jr ■ Monday, September 20, 2004 The Battalion AGGIELIFE: Fall television preview page 3 olume 111 • Issue 17 • 10 pages A Texas A&M Tradition Since 1893 www.thebatt.eom has approvei rce member: e past severe i stance tovie canes Charle ^am is arms; l million state : cache ami gistically sell t 72 hoursd o function ti Task Force! ere flooding nout Texas m Allison 1. The Ter in Service, s A&M Unive ; a sponsorim i Force 1. PAGE DESIGN BY: LAUREN ROUSE recking Crew returns Aggies defeat Clemson 27-6 Saturday By Nikki Knight THE BATTALION JOSHUA HOBSON itribute ing |inior quarterback Reggie McNeol dodges sopho- r re tailback Tramaine Billie for a four-yard gain itie red zone during the second quarter against Clemson in front of 71,565 people on Saturday at Kyle Field. McNeal passed for a total of 178 yards with no interceptions. The Aggies beat the Tigers 27-6. After last week’s reemergence of the Aggie defense, Texas A&M football fans saw it in full force Saturday as the Aggies de feated No. 25 Clemson 27-6. The Aggie defense sacked the Atlantic Coast Conference’s leading passer, Charlie Whitehu rst, five times and held him to 20 of 36 and 192 yards with three interceptions and a touchdown. Clemson totaled 250 yards on 63 offensive plays for the night. After a strong defensive first quar ter and the Aggies’ adjustment to the Tigers’ no-huddle offense, a drive started after Aggie redshirt freshman Japhus Brown’s interception at the end of the first quarter ignited the A&M offense. A 44-yard rash by sophomore naming back Coiutney Lewis and an 11 -yard pass to junior tight end Boone Stutz highlighted the drive that ended with the first touchdown of the game. The Aggies scored again in the second quarter with a four-play, 71 - yard drive beginning with an inter cepted pass by senior Byron Jones and ending in a 29-yard touchdown run by Lewis. Clemson’s only touchdown came on the next drive and was highlight ed by a 15-yard touchdown pass to senior tight end Ben Hall. The extra point attempt by junior kicker Ste phen Furr was no good, however. The Aggies wrapped up scor ing in the first half with a 32-yard field goal by junior Todd Pegram. A 99-yard drive in the third quar ter, which ended in a three-yard rush by senior wide receiver Jason Carter for a touchdown, tied the school record for longest drive and brought the score to 24-6. Pegram wrapped up scoring for the game with a 36-yard field goal with 8:43 to go in the fourth quarter. Clemson junior quarterback Whitehurst said he attributed his team’s loss to an inability to handle the blitz and four turnovers, com pared with A&M’s zero. Whitehu rst said that even during the Tigers’ one-touchdown drive, the team never got a rhythm going. “We didn’t do anything,” Whitehurst said. “We could’ve at least made it a game if we had just shown up.” Clemson head coach Tommy Bowden said he blamed the loss on numerous missed tackles, protection problems and turnovers. Bowden said his defense had a hard time against A&M’s isolat ed formation with no backs and concentration on the middle. Offensively, Bowden said, the team had a hard time with the strong comer blitz by A&M, which was similar to the one it saw last week against Georgia Tech. “They got us early — that was a schemed thing,” Bowden said. “They made us execute the pass ing game, and we did not do it.” Other key players for A&M included redshirt freshman cor- nerback Erik Mayes and senior Keelan Jackson, who led the de fense with 10 tackles each. McNeal had a strong offensive day with 129 yards rushing and 307 total yards. Lewis bounced back from an injury that forced him to miss last week’s game, accumulating a team-leading 165 yards rushing. “Last week when 1 was at home watching the game, I had a little urge to come back out and make a statement that I’m still See Crew on page 2 las leak cited as ipartment fire cause 1 of Engine? )hen A, have pledge: e a petroleui lip at lew; leir gift i i originalfel By Rhiannon Meyers l999. THE BATTALION ily has nple o! [ru/} 1 gas leakage from pipe s A&Ni.tafc aused the July 31 University Apart nplaryleadet- ienis explosion that killed two and head and this ijured two others, according to a final ivestigation report released Sept. 13 the State Fire Marshal’s Office. According to the 17-page report Fallen Aggie finally comes home By Jordan Meserole THE BATTALION underscores he excellence ering and tlie said Dr G implied by SFMO fire investigator :e chancello' hng. i FlolditcliFel i Engineer® with sts and mos! ids of partici h as he leads epartment ig- ecades, itw ire new gas I y supply I . To develt; need students an: hisfellowstt M Universi? ate student excellence. three egrees elor’s c n 70 a product II Co. befot M petroleur 1976. to host its” its are inn ggie Night! inter from any Bowers, investigators deter- ined that natural gas leaked from lies throughout the piping and ac- imulated in the apartment, where an