Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 11, 2001)
ueiday, September 11, 200 ports Tl the battalion SECTION Page IB 'Y OPTICAL Johnson out s’ senior wide receiver \delined by spleen injury ‘indefinitely’ By True Brown THE BATTALION pikxi gtasMs, 1 ’ • i the already-thin lineup of A&M receivers took anoth- yesterday, as the Aggies ed senior Bethel Johnson j/'iplld he sidelined indefinitely, t, Bryan 7Hohnson suffered a bruised 0 [«Ti VSiec KJ*ta fl nne [plten during A&M's 28-20 win ^Bnst the Llniversitv of ^H>nune Fhursday night. ^■Kfter sustaining the injury in I he third quarter, Johnson fin ished the game with six catches ibr 50 yards, including a two- ■u conversion in the second Quarter to put A&M up 21-7. Our only con cern at this time is for the health of this young man — R.C. Slocum A&M head coach F he injury was originally dilgnosed after the game, and Johnson spent Thursday night inla Laramie, Wyo., hospital for observation. ■Team trainer Karl Kapchinski accompanied Johnson back to College Station Friday, and Johnson was admitted to a Bry an thospital for more tests to determine ( the extent of the injuries. I “Bethel is out indefinitely,” said f/^I/CI head football coach R.C. 'LKj« 1 Slocum. “He had trauma to his J spleen and he will be kept in the hospital for the rest of this week.” H Noi entireh uncommon in i* 1 sports, spleen injuries occur cut when an athlete suffers trauma to the lower left side of the abdomen. The most common injury results in a period of time with minimal discomfort, but that is followed by a drop in blood pressure and an increase in the heart rate. Johnson’s injury comes at an inopportune time for A&M, as the Aggies have struggled to find consistency in their first two games of the season. The Aggies have this week end off before taking on Oklahoma State and Notre Dame in back-to-back week ends. A&M also will face Colorado and Kansas State on the road in October. The Aggies are optimistic that Johnson’s injury will heal on its own. “We will take a wait-and-see approach,” Slocum said. “We will evaluate his status further down the road, but our only con cern at this time is the health of this young man.” Johnson, a native of Corsicana, was expected to take over as A&M's “go-to” receiver after Robert Ferguson’s jump to the NFL after last season. In his sophomore year at A&M, Johnson led the team in yards per catch with a 19.0 aver age and in kickoff returns, aver aging 19.3 yards per return. Johnson has been one of the Aggies’ most consistent receivers and has caught at least one pass in every regular season game of his career. So far this year, Johnson has pulled in eight catches for 68 yards. Since the injury occurred in the first two games of the year, Johnson could apply for anoth er year of eligibility, but that decision will not be made for some time. Senior wide receiver Bethel Johnson will be sidelined indefinitely after suffering a bruised spleen during the GUY ROGERS • THE BATTALION third quarter of the Aggies' 28-20 victory over the Wyoming Cowboys Thursday night in Laramie. QB Carter pushed in NFL debut IRVING (AP) — The Dallas Cowboys stuck to their promise of not asking rookie quarterback Quincy Carter to do too much in his NFL debut. Then came the fourth quarter. Carter was asked to do more on his last two drives than he’d been asked to do all game. The rookie couldn’t and Dallas ended up losing 10-6 to Tampa Bay on Sunday. Carter threw only 10 pass es over the first three quarters, then nine in the fourth quarter — including eight of Dallas’ final 10 snaps. He completed four of those late passes, but for only 13 yards. The final attempt was caught by Tampa Bay safety John Lynch, ruining any hopes for an upset. The Cowboys were extremely cautious with Carter early on, calling for some short passes and a lot of handoffs. The biggest wrinkle was hav ing him occasionally hand the ball to a fullback or a receiver, not just Emmitt Smith. The aggressive approach led to Dallas’ best drive of the day. They got consecutive completions for the first time, their only third-down conver sion. a 16-yard pass interfer ence penalty that was longer than any of Carter’s comple tions, then sprung Smith for his longest run, 14 yards. Suddenly, the Cowboys were 30 yards from the lead. But Carter could not pull it off. “It had to be a perfect throw, up and down over the linebacker's head and between him and the safety. Lynch,” Carter said. “I didn't make