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Monday, July 23, 2001
Sports
Page 3
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THE BATTALION
ootball season arrives early
[4d»M campus gets dose of pigskin with 7-on-7 tournament, Baytown Lee wins event
Michael Balhoff and Mark Passwaters
The Battalion
I Baytown Lee required a tiebreaker
to escape Friday’s preliminary rounds
of the 2002 7-on-7 football tourna-
nient. On Saturday, they took matters
into their own hands.
I The Ganders put on an offensive ex-
hibition in the championship tourna-
nent, capping off the run by holding
iff a furious rally by Austin Bowie and
iscaping with a 34-32 victory. With a
1 record on Friday, Baytown Lee had
lo rely on a total-points- scored
iebreaker to move on to the champi-
anship tournament.
On Saturday, quarterback Drew Tate
who has received interest from Pur
ine University, among other schools —
:ook full advantage of the gift, leading
he team to three consecutive 40 point
Igames, rolling over McKinney, Cy-Fair
land Gladewater.
Baytown coach Dick Olin said that
the 7-on-7 passing format was a defi
nite advantage for his team.
“We’re running our offense,” Olin
said.
“We throw and we catch.”
Tate, who has thrown for 4,700 yards
in two years at the quarterback helm,
stepped up the offense another notch in
the semifinals. The Ganders beat
Keller 48-34 to advance to the champi
onship game at Kyle Field.
Austin Bowie took the opposite
route in advancing through the tourna
ment.
It used a suffocating defense that
held its three previous opponents to 38
combined points. A 21-19 win over
Plano in the semifinals advanced them
to their final matchup with Raytown
Lee.
In the championship game, they fi
nally ran into an offense that they could
Other sports, like base
ball and basketball get
to play year-round, and
now at least we have
something”
— Dick Olin
Baytown coach
not stop.
The teams locked up in a shootout
where incomplete passes were a rarity.
Baytown Lee took a 27-18 halftime
lead and was trying to hold on to a
touchdown lead with time winding
down.
After relying on offensive produc
tion all day, it was a'defensive play that
ensured Baytown Lee the champi
onship. The Ganders intercepted a
Bowie pass to end a- promising drive
and seal the victory.
Olin hoped that the 7-on-7 champi
onship was a sign of good things to
come as the high school regular season
sets to get underway.
“Maybe the kids know what it’s like
to be successful...there isn’t a whole lot
of difference between teams that win
and teams that lose except for confi
dence,” Olin said.
Baytown’s coach went on to say that
the format, while being different from
the football they played in the fall, was
still useful.
“Granted, you can’t run and there’s
no (defensive pass) rush, but it’s related
to football,” Olin said.
“Other sports, like baseball and bas
ketball get to play year-round, and now
at least we have something.”
In consolation play earlier in the day,
Abilene Cooper beat Creekview 34-32.
With the game tied at 20 at halftime,
Cooper was able to prevent Creekview
from converting on their two second
half extra-point attempts and deflected
away a desperation pass as time expired.
The 7-on-7 format had several rules
that differed from regular football.
Along with no running the football and
no pass rush from the defense, the quar
terback was required to throw the ball
within four seconds of taking the snap.
The teams played on a 45-yard field
with a continuously running clock.
Each half lasted 20 minutes.
McNeal makes memorable
first impression on campus
Michael Balhoff
The Battalion
Reggie McNeal has heard all the
hype. Everyone, from his high school
coach to recruiting experts nation
wide has compared the Lufkin senior
quarterback to Michael Vick, the No.
1 overall pick in the NFL Draft by
the Atlanta Falcons.
When Vick came out of high
school, he was rated die top run/pass
quarterback in the nation. Entering
his senior year, McNeal has been giv
en the same distinction. Vick was also
rated a Top-10 recruit by ESPN in
1997; this year, McNeal is ranked
third.
While the A&M recruit is flattered
to be held in such high esteem, he
would rather create his own identity
instead of mimicking someone else.
“I’m just gonna be me,” McNeal
said.
“I guess I have a similar style to
Michael Vick, but I want to have my
own name.”
Fie may have taken the first step to
achieving his goal with an impressive
performance this weekend at the 7-
on-7 state championships played on
the A&M campus.
Playing in front of large crowds in
terested in getting a glimpse at the
Aggies’ most recent and highly tout
ed 2002 commitment, McNeal did
not disappoint.
This weekend, McNeal was not
able to show off his speed or evasive
ability, as 7-on-7 rules prevent quar
terbacks from scrambling. However,
he was able to show off his strong aftd
accurate arm in the passing-only
event.
In stifling heat that had taken a
physical toll on the players by the end
of the weekend, McNeal played al
most every down on offense and de
fense, taking his turn at quarterback,
receiver, linebacker and safety.
Lufkin got off to a fine start on Fri
day, compiling a 3-0 record against
Bay City (27-20), Grapevine (26-19)
and Pearland (41-13), a team that fea
tured quarterback Noah Allen, who
has verbally committed to the Uni
versity of Oklahoma.