lidentified ignition source caused : natural gas to explode. The report states that investiga- rs Eric Hurt, College Station Fire epartment assistant chief and fire vestigator, and Steve Smith, the illege Station Fire investigator, scovered several leaks in the pip- g, including a one-foot jagged hole exterior piping leading into the artment. In the report, investigators id this hole, like others discovered the piping, had signs of corrosion. “This hole had a jagged end with yers of corrosion staggering to the opening,” the report stated. “This hole and the smaller ones appear to have developed over an extended period of time.” According to the report, investi gators also discovered several leaks within the apartment that allowed the gas to seep in and accumulate. “In the opinion of the College Sta tion Fire Marshal’s Office, the large hole located in the underground pipeline near the pipe-chase air vent opening and the leak at the water heater leaked enough natural gas that would be drawn into the chase with the fresh air needed for the combus tion process of the water heaters to be the primary cause for the release of fuel for this fire,” the report stated. According to the report, the ques tion of why natural gas did not accu mulate in explosive quantities in adja cent apartments remains unanswered. “The reason for this may never be known,” the report stated. Since this blast. University offi cials have replaced all external gas lines in University Apartments. Central Vietnam’s scenery can be described as breathtaking — rolling mountains, lush greenery and the occasional stream dictates the view of the region. For 36 years, this was the site of 2nd Lt. Donald Matocha’s grave, on Dong Ma Mountain. It wasn’t Matocha’s home, though, just a temporary resting place until the fallen soldier could return to the United States. On Sept. 18, Matocha’s burial view changed to the roll ing hills and large pecan and pine trees of Smithville, Texas. Matocha had finally come home. “For years, we kept up hope that we would be able to find him,” said Matocha’s oldest sister, Loretta Eiben. “And today, this chapter is closed.” Matocha excelled in school, graduating Magna Cum Laude from Smithville High before enrolling at Texas A&M in 1963. “It’s always fun and interesting when you get the chance to watch someone you know and care for grow up into a produc tive citizen,” said Smithville mayor Renee Blaschke. “When he left, he was so determined to do well in school. And of course, we knew he would.” Matocha wouldn’t disappoint his supporters in Smithville. He graduated in three-and-a-half years with a bachelor’s de gree in civil engineering. Some of Matocha’s classmates jok ingly say they owe their college degrees to him. “(Matocha) was very quiet but also very smart,” said Mickey Batsell, a friend and classmate of Matocha. “Peo ple knew they could ask him for help because he would do anything for his buddies.” Upon graduation, Matocha enlisted with the Marine Corps and was immediately commissioned as a lieutenant. He visited his family once more before he was deployed, on his way out of town, he made sure to stop and shake the hand of every business owner on Main Street. It would be the last time for more than 30 years that residents of Smithville would see him again. On April 5, 1968, Matocha was leading his platoon on a reconnaissance mission on Dong Ma Mountain. As the men approached a ridge line of the mountain, heavy enemy fire rained on the soldiers. The group was able to hold off long enough to be rescued by a chopper, but Matocha, the first casualty of the short battle, had to be left behind due to the volatile environment, said Stan Sellers, a Marine who wit nessed Matocha’s death. “One of the greatest honors for a Marine is leading other See Aggie on page 8 See Fire on page 8 The Texas State Fire Marshal's Office released a fim investigation report about the cause of the July 31 University Apartments fire. • Cause of fire deemed accidental ■ Holes throughout internal and external piping caused natural gas leakage ■ One-foot long corroded hole discovered in external piping ■ Several leaks discovered within apartment U1-J, where explosion occurred 1 Holes believed to have developed over a long period of time BRANDI DUNN - Th£ Battalion Regents explore improvements for A&M By Emily Guevara THE BATTALION The Texas A&M Board of Regents did not declare a chancellor, despite ex tensive deliberation over candidates in a closed session on Thursday in the Me morial Student Center. In addition to selection of the chan cellor, the board discussed areas of the campus that needed attention to accom modate more students and to meet Amer icans with Disabilities Act guidelines. “We’re going to do a little bit more due diligence, that is check backgrounds and so forth, and out of that, I would expect we’ll go forward in the next two weeks,” said Vice Chairman Erie Nye