11/5/1904 - South Carolina

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After almost a month of absence from the intercollegiate football field, the Farmers came back to face South Carolina, playing one of the only collegiate football games in Raleigh. Though the Farmers needed the long rest to help Arthur "Babe" Wilson's sprained ankle to heal, it was not originally intended that way. One game mentioned in early iterations of the Red and White's football schedules was "a game in Charlotte" on October 26th. It's not surprising that the former game fell through; it seems to have never been fully organized. As a result, the Farmers went over three weeks without a game.

The long amount of time between games did indeed allow Wilson's ankle to heal as needed; despite this, Wilson sat out of the South Carolina game. The reason? He was being held out to be "saved" for the big game against UNC. Similarly, Kienholz chose to play the game using a limited playbook so that scouts from UNC wouldn't be able to poach the team's playbook (Herakovich, p. 6).


A photo of South Carolina's team from Garnet and Black Vol. VII (1905), p. 116.

South Carolina, for her part, was a fairly formidable team. The Gamecocks opened their season against a local private school, defeating Welsh Neck High School (sometimes called Welsh Neck College; now Coker University) in nearby Hartsville, South Carolina by the score of 40-0. Despite that huge win, the Garnet and Black lost their next game against UNC 0-27. After that loss, it was said that South Carolina's team went to work after that loss and began training more seriously. The results of that training showed in their subsequent games, as the Gamecocks defeated Guilford 21-4 and Georgia 2-0. It was on that positive momentum that the Columbians came to Raleigh (News and Observer, November 4th, 1904, p. 5).


Roster

A&M South Carolina
L. Lykes RE McKay
Gardner RT Croft
Perkins RG Moore
T. Lykes C Fendley
Sykes LG Dowling
Abernathy (Capt.) LT Cogburn
Gregory LE Foster
Sadler QB McGhee
Hardie RHB Wyman
H. Wilson LHB Reed
Hadley FB Wilds
SUB White

Source 1, Source 2


Period Time Description NCSU USC
FINAL No Scoring 0 0

NCSU Opponent
Rushing TDs none none
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 none none
2PT: N/A/ prior to 1958 N/A/ prior to 1958
FGs none UNKNOWN (0/2)
Safety: none none
Game Notes:
Kick Off Time: 3:30 PM - 11/5/1904 - South Carolina
Length: unk (unk / unk) - Duration: unk
Attendance: 3,000-4,000
Location: Fair Grounds - Raleigh, NC
Temperature: ???
Weather: ???
Wind: ???

Unfortunately, detailed descriptions of the game did not survive, though brief reports were made in the local papers. The game was called "uninteresting" in an article featured in Red and White, and several critics commented that the A&M team seemed to lack cohesion, with the ends again being called weak and Gardner, Abernathy, Hardie and Lykes playing well "at all times" and making up the difference. Though reports varied somewhat, South Carolina's team was reportedly lighter than or of approximately equal weight to the Farmers, but was considered very plucky.

The bulk of the game apparently took place around midfield, with the ball spending more time in South Carolina's half than A&M's, but not much. The Columbians reportedly never coming close enough to mention to scoring, and the Farmers getting to within either 18 or 10 yards of scoring when they fumbled the ball and lost possession. South Carolina did attempt a couple "ineffectual" field goals, then worth 5 points each, but missed both.

Interestingly, both A&M and South Carolina were sitting out some of their stars. The Red and White sat out one of the Wilson brothers, as previously mentioned, in addition to star-lineman Darden, who had left the college briefly owing to an illness. To add to the reported woes of the Farmers, Hadley played with broken ribs. The Gamecocks were sitting Oliver, normally her lead RHB, and reportedly "her strongest player." Despite the missing star-power, some reporters had a more blunt surmisation of why the Aggies failed: "Close watchers of the game can only account for A. and M.'s defeat on the ground of their own over-confidence."

As mentioned earlier, the work of Abernathy, Gardner, as well as Gregory and Hadley, was praised for the Farmers. The kicking of Sadler also earned special mention. In general though, the Farmers' offense was the failing point in spite of the efforts put forth by her defense. For the Gamecocks, McGhee, "the midgett [sic] quarter back" earned commendation (Red and White, Vol. VI No. 3 (November 1904), pp. 146-147; The (Raleigh) Morning Post, November 6th, 1904, p. 3; News and Observer, November 8th, 1904, p. 2).

Overall, the tie was a huge disappointment for the Farmers. Given that UNC had bested the Garnet and Black by 27 points earlier in the year, this meant that their coming games with the Tar Heels was all the more likely to prove to be yet another stumbling block. Similarly, the remainder of South Carolina's season was something of a let-down; the next week, the Gamecocks lost to Davidson at their own home 0-6, followed by an identically-scored loss to the Charleston Athletic Club in Charleston. They did end on a high note, defeating Washington & Lee in Sumter, South Carolina to the tune of 25-0.

Last updated: 6/4/2024