The King's Court
Nov. 22, 1999
It was back to Hurricane football dominance Saturday at the OrangeBowl. We were just excited to get another win under our belt before theupcoming showdown against the Orangemen of Syracuse. The game againstRutgers proved to us that we can execute as a team when we all put ourminds to it. There were numerous positives that happened. For example,the superb effort by quarterback Ken Dorsey. As one of the receivers,wefelt that he handled the whole game like a professional. Rutgers blitzhim several times early in the game, and Dorsey countered by makingsimple throws to beat the blitz. He dictated the tempo of the game andall Rutgers could do was play a vanilla type of defense.
Another guy that stepped up was Jarret Payton. Having dedicated theremainder of his career to his late father Walter Payton, he playedinspirational football rushing for 87 yards and his first collegiatetouchdown. He made runs reminiscent of his father, spinning, jumpingand running through would-be tacklers.
Our defense made a statement loud and clear, when we were able to postashut-out. Anytime you can hold a team scoreless, no matter the levelofcompetition, it says a lot about the guys on the defensive side of thefootball. Our defense should be commended.
Our upcoming game against Syracuse should be one of hardest hitting,guys flying around and helmets rolling on the Orange Bowl-turf type ofgame. Last years game in the Carrier Dome is still vividly fresh inthe minds of our entire team. We felt that they embarrassed us infrontof a national audience with their actions near the end of the game.Let’s just say we have an extra incentive to win this game in our ownbackyard. We will have to be fundamentally sound because they havebig-timeplayers who will eagerly capitalize on our miscues. This should be afun to watch…..so come on out ‘Cane fans.
Speaking of fans, we saw the Hurricane’s finest at the OB on Saturdayvs. Rutgers. It takes pride on the part of those who showed up to rootfor the home team following that tough game in Blacksburg. To all thatwere present, you should be commended because you are true fans!!!!!
With the holidays approaching so are the end of the year final examsandreports that are due for classes. Most of the guys on the team aregetting ready for finals and the last week of school. This is a timewhere we start buckling down in order to finish up strong academicallyas well as athletically. Guys on our team like to get all of theirrequirements in during the academic year, rather than having to spendprecious summer days in the classroom. Our team, along with the helpofour academic advisory staff, make sure we stay on the right track.
With the end of one week, leading to the beginning of another, wewouldlove to see as many crazy ‘Canes fans at the game this week aspossible.Come on out and be our 12th man. We’ll see ya at the OB…. ’til nextweek.
Happy Thanksgiving to all,
From a ‘Cane to all the ‘Canes fans!!!
Andre’ King
