|
|
 |
||
| 1980 Game 8: GEORGIA 13 SOUTH CAROLINA 10 | ||
November 1, 1980 This one had the big-game hype to it. ABC was coming to town, with the legendary Keith Jackson calling the game. It was being hyped as Herschel vs. George Rogers. Both were in the midst of making a run at the Heisman Trophy. The polls had us #4 that week. Jim Carlen’s Gamecocks were 6-1, with their only loss coming in Los Angeles to USC, 23-13. The next week, Carolina beat Michigan in Ann Arbor, 17-14. They hit Athens on a 4-game win streak. This was going to be good. It was an awesome day to play football; temperature of 68* and sunny. Kick-off was 12:35 and Sanford Stadium was sold-out, standing room only. The tracks were slammed and the bridge was too. South Carolina’s offense entered the game #4 in rushing offense (320 yards a game) and they averaged 34 points a game. They were running a 2 tight-end, 2-back set, with a single WR. It was a mix of I-formation and split backs. George Rogers was getting the ball on a lot of downhill runs. The inside toss was effective out of the I-formation, with the FB in motion. They also ran the dive out of split backs, which allowed him to hit the hole hard. Their passing game was not a concern, which allowed out DBs to help get after George Rogers. In fact, the play of the game came from a DB. ABC and the newspapers picked up on a story during the week about George Rogers Dad getting out of jail, in order to come to the game. ABC even searched out his seat in the stands, to show him during the game. My heart went out to George. He was probably thrilled his Dad would be able to be there for this game (George was from Duluth), but this also had to be embarrassing. On defense, the Gamecocks were physical and tough against the run. They came in ranked 12th against the run and 8th in scoring, allowing only 8.7 points per game. Andrew Province was a highly recruited DT, out of Savannah, who has a big weight-lifting rep. He would be matched up against our stud NAT HUDSON. Emanuel Weaver was a physical nose tackle, who disrupted a lot of run plays. Center WAYNE RADLOFF accepted that challenge. The two inside LBs were tough; Ed Baxley & Walt Kater. This front 7 was the best we had scene. We were in for a fight. And we knew it going in. Our special teams made the first big play. On their 2nd possession, PAT MCSHEA blocked a punt and we took over on the SC 40. Pat came through untouched. Coach Haffner called Herschel’s number 7 times in a row. Sent a message. Here comes 225 pounds at 70 miles per hour! Can you stop it? Herschel got 16 yards on his 4th carry…he accelerated into the hole and it was just intimidating to watch. Imagine being a DB coming up to tackle him. Herschel had come to win. On the 7th carry of that series, he caught DE Hal Henderson with a knee to the head and that dude was out on his feet. After that, those guys were going low on Herschel. We settled for a 22 yard FG attempt, but Rex missed it from the right hash, just a yard wide on the right. We got 3 on the next series. Coach Haffner started to mix in the play-action pass and I hit LINDSAY SCOTT on a go route good for 41 yards. Lindsay was working on an undersized CB Mark Bridges. Couple of plays later, REX ROBINSON drilled a 57 yard FG and we led 3-0. Erk’s defense was busy rumbling with George Rogers, who carried it 11 times in the 1st quarter for 47 yards. In Erk’s Split 60 scheme, we had 3 DL who were always getting penetration and blowing up running plays. PAYNE & WEAVER were getting after them up front and TAYLOR & ROS were cleaning up with tackles. Our DBs were really aggressive against the run too, because their passing game was not good. The 2nd quarter was basically an 18-play drive we put together. Herschel carried it 7 times for 12 yards, but we hurt them with the passing game. I was 6-9 on the drive. Hit Herschel on an underneath drag. Got one downfield to LINDSAY SCOTT off play-action, where he ran a post-corner. The big play was a check-down throw to FB JIMMY WOMACK, who gashed them for 31 yards and got us into Gamecock territory. TE NORRIS BROWN caught an out route on a sprint left call. TE CLARENCE KAY had a 13 yard reception on a roll right play, which got us to the SC 4 yard line. So, we were set up 1st and goal at the 4. Herschel got it 3 straight times and picked up 3 yards. We called time out to talk it over and went for it on 4th down, from their 1 yard line. Out of a power set, we had a play-action pass on. I faked it to Herschel and looked up to see a blitzing CB in my face. NORRIS BROWN was my target in the flat, but I didn’t have time to let route develop. Gamecock CB Harry Skipper was on me too fast. I tried to jump a little to get the pass off, but he picked me up and planted me into the grass. First thing to hit was the back of my head. The ball fell incomplete. Norris was wide open, but the timing was all off. The hit left me a dizzy. Not sure if it was a concussion, but I laid there for a few minutes, as they celebrated. The half ended with us leading 3-0. We should have led 13-0. But we were about to see something we would never forget. Something amazing. We got the ball to start the 2nd half and on 3rd and 6, HERSCHEL ROCKED SANFORD STADIUM. Haffner’s play-call was a delayed draw, which allowed our FB JIMMY WOMACK to get a running start at the LB, and “WO” took Ed Baxley to the ground. Province took and outside rush, which took him out of the play. RADLOFF turned