Soward Makes Fast Impression

On further review, Mike Van Raaphorst might be just fine as USC’s quarterback.

And after the first look of the season at Trojan speedster R. Jay Soward--if you didn’t blink--it’s all the more remarkable Coach Paul Hackett voluntarily chose to hold him out of USC’s first game--and survived unbeaten to tell the tale.

In a pedal-to-the-medal debut in front of 49,927 Saturday night at the Coliseum, Soward scored three touchdowns in No. 22 USC’s 35-6 victory over San Diego State--the first on a 53-yard bomb from Van Raaphorst and the third on a 74-yard punt return--and had a fourth called back.

Soward touched the ball nine times, and had 256 yards to show for it--an average of more than 28 yards. He scored the 19th, 20th and 21st touchdowns of his career.

After sitting out the opener against Purdue because of poor attention to academics last spring, Soward finished his first game of the season with 94 yards on four receptions, another 69 yards on three carries, and 93 on two kick returns.

“A brilliant punt return, my goodness gracious, that was marvelous,” Hackett said. “The thing about it, it’s not just the talent, it’s the energy R. Jay Soward creates on the football field, the way it permeates the offense.

“I’m so proud after what he went through two weeks ago and the way he handled himself.”

So, R. Jay, was it worth the wait?

“No, not at all,” the junior said. “As far as my performance, it was OK.”

USC’s defense did its job against a faltering San Diego State offense, and the Trojan offense--even though it struggled with some penalties and three missed field goals--made strides.

USC (2-0) mixed a lot of swing passes with darting runs by Chad Morton and the occasional pass to Soward, finding effective combinations that kept San Diego State (0-2) off-balance, even though the Aztecs couldn’t handle USC’s speed anyway.

Morton had the third 100-yard game of his career, finishing with 110 yards in 23 carries and another 24 yards on three receptions.

“Our whole team is full of fast guys,” Morton said. “On offense we have a lot of track guys. The same with the defense.”

Still, there were flaws.

A holding penalty against the Trojans called back what would have been a touchdown by Soward on USC’s first possession. And a startling three misses by Adam Abrams on field goal attempts of 39, 29 and 44 yards were cause for alarm.

Still, USC’s defense allowed the Trojans a margin for error--led by linebacker David Gibson, who had three sacks, forced three fumbles and recovered one.

“We were able to blitz,” Gibson said. “To me, the second quarterback was a little more composed, but with guys coming free all day, it makes it hard.”

USC shut out San Diego State until only 1:01 remained in the first half, when the Aztecs scored on a 31-yard pass from Brian Russell to Damon Gourdine.

Even that touchdown was helped by a 15-yard penalty against USC on a San Diego State punt return that let the Aztecs start the drive at the USC 26-yard-line, though penalties pushed them back before they scored. Nate Tandberg’s extra-point attempt was no good, leaving USC with a 21-6 lead at halftime.

As for what had been a burgeoning quarterback controversy, Saturday’s game quieted it some.

Van Raaphorst, after failing to direct USC to a touchdown against Purdue, completed 13 of 26 passes for 189 yards, with two touchdowns and no interceptions.

“It was just exciting to get back out there,” Van Raaphorst said. “It was a little relief off my shoulders. That’s something I’ll admit. Sometimes you want to be tight-lipped about how you’re feeling, but one thing you learn is a lot about how you react to things.”

Freshman Carson Palmer, who made such a splash against Purdue, came in on the third series of the second half--just as he did in the opener, when he directed USC to two touchdowns and a field goal and completed a 42-yard pass in his debut.

This time, USC went three-and-out on his first series, and he threw an interception on the second series, a pass downfield meant for tight end Antoine Harris that was picked off by Rico Curtis.

He came back, though, and ended up throwing a touchdown, a 10-yard pass to Billy Miller that helped USC to a 28-6 lead with 8:02 left in the game.

Palmer finished five for eight for 50 yards and the touchdown.

USC was heavily favored in the game, which wasn’t a blowout on the magnitude some expected.

After having an early touchdown nullified and missing a field goal, USC scored 7:17 into the game on Morton’s 12-yard run.

That drive was sustained by Morton’s carry on second-and-15 from the USC 29, when he took the ball, hesitated and cut outside for a 16-yard gain and a first down. A string of completions by Van Raaphorst put the Trojans in scoring position, and Morton finished it off.

Abrams missed another field goal before USC went up, 14-0, with 10:25 left in the first half on Van Raaphorst’s pass to a streaking Soward down the right sideline.

San Diego State continued to struggle, and quarterback Spencer Brinton, a sophomore who has had a shaky start, sprained his left thumb in the first quarter and was replaced by Russell, another sophomore.

Russell fumbled on his second series of the game, and USC’s Aaron Williams recovered at the Aztec 34-yard line, setting up USC’s third touchdown--an eight-yard pass from Van Raaphorst to Soward with 7:53 left in the half.

San Diego State didn’t even cross midfield until five minutes remained in the first half, and had only 105 yards at halftime--even including the 31-yard touchdown pass.

By holding the Aztecs off for almost the entire first half, USC’s defense completed a streak of more than 73 minutes without giving up a point, extending back to the first minute of the second quarter against Purdue, when the Boilermakers managed a field goal for their final points of that game.

San Diego State Coach Ted Tollner made his first return to the Coliseum field for a college game since his final game as USC’s coach in 1986, when Notre Dame beat the Trojans, 38-37, on a last-second field goal.

That day, USC fans booed Tollner even as he tried to announce the senior players after their farewell game. But there was no such drama Saturday, with Tollner’s tenure such a distant memory 12 years later that many USC players are hardly aware he was ever the coach, the Trojans’ newest coach said.

“It was so long ago, it’s like the stories I tell about when I was here the first time,” Hackett said. “They yawn.”

Things started going sour for San Diego State early, when starting cornerback Tairou Smith was ejected for a personal foul on USC’s first possession. The play was a close call for the Aztecs anyway,

His replacement, Kevin Burton, is a junior college transfer who had his own trouble later, when he was called for pass interference against Larry Parker in the end zone, giving USC a first down at the 22 and setting up Soward’s second touchdown.

The victory gave the Trojans only their third 2-0 start of the 1990s.

They started 6-0 in 1995, and 2-0 in 1990.