on Friday. Once a finalist is named, Nye said, state law requires a 21 -day period before the board can actually hire the person. “The 21 days is simply to make the public aware, and if somebody knew something bad, I guess they could bring it forward in that period of time,” Nye said. Sometime after the 21 days, Nye said the regents would call a board meeting, giving three days notice, and deliberate and vote on the finalists in the open session. “So I think in a matter of five or six weeks, we’ll have a chancellor,” Nye said. On Friday, the board heard a report on findings and recommendations for Kyle Field improvements and on the athletic facilities master plan at A&M. Tim Donathen, executive director of facilities planning and construction for the A&M University System, said he pre sented a progress report to the board on the facility condition assessment of ath letic facilities starting with Kyle Field. “We gave them an update as to the findings,” Donathen said. “We haven’t set a firm budget or schedule for accom plishing it yet. We were looking for board input and reaction, and we’re waiting for the Athletic Department and the Univer sity to make some decisions about what pieces they want to pursue first.” These pieces include general func tional improvements to things such as handicap accessibility and the number of toilet facilities, along with life safety code issues, changes such as increasing the seating capacity of Kyle Field and building an indoor multi-sport practice facility, Donathen said. “I would say there are some long-term safety and ADA issues at Kyle (Field) that we’re going to need to address soon er rather than later,” said A&M President Robert M. Gates. Donathen said the State Fire Marshal’s Office had reviewed Kyle Field and oth er University facilities and pointed out areas that need attention. “The University and Athletic Department See Regents on page 2 SOURCE - STATE FIRE MARSHAL'S OFFICE FIRE INVESTIGATION REPORT is free rot 1 0 p.m„ Irfi U s such , belly 0 •ee food ai< :he "dive"'* shown at# ampus remembered for historic architecture By Luke Jackson THE BATTALION icallyheldc Sixteen distinguished buildings on the Texas A&M campus were orial Sturtecognized for historical importance to A&M heritage and for being is prese#iodels for the Campus Master Plan in a ceremony held outside the RecreattfjJackK. Williams Administration Building Saturday, ness Stirf “These 16 buildings all embody the character of Texas A&M Uni- lemorial Slftrsity,” said Executive Vice President and Provost David Prior, with disahl The Campus Master Plan is set to take place over the next 40 years at 845-1515 jA&M and would greatly increase the size and scope of the A&M campus. :eds. I “As part of A&M’s Campus Master Plan, these 16 buildings’ Barkers illustrate the quality of people that came before us and how , CO mnjj« e y still inspire us today,” said A&M President Robert M. Gates. Office £ f Williams Administration Building was built in 1932 in Pnor of Williams, the 17th president of Texas A&M. It faced the then- lew Highway 6 to symbolize the shift from train-to-automobile travel. Other buildings recognized include the Chemistry Building, which was built in 1929 and has Mexican-American influence in its color schemes and ornamentations, Nagle Hall, which was built in 1909 and is one of the oldest buildings at A&M; Bolton Hall, where, on Nov. 24, 1921, William A. “Doc” Tolson, Class of 1923, and Harry M. Saunders, Class of 1922, produced the first live play- by-play football game broadcast on the radio in the nation (A&M vs. Texas); and the YMCA Building, which was financed by stu dents, alumni and the John D. Rockefeller Foundation. Construction of future buildings on campus is said to be based on these distinguished buildings. “Whaf s great about the Campus Master Plan is that it recognizes buildings on campus that model for future buildings, and we intend to create a harmony amongst new buildings by drawing inspiration from the old ones,” Gates said. The celebration of the historic significance of the buildings will celebrate A&M’s emphasis and continuation of tradition. “Of all the universities in the world, Texas A&M has the heart of tradition in it,” said Director of Historic Resources Imaging Labora tory David Woodcock. AGCilELAND ARCHITECTURE Sixteen historically significant buildings were honored in "The Campus Remem be red "dedication on Saturday. ♦ Nagle Ha 11(1909) - Chemistry Building (1929) * Academic Building (1912) • Hart Residence Hall (1930) » Bizzel Hall [1912) * Cushing Library (1930) * Bolton Hall (1912) • Civil Engineering {1932) ♦Sbisa Dining Hall (191 3) ■ Williams Admirlstratkm Building (1932) •YMCA Building (1914) ■ Scoates Hall (1932) •Pavilion (1917) • Halbouty Building (1932) • Francis Hall (1918} ■ Animal Industries Building (1936) BRANDI DUNN - The Battalion SOURCE - ROBERT M. GATES, TEXAS A&M PRESIDENT ft mam