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South Carolina had been having themselves a dominating year of football in 1903 when they came to Raleigh late in the season to take on the Red and White of A&M. Going in to their game against the Aggies, the Gamecocks had gone 6-1, beating a decent Georgia, a weak Guilford, a decent Tennessee, and a Davidson squad who had a poor record but had played only against powerful teams to fairly close scores, while also defeating the teams of Columbia YMCA and Welch Neck High School. Their sole loss had been a 0-17 loss to North Carolina earlier in the year.
The Farmers, evidently recovered from their last game against Kentucky, were determined to defeat South Carolina and break their recent bad fortune; the Raleigh boys had lost two straight, and four of their last five games. One of A&M's star players, Buckley, was kept from playing the game by an agreement reached beforehand due to the fact that he had played on Georgetown's football team the previous year.
Local papers rightly predicted that the game would be "the best game of the season" and that the teams would be of roughly equivalent skill (News and Observer, November 14th, 1903, p. 5).
A&M | South Carolina | |
---|---|---|
Gulley (Capt.) | RE | McKay or Verner* |
Gardner | RT | Reed or S. Wilds* |
Neal | RG | Croft |
Hadley | C | Lumpkin or Fendley* |
Koon | LG | Moore or Hyrdick* |
Abernathy | LT | Oliver |
Squires | LE | Foster |
Darden | QB | J. Wyman |
Welch | RHB | J. Wilds |
Shannonhouse | LHB | B. Wyman or Boyle* |
Miller | FB | Gunter (Capt.) |
Wilson | SUB | Lee |
Asbury | SUB | Clarkson |
Gaither | SUB | S. Wilds |
Lykes | SUB | Sturgis |
Seifert | SUB |
Source 1, Source 2, Source 3, Source 4
*While local papers agreed on the list of players, Red and White differed, with papers giving the former names and Red and White the latter. On the one hand, Verner and Hydrick do not appear listed in SC's yearbook, and S. Wilds played primarily as a SUB; on the other, Fendley was their normal center, and B. Wyman and Boyle shared the starting role at LHB.
Period | Time | Description | NCSU | USC |
---|---|---|---|---|
1st | 10 | USC - Wyman - 50-55 yd Run (kick out failed) 5 plays, 58-63 yards, TOP unk | 0 | 5 |
2nd | 12 | NCSU - Miller - 5-8 yd Run (Miller kick) 5 plays, 62-67 yards, TOP unk | 6 | 5 |
NCSU | Opponent | Rushing TDs | Miller (1) | Wyman (1) | Passing TDs | N/A prior to 1906 | N/A prior to 1906 | Receiving TDs | N/A prior to 1906 | N/A prior to 1906 |
---|---|---|
Defensive TDs | none | none |
PATs | Miller (1/1) | UNKNOWN (0/1) |
2PT: | N/A/ prior to 1958 | N/A/ prior to 1958 |
FGs | none | none |
Safety: | none | none |
Length: 45 (25 / 20) - Duration: unk Attendance: 800 Location: Fair Grounds - Raleigh, NC Temperature: ??? Weather: ??? Wind: ??? |
The weather on the afternoon of the 14th was nice; predicted to be "fair," the temperature stayed between 50 and 60 degrees Fahrenheit (The (Raleigh) Morning Post, November 15th, 1903, p. 1; The (Raleigh) Morning Post, November 14th, 1903, p. 4). The game was made of two halves, one of 25 minutes and one of 20 minutes. The Farmers had a "slight advantage" in terms of weight, but otherwise, the teams were evenly matched.
The first half opened up with either Reed or Wyman kicking the ball off for South Carolina, sending the ball 35-40 yards to Shannonhouse, who returned the kick 20-27 yards. After that, A&M drove the ball around 16 yards in a roughly 8 play drive punctuated by 4-5 yard carries by Shannonhouse, Abernathy, and Gardner before eventually failing to convert a down and turning the ball over to South Carolina around midfield. Once South Carolina got the ball, Wyman immediately took off on a 20-25 yard run. On the next play, the Gamecocks lost 12 yards on what was either an attempt at a fake kick or a kick the Farmers blocked. With the ball back in A&M's hands, the Farmers again began driving, moving the ball about 12 yards over 6 carries by some combination of Koon, Darden, Shannonhouse, Abernathy, and Gardner. Though opened with a 4-5 yard carry by Koon, the drive soon stalled, and eventually ended in a 3 yard loss by Welch before Miller kicked the ball 35 yards down the field. Wyman returned the kick 20 yards. Once in possession of the ball, some combination of Gunter, Wyman, and Reed, advanced the ball about 8 yards in 4 plays before Wyman broke off on a long, 50-55 yard run called "easily the star play of the game," making "a record for dodging that has seldom been equaled." The touchdown took 15 minutes of play time. The Gamecocks attempted a kick out to give their goal kick an easier angle, but missed the kick out and did not get the chance to attempt the kick because of it.
