roon Out was derived from places such as the Wildcats own KSU ;« I •J See Twelfth Man on Page 10.