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
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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.