In the past, A&M would have been required to kick off after having been scored upon. However, a change in rules that came about in 1903 allowed whichever team had been scored upon to choose whether they wanted to kick off or whether they wanted to have the ball kicked to them. The Gamecocks kicked the ball 40 yards to Welch, who returned the kick 5 yards. After a series of short gains, Squires lost 3 yards while attempting a trick play and Miller kicked the ball away, sending the kick 30 yards into South Carolina territory, with the ball ending up on South Carolina's 20 yard line. Wyman, Gunter, and Wilds steadily advanced the ball downfield, going through the line "repeatedly almost without being touched." After A&M got penalized 5 yards for being off sides, the Garnet and Black continued to push the ball towards the Red and White goal. After a 15 yard gain by Wyman on a trick play, the Gamecocks steadily moved the ball to A&M's 30 yard line; at that point, the Gamecocks attempted a place kick for goal, which they missed, allowing the Farmers to kick the ball off from their own 25 yard line. The Farmers sent the kick 40 yards further away, and the Garnet and Black returner stopped before he could advance. After a loss of yards by Wilds, the Gamecocks fumbled the ball, and A&M recovered it. The ball exchanged hands a few more times on losses for downs and fumbles, but the half ended with the ball around midfield and the score staying 0-5.
Between the halves, Wilson took Neal's place at RG. The Farmers kicked off to open the second half, kicking the ball 15-27 yards, and the kick was returned 5-8 yards. After a feew gains by Gunter, Wyman, and Foster, the Garnet and Black were forced to kick the bal away, sending it 40 yards down the field. Darden caught the kick, but was stopped in his tracks. After a 1/2 a yard gain by Shannonhouse, Abernathy carried te ball 12-14 yards in two carries before the Red and White lost 8 yards on a fumble, forcing Miller to kick the ball away. Miller's kick sent the ball 20-25 yards, though the ball rolled out and was "adjudged to South Carolina." Either Gunter or a combination of Wyman and McKay made a few gains, but failed to make a new set of downs. South Carolina attempted a second fake kick, but the attempt failed, giving A&M the ball. At this point in the game, Darden retired and was replaced by Asbury.
Then began the Red and White's scoring drive. It opened with a run by Miller for no gain, but on the next run a new set of downs was made by Shannonhouse, who carried the ball 5 yards. In the process, Shannonhouse became hurt and was replaced by Seifert. After Shannonhouse, Welch carried the ball 4-5 yards; Miller followed this gain up with a 7-10 yard run, followed by a huge 20 yard gain by by Welch. Of the play, The Morning Post wrote that Welch was "seized with a desire to win" and that that his play "was the signal for cheers that sent A. and M. stock up a few points." After Welch's run, Seifert made an 8 yard run. After a 3 yard gain, Welch followed up his long run with the same "trick" a second time, this time making 10-11 yards and putting the ball 5-8 yards from the Gamecock goal line. Miller then went through the line to cross the goal line, scoring the Red and White's only touchdown of the game, tying the Garnet and Black. Finally, after 12 minutes of play in the second half, Miller scored the final point of the game, putting the Farmers up 6-5.
The students in the stands were ecstatic over Miller's scores. After his touchdown, "the crowd went wild. Miller was carried up the field on the shoulders of enthusiastic students."
The final 8 minutes of the game were not described in detail in any account of the game. The Farmers brought the ball within 15 yards of the Gamecock goal line between one and three times. At least once the Farmer drive stalled on a fumble, while another ended after Miller attempted but missed a drop kick goal, which would have earned the Farmers 5 more points. The game was eventually called because of ensuing darkness (News and Observer, November 15th, 1903, p. 5; The (Raleigh) Morning Post, November 15th, 1903, p. 6).
Throughout the game, the South Carolinians reportedly played with more teamwork; A&M's quality of teamwork was "was not one to bring forth much complimentary notice." The stars of the game for South Carolina were Wyman, Oliver, and Gunter; the Red and White said that Gunter's line bucking was "the feature of the game for South Carolina." For the Farmers, the News and Observer said that the best players were Gardner, Asbury, Seifert, Welch, and Miller, while the Red and White wrote that "Abernathy carried the honors," and also praised Welch, Asbury, Miller, and Seifert (Red and White, Vol. V, No. 5 (December 1903), p. 27).
South Carolina's students enjoyed the trip, despite their loss; both the head of their Athletic Committee, Benjamin Sloan, and their team manager, Joseph B. Lyles. Both men thanked the Farmers for their hospitality towards the Gamecocks (Red and White, Vol. V, No. 5 (December 1903), p. 15).
The Farmers pulled off the win, despite being held for downs several times "in a manner that made the faithful rooters' blood run cold" (The Agromeck, Vol. II (1904), p. 142). The answer to the question of who the most powerful team in North Carolina was remained unanswered.
Last updated: 6/4/2024