it. Things like that happen. I've got to learn from it.” Said Campo: “I think we did exactly what we planned to do. We just need to play better.” NS EACH . Suite D ihtMngers) Ion 1103 sts only. 3n * I-visit, yjle Bucks. ^ 02/01 Ags come away with positives despite loss to Stanford iCIAli ,he Texas A&M volleyball team faced its first hurdle of the season this weekend [hen the No. 9 anford Cardinal ime calling. I The Aggies tripped over that hurdle as the ■ardinal exercised its muscle and size to defeat A&M in four games at G. Rollie White Coliseum. I For the first two games of the match, A&M seemed as though it was hitting against a wall as Stanford seemed to block almost every Aggie attack. DOUG PUENTES Stanford has four starters more than 6-feet tall, three of whom are taller than A&M's tallest starter. “They’re huge,” said A&M volley ball coach Laurie Corbelli. “They may be one of the biggest teams we see all year. Nebraska is probably that big too. At this level, the blocking and hit ting make all the difference. 1 thought we passed as well if not better, served as well if not better and our ball con trol is just as good, but the net play really stood out to me.” It was not until the third game that the Aggies started showing a spark, and by that time, it was an uphill bat tle. A&M will not have the luxury of giving away two games once it enters Big 12 play. Before thinking the season is over, however, remember, one loss does not make a season. The team actually moved up two spots to No. 16 in this week’s USA Today AVCA Coach’s Top 25 poll. Stanford, which also had defeated then-No. 4 Penn State earlier in the week, took over the fourth spot in the poll, somewhat softening the blow for the Aggies. Another bright spot was those who played well and stepped up against the Cardinal. Mount had 18 kills against Stanford, continuing her stellar early season play. She leads the team with 4.05 kills per game and is second in hitting percentage at .375. Freshman middle blocker Melissa Munsch also stepped up and made her presence known against Stanford. Put into the match towards the end of game one, Munsch provided the team with a bigger presence and a spark, throwing down 16 kills. The team could benefit if a freshman like Munsch could step up and continue her strong play. Senior outside hitters Erin Lechler and Michelle Cole never got on track against Stanford. Lechler managed 12 kills but had 10 hitting errors and hit ting percentage that was a meager .043. Cole also notched double digits in kills with 10, but made eight hitting errors and had a hitting percentage of .069. Even though the Aggies lost, which no team ever wants to do, it might have been for the best, as A&M gained invaluable knowledge that will help them for the remainder of its schedule. If the Aggies play up to their vast potential the rest of the season, they will be glad they stumbled over the first hurdle and not the last. Doug Puentes is a senior journalism major. 1805 Briarcrest BRYAN 979-776-0999 Lmts&Tr iPmms Uvumt Come jowThe Fun’. Come One! Come All! Come early! — Starting Times — We.dJhux-Sat Friday Sunday 6:45 & 9:00 7:15 & 9:00 6:00 & 8:00 EXPERIENCE THE I THRILL OF WINNING r ^C F If Corporatio n * Large No n- Smoking Room i Funs • Griat Food • SKCumrr • Full Tais and Much Maud Due romvnr changes, no one under IS Is Masts) to enter Over $30,000 Won Each Week A Uniaue Country Retreat Daytime Weekend Rates starting at $400 Wedding Events • Parties Family Reunions • Meetings 979-731-8155 www.the-veranda.com SHOP HASSLE FREE VARSITY FORD www.varsityford.net NO HEAT! NO SALESMAN UNTIL YOU NEED THEM! HIGH REBATES LOW INTEREST RATES COLLEGE GRAD PROGRAMS MODEL YEAR END CLOSE-OUT SPECIALS! (Quesdons? E-mail us at ross@varsityfo rd. net) ~&tounf% v. Texas @ George Bush ♦ y. Cicix. September is “Appreciation Month r ®B*WK* brinks i are 1 l usl ‘THE BEST DEAL IN TOWN^ jST ^5^ JUST GOT BETTER!* J Cks w/ approved I.D. Attention All Members of NSCS es 10/25/01 wm m National Society of Collegiate Scholars Its time for the first meeting of the semester!!! When: September 13 Where: 225 MSC FREE FOOD For more information, contact us at: nscstamu^yahoo.com MADWAGON your basic ride For less than the cost of a textbook or a night out partying, you can own a Madwagon bike. It gets you where you need to be. Life should be so simple. Your basic ride. Get one at madwagon.com Proud Sponsor, Texas A&M Lacrosse Team Use this sales code: T1AM1001