“We’re here to compete but it’s
See McNeal on Page 6.
we unfa
c ronh
Duval wins British Open, removes glasses
LY7TIAM ST. ANNES,
England (AP) — David Duval
never doubted he had the met
tle to win a major champi-
, onship. Now he has a silver
claret jug to prove it.
Duval refused to let the
British Open turn into the
shootout everyone expected,
seizing control Sunday with a
- Vladiwf-
issian pres::
:eshasf
2001 David Duval
2000 Tiger Woods
1 999 Paul Lawrie
1998 Mark O’Meara
1997 Justin Leonard
19 96 Tom Lehman
1995 # John Daly
United States
United States
Scotland
United States
United States
U n ited States
United States
RUBEN DELUNA/The Battalion
rock-solid game that carried
him to a 4-under 67 at Royal
Lytham & St. Annes and gave
him his first major champi
onship.
Maintaining a stoic de
meanor behind his wraparound
shades to the very end, Duval
removed his sunglasses, tipped
his cap to the adoring crowd
and finally walked off the 18th
green of a major tournament as
a champion.
He finished at 274 for a
three-stroke victory over Niklas
Fasth of Sweden, the only one
among a long list of proven
players who sustained any kind
of challenge.
Former Masters champion
Ian Woosnam might have been
on that list. But after nearly mak
ing an ace on the opening hole,
the Welshman realized he had an
extra club in his bag and was as
sessed a two-stroke penalty.
That might have made Du
val’s task a little tougher at the
end.
Haunted by the costly mis
take, Woosnam finished with a
71 and was four strokes back at
278 along with five others.
Three of them were major
championship winners —
Woosnam, two-time Masters
champion Bernhard Langer and
two-time U.S. Open champion
Ernie Els.
Now, with this victory, Duval
takes his place among them.
The only player besides
Tiger Woods to be ranked No.
1 in the past three years, Duval
expected to be there all along.
He carried some baggage to
Royal Lytham — four chances
at Augusta National, two at the
U.S. Open and even last year at
St. Andrews.
He flew home from that
British Open with Woods and
got a good look at the claret jug.
On Sunday, he never really let it
out of his grasp.
“It’s kind of a big relief,” he
said. “It’s so pressure-packed in
major championships, and then
you put it on a golf course like
this, where any minor mistake is
magnified and it makes the
pressure even greater. You just
can’t let up, and I didn’t let up
today.”
He becomes the sixth Amer
ican in the past seven years to
win golf’s oldest championship.
Another major championship
passed without Woods in seri
ous contention at any time.
Like so many others, Woods
could not make enough birdies
on a firm, fast links course lit
tered with pot bunkers. He took
triple bogey on the par-3 12th
and wound up nine strokes be
hind in a tie for 25th, his worst
finish in a major in nearly four
years.
“I’m not thrilled that I wasn’t
able to contend down the
stretch, but I had my chances
See Duval on Page 6.
Sports in Brief
Armstrong grabs lead
in Tour De France
LUZ-ARDIDEN, France (AP) —
Lance Armstrong bolstered his
chances for a third straight Tour de
France title, holding the leader’s yellow
jersey after the race’s final mountain
stage.
Armstrong finished fourth in the
14th stage Sunday, crossing the line
just behind main rival Jan Ullrich of
Germany. The Texan has been the
overall leader for two straight days.
This was the last big opportunity for
Armstrong’s rivals to challenge for the
yellow jersey because the remaining
flat stages make it difficult for riders to
take a sizable lead.
Roberto Laiseka of Spain delighted
thousands of fans from his native
Basque region by winning the leg from
Tarbes to this ski station high in the
Pyrenees. Wladimir Belli ofijtaly fin
ished second.
1 dead, 11 injured at
Lorain County Speedway
AMHERST, Ohio (AP) — Two cars
jumped a guard rail and hit a section of
bleachers at a track, killing a wheel
chair-bound woman and injuring at
least 11 spectators.
Authorities said Sunday that four
people were taken by helicopter from
Lorain County Speedway to Metro-
Health Medical Center in Cleveland.
Virginia Wyleth, 65, was pro
nounced dead early Sunday, a nursing
supervisor said. Fler hometown was
not available, the county sheriff’s de
partment said.
The accident occurred about 11:30
p.m. Saturday.
Lorain County Sheriff’s Capt. Jim
Drozdowski said two drivers collided
just before the accident.
“TWo of the cars accelerated and
bumped and the drivers lost control,
went over a guard rail, took out a fence
and hit a set of stands,” Drozdowski
said.
The two drivers were treated at the
scene.
Also at MetroHealth, Ivan Zirkle,
69, of Avon, was in good condition
Sunday with a back injury, and 19-year-
old Jacob Webster, whose hometown
was not available, was in satisfactory
condition with a leg injury.
or in Chief
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