South Carolina, Memphis Win SCRC Titles in Dramatic Fashion
South Carolina, Memphis Win SCRC Titles in Dramatic Fashion
South Carolina and Memphis are now SCRC 7s champions, as each won their divisional tournament in the conference championship.
D1
It was a solid showing for the Gamecocks, and a dramatic one as the USC players needed two late tries to edge Tennessee 26-24.
USC led 14-7 at halftime but three Tennessee tries put the Volunteers up 24-14.
After that fourth Tennessee try, the Gamecocks patiently worked the tackles and broke through to make it 24-19. USC then chased down the restart and put 6-4, 230-pound forward Erik Elken thundering through for the game-tying try. Jack Chelly converted and South Carolina had their victory.
"I guess you could say that we were really excited to beat Clemson," said USC Head Coach John Roberts about the semifinal win. "They are our rival and we recruit from the same schools in the northeast. Many of the players also know one another from high school. They whipped us pretty good early in the year. So it was great for us to catch fire and beat them when it mattered the most. It's a friendly rivalry and our players and coaches get along."
USC captain Dan Golden was outstanding for the Gamecocks, scoring several tries and setting up several more.
It was a very competitive tournament, with several close games.
"We found," said Roberts, "a little magic at the end."
D2
Memphis and Auburn seemed like they were destined to meet in the final and that's exactly what happened.
Both teams were pretty much in control of their destiny and cruised to the championship game.
With the wind Auburn scored two early tries and led 14-0 almost before Memphis had been able to touch the ball. But Memphis responded with a try, only to find themselves down a player on a yellow card. Still the Tennessee side was able to keep the ball and tie the game 14-14.
After a series of momentum shifts, Auburn scored with two minutes remaining, making it 19-14. With time winding down Mathuran Ravishankar, who had been on a try-scoring tear all weekend, went over to tie the game 19-19.
So on to overtime, and Auburn attacked once more. Ravishankar timed his move like a musical virtuoso, intercepted an Auburn pass, and raced in to score the game-winner.
That final play solidified the selection of Ravishankar as the player of the tournament, and Memphis were SCRC champions.
Both USC and Memphis will be attending the CRC in the DC area, with the Gamecocks in the D1 bracket and the Tigers in the D2.