Emanuel Weaver away from the hole. BLAKEWOOD got a block on the other ILB Walt Kater. And LINDSAY sealed off OLB Phil Ellis. This play was well blocked. Herschel took the hand-off, hit the hole and accelerated into the secondary toward the right sideline. The SS Pat Bowen (Mechanicsburg, GA) reached out and took a swipe at midfield. He grabbed air. FS Robert Perlotte reached out at the 40 and grabbed air. CB Mark Bridges had an angle, but he grabbed air at the 20. HERSCHEL WAS GONE. TOOK IT TO THE HOUSE. IT WAS A 76 YARD TD SPRINT. HE HIT FULL SPEED IN THE FIRST 15 YARDS AND THEN, IT WAS A 60 METER DASH. ALL 3 OF THOSE DBs HAD ANGLES ON HIM, BUT HERSCHEL JUST BLEW BY THEM LIKE THEY WERE STANDING STILL. WORLD CLASS SPEED ON DISPLAY. AND SANFORD STADIUM WENT ABSOLUTELY CRAZY. IT ROCKED. That was the most amazing run I’ve ever seen on the football field. We took a 10-0 lead. Carolina went 3-and-out. And REX drilled a 51 yard FG, as we extended the lead to 13-0. Carolina wouldn’t fold. They gave it to George and got a FG, to cut it to 13-3. Then, they got a big-play from RB Larry West, who slipped tackles from McShea and Woerner on a dive play, and dashed 39 yards for a TD, to cut it to 13-10. The next series, Herschel left the field with an ankle sprain. Suddenly, the game got tight. And into the 4th quarter we went, with the game hanging in the balance. And the 4th quarter would be dominated by Herschel and George, although they never hit pay dirt. Carolina got it to start the final quarter. George toted it 4 times in an 8-play drive that ended with a punt. On his final carry of that drive, George got it at midfield on 3rd and 4…and he took 2 big hits. WEAVER POPPED HIM IN THE BACKFIELD, BUT GEORGE BOUNCED OFF. THEN, CB DALE WILLIAMS FLEW IN AND DELIVERED A 2ND HIT. GEORGE FUMBLED. Carolina recovered and punted. George left the field looking fatigued. Coach Haffner stayed aggressive with his play calls, even though we were backed up at our own 6. Sprint right pass on 1st and 10, but I only got one. Herschel got 3 on 2nd and 7. On 3rd and 6, Haffner dialed up a play-action pass. I hit AMP ARNOLD on a 12-yard out for a 1st down. Herschel got 5 on 1st and 10. Womack got 2 on 2nd down. That brought up a big 3rd and 3. Haffner went play-action and they hit us with a SS blitz for a sack. Had to punt. Carolina got it back near midfield, with 7:20 to play. Big George Rogers got it 4 plays in a row and that was good for 27 yards…but on that 4th carry, George took a shot to his right hand. George was in pain. Carolina took a timeout. George stayed on the sideline, as they ran West on a 1st and 10 play from our 20 yard line. He got 3, which set up a 2nd and 7, from out 17. George came back in the game to finish us off. The next play would be one of the biggest plays of the season for us. The defense delivered, again! Carolina needed a FG to tie it up, but was looking for a game-winning TD. And they were going to George, who had 34 carries for 168 tough yards. THE SITUATION: 5:30 TO PLAY, CAROLINA AT OUR 17 YARD LINE FACING A 2ND AND 7. The FB went in motion right, out of the I-formation. And the toss to George followed. SCOTT WOERNER CAME FLYING UP OUT OF NOWHERE. AS THE PLAY STARTED, HE WASN’T EVEN IN THE VIEW OF THE CAMERA. BUT ON THE SNAP, THIS FLASH APPEARED. IT WAS WOERNER FLYING INTO THE BACKFIELD UNTOUCHED. AS HE FLEW BY ROGERS, WHO CUT INSIDE, SCOTT REACHED OUT AND RIPPED AT THE BALL. THE BALL CAME LOOSE, AS DEFENSIVE END DALE CARVER LAID A LICK ON GEORGE. TACKLE TIM PARKS JUMPED ON THE FUMBLE AND THE SOLD OUT CROWD ROARED. George was on his knees, with his head down. He slowly got up and walked off the field, where Gamecock assistant coach RAY GOFF tried to comfort him. The ABC cameras got a tight shot of that. It was odd seeing Ray as a South Carolina man. The camera stayed on George, as he took a seat on the bench. WOERNER was a playmaker. Plain and simple. He took some chances, but he always made the big-play. And this play saved the season. We took over with 5:00 to play and our 16 yard line. We needed a few 1st downs to run out the clock and put this one on ice. And that’s exactly what we did. HERSCHEL carried it 9 times on a 12-play drive. It looked like we would go 3-and-out-punt, but Carolina roughed our punter MARK MALKIEWICZ. Game over. HERSCHEL got it 6 more times after that, as he carried us down to their 1-yard line. We went for it on 4th and goal from the 1, but Herschel came up short, on a lead play where they got penetration. Carolina needed to go 99 yards in :45 seconds. FS JEFF HIPP INTERCEPTED A BALL FORCED INTO COVERAGE DOWN THE MIDDLE OF THE FIELD AND THIS ONE WAS OVER. The final: Georgia 13 South Carolina 10. HERSCHEL carried it 43 times for 219 yards. GEORGE ROGERS had 168 yards on 35 carries. They put on a memorable show. I was thrilled with Coach Haffner’s play-calling. We were aggressive and took some shots in the passing game. It was fun. We utilized the play-action and threw from the pocket. He got me out on the edge some, with some roll-outs. LINDSAY, AMP, NORRIS, HERSCHEL, WOMACK AND KAY all got to touch it in the passing game. I ended up going 10-18 for 179 yards. We didn’t turn it over once. It was an impressive day for the offense, even though we left some points out there. That Carolina defense was tough.
Herschel was out front publicly, but this team was far from a 1-Man
Show. |
||
Copyright © 2010 by buckbelue.com. All rights reserved. |
||