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Show I - -- ~ - THE UNIVERSITY JOURNAL• SOUl'HERN UTAH UNIVERSITY• MONDAY, MAY 11, 1998 'BIRD· SPORTS ll331 'Bird football ready to run By CHAD LAMB fOURNAL SPORTS EDITOR It was no surprise Saturday night when the 'Bird offense started off doing what it do best-running the ball. The SU football team's annual Red/White game featured almost th~ same offense that the 'Birds have run the past two seasons. However, one difference was at quarterback, where sophomore Matt Cannon takes over where Joe Dupaix left off. The offensive line looked as strong as they have in years past, opening up holes for Brook Madsen, Anthony Jeffries and Cannon. Instead of a regular red versus white scrimmage, the team used an offense versus defense scheme, with the white team running the oHensive plays and the red playing defensive duties. The scrimmage opened with the first-team offense moving easily against the defense, as the offense scoring on its first four drives. The offense pounded it out on the ground mosr of the rime, and used receivers Kam Brown and Sam Elliot to throw t he defense off on other plays. Cannon was unable to connect through the air until the second drive as he hit Elliot for a big gain to the seven-yard line. Madsen carried in the first two touchdowns, scampering in from the five and seven yard lines. Cannon was able to show off his running ability that he used last year to gain 1,024 yards. On the second play of one drive, he ran 58 yards down the east sideline, setting the 'Birds up in scori ng position. Two plays later he hit T erry Rose on a four-yard pass play for the first touchdown pass of the night. Cannon added a 34-ya.rd t0uchdown pass in the second half of the scrimmage as Brown hauled in his only score of the game. "As a team, we've definitely proven today that the offense is ready," Cannon said. "The Line is doing r..eally well, and the pass has helped to open up the run. In one instance, the offense faced third and 15 and used a 14-yard pass to Brown to set up fourth and one. Cannon then slipped through the middle for a 10-yard gain, eventually setting up a Madsen touchdown. Cannon tallied 160 yards on the ground. When the defense faced the second-team offense in later possessions, the offense had trouble moving the ball. Jackson Peck and Ryan Renteria led the defense with six tackles, while the rest of the defense closed most of the holes and made the second-team offense struggle. in gaining any yardage. Anytime the second-team offense made a threat, the defense would shut it down by putting on the pressure and forcing a turnover. Robert Kim and Amu McMoore each had an II Rod Madsen stepped in as one of the second-string quarterbacks at Saturday's Red/White game. Madsen replaced backup fody Hernandez and helped the offense compile 202 passing yards. Track looking for more to qualify Baseball ends on sour note The SU track and field team used two different meets finished with times under five minutes. this weekend to improve on individual marks and At Utah State, Natalie Gibson went under her season qualify provisionally for the NCAA Championships in and school best time in the 400-meter hurdles as she four weeks. shaved off one second from While the distance runners her best time with a time of and those trying to qualify 57.70. According to Houle, provisionally went to she sits in the top six Stanford, Head Coach Eric nationally with her time, Houle sent the sprinters to and sets the stage for her to Utah State-a meet that perform well at the featured most of the in-state upcoming championships. schools. The women's relay teams At Stanford, Jody .Benson had strong performances, had another superb meet, breaking two school records going under the provisional and coming within one qualifying mark against and second of qualifying setting a personal-best when nationally. Kelley Biesinger, he ran a 29:36 in the 10,000. Emma Measom, Kristen Adam Brown also turned in a Connell and Natalie Gibson good time for the men, ran a team-best 47.45 in the running 1:5i.47 in the 800; 2 4xl00. They also added a meter and taking second~ time of 3:46.99 in the 4x400 gand took first-place, beating place in what Assistant Coach Bish Dolegiewicz said ; BYU, Weber State and Utah was a photo finish. "It was a ~ State. great race. He ran really "What this does is set the z stage for those who are well, "he added. Mark Wright picked up a ~going to qualify for the second-place finish with a Giaison White, a freshman from Las Vegas Nev., nationals," Houle said about time of 3:53 in the 1,500, and worked with the ;avelin for the first time in his career the performance of the team Kris Watson hit a seasonthis season. He also competes in discus and shotput. this weekend. "It also sets best with a throw of 51.04 in the stage for next season." the discus. Houle added that all of those who are close to qualifying For the women, Wendy Brown, Teresa Rice and this year return for the next season, meaning the team Kathryn Henrie all ran well in the 1,500. All three has the potential to be even better come next year. '!!~,~~II~~;! a Looking to end the season with a winning record, the SU baseball team fell short in losing four straight to CS Northridge in weekend action. The Matadors edged SU 7-5 in the first game, then came from behind in the second game to take a 7-6 victory. Garnes three and four were strong victories for the Matadors holding SU to two runs in taking 8-1 and 12-1 wins to sweep the ' Birds. SU took an early 2-1 lead in the first game against the Matadors, but found themselves down 5-2 at the end of the fourth as Northridge reeled off four runs. The 'Birds tied the game at 5-5 with three runs in three innings, however, two runs in the eighth provided the Matadors with the cushion they needed for the victory. Th.e second game saw the 'Birds tie the game at 6-6, but Northridge prevailed again adding a run in the final inning. The final two games belonged to the Matadors as well, as the 'Birds picked up just three hits and one run in Saturday night's 8-1 loss, then struggled to score after totaling seven hits in a 12-1 loss. The only run for SU came from a Justin Garrett score off a T.J. · King two-out double in the eighth. The series against CS Northridge ended the 'Birds' season which saw the team gain the most victories ever for any SU baseball squad. First year Head Coach DeLynn Corry has turned a program around that has struggled to pick up any wins, leading the team to a record of 22-28. ..,." . .... ............. . |