CHARLOTTE VS. FIU · OCT. 15, 2016
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Photo by Chris Crews
KATHLEEN COOK SPORTS EDITOR
Prior to Saturday’s matchup against Old Domnion, players and coaches from both sides came together and formed a “Circle of Unity” around the perimeter of the field. The two sides joined hands together to symbolize that throughout the midst of the protests and riots that occured in the Charlotte area, that opposing sides can come together in a peaceful manner. Senior Nick Cook spoke of how the event came to be and what it meant
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to him as a player participating. “Coach Lambert pulled all the seniors together in the beginning of the week and said they reached out to us about it. He asked us what we thought about it and we were all for it right away. We all thought it was a good idea to show there was a lot more to life than football. Everybody stops playing the game at one point, so it is a bigger thing. It was nice to show the city and everybody here that was watching tonight that we can all come together as one.
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CHARLOTTE 49ERS FOOTBALL: REASON FOR OPTIMISM
GRANT HUGHES INTERN
Workpeh Kofa makes a jumping catch against Elon. Photo by Chris Crews
Despite a 1-4 start to the season, there are plenty of reasons to still save hope in the 49ers. Through four games they have faced one of the best teams in the nation in Louisville, as well as Elon, Eastern Michigan, Temple and Old Dominion. None of their five opponents have losing records and possess a combined record of 14-7, a pretty tough schedule to begin their season. The rest of their schedule, however, contains just two teams with winning records in Southern Mississippi and Middle Tennessee, and the seven teams they have yet to play in the regular season have a combed record of 12-21. This all equates to a strength of schedule that ranks 119 of 128 FBS teams for the rest of the season. The room for improvement is there and maybe a few wins as well, but none of this can be achieved without several key players. Through the first four games quarterback Kevin Olsen stands at
10th in Conference USA in terms of passing, with most of his yards heading to stud receivers in Austin Duke and T.L. Ford. Duke is well known around campus and has already eclipsed 200 receptions for his career. Perhaps slightly lesser known is Ford, who has already eclipsed his receiving yardage total of last year in merely four games. Both Duke and Ford place in the top 10 C-USA receiving yardage ranks. Ford possesses the fourth highest yards per catch (minimum of 15 receptions) in the conference. The two give Charlotte a strong pair of pass catchers, one that Olsen will surely grow more comfortable passing to. In the run game, Charlotte has a four-star true freshman in Robert Washington who is currently leading the team in rushing yards and touchdowns. Behind him is senior Kalif Phillips who nearly eclipsed 1,000 yards on the ground last season.
Anthony Covington returns a kickoff for the 49ers. Photo by Pooja Pasupula
Joining Phillips and Washington is another true freshman Ben LeMay, who has averaged 5.3 yards per rush on his nearly seven carries a game. The three combine to average over 5 yards per carry and are on pace for 1,572 rushing yards as a trio. However, it is more than likely that the three backs will eclipse this number greatly in their subsequent matches against lesser opponents. As a whole, the offense has just been slightly below the FBS average, ranking directly below the University of Georgia and directly above Stanford in yards per game. On the other side of the ball, the defense has played better than many may have expected. For the year, the 49ers have allowed 486.50 yards of offense per game, a little higher than the FBS average of 403.35. Though most of the yards against Charlotte have come through the air, the run defense has been very good. Opposing rushers are averaging 162.75 yards per game on the 49ers,
CHARLOTTE VS. FIU · OCT. 15, 2016
nearly 10 yards lower than the national average of 172.09 yards per game. Even more impressive considering that most of the damage was caused by Louisville’s 663 yards of offense and 272 yards rushing. In fact, if you take out the Louisville game, the 49ers are holding teams to a mere 126.3 yards on the ground. This number is significantly better than the national average, and something the defense should be very proud about. Whether Charlotte’s 1-4 start is simply a facade or foreshadowing of what is to come, we as fans should be excited about the rest of the season and for future years as well. The offense looks to be in good hands with Ford catching passes and Washington toting the rock this season and the near future. Time will tell, but come out and support the Charlotte football team, they might surprise you sooner than later.
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GOLDRUSH · A NINER TIMES SPECIAL SECTION
MONARCHS TAKE THE CROWN IN THE QUEEN CITY
STAFF PICKS
ZACH TIMMONS STAFF WRITER
Charlotte came into Saturday’s matchup with Old Dominion searching for their first conference win. After not winning a single C-USA matchup and losing a close battle to ODU 37-34 last season, the Niners came up short once again. The Monarchs got off to a fast start with a 21-point first quarter. ODU running back Jeremy Cox scored on a pair of 1-yard runs, and quarterback David Washington found receiver Zach Pascal on a 25-yard touchdown pass. The Niners managed to get a field goal from placekicker Stephen Muscarello. In the second quarter, Charlotte was unable to defend the big play, giving up two 40-yard completions on separate drives. Washington found Travis Fulgham on a 55-yard touchdown reception to punctuate the drive. Meanwhile, the 49ers got their first touchdown with two seconds remaining in the half. Running back Kalif Phillips, in his second game back from injury, took Kevin Olsen’s short pass and turned it into a 42-yard touchdown. Olsen finished the game 14-31 for 145 yards, one touchdown, an interception and a fumble. Phillips finished with 62 yards on 16 carries as well as two receptions for 52 yards, including the aforementioned score. “Kev dumped it off to me. I just did what I had to do to put some points on the board,” Phillips said. Phillips acknowledges that to win games the 49ers as a whole can’t have a defeated mindset. “There’s never time to beat up on ourselves. We come in every game ready to win and go hard every game. We just can’t underestimate all the players or teams that we play.” In the third quarter, Cox ran in his third score of the day, and Washington threw his third touchdown pass to
receiver Isaiah Harper. ODU put the exclamation point on the third quarter when running back Gemonta Jackson scored on a 37-yard scamper. Charlotte’s backup quarterback Hasaan Klugh checked in during the second half and finished 4-5 passing for 31 yards. He also rushed six times for 41 yards, including the Niners’ final touchdown from three yards out with 2:57 remaining in the game. Running back Matt Johnson also rushed 10 times for 61 yards during the game. On defense, linebacker Nick Cook continued his successful campaign with nine total tackles. Defensive back Kedrick Davis recorded yet another spectacular interception when he ripped the ball away from an ODU receiver in the second quarter and returned it into ODU territory. “Obviously I didn’t have them ready to play. We’ve got to go back and look at everything we’re doing. I’ve got to have them ready to play, and that’s my responsibility. We’ve got to look back at everything we’re doing and how we’re practicing, and that’s what I told our team,” Charlotte coach Brad Lambert said. Lambert also hinted at some possible lineup changes that could be made during the coming games. “We’re going to look at everybody. You’ve got to always be careful, in the fourth quarter, playing against their twos and threes [second and third stringers]. I like what Hasaan can do; he can always make plays with his feet. We’re going to look at every position.” Charlotte falls to 1-4 on the year and will return to action next week on the road as they take on Florida Atlantic.
CHARLOTTE VS. FIU · OCT. 15, 2016
FINAL SCORE (10/8) CHAR 24, Florida Atlantic 21 FINAL SCORE (10/15) CHAR 31, FIU 27
FINAL SCORE (10/8) CHAR 17, Florida Atlantic 13 FINAL SCORE (10/15) CHAR 24, FIU 20
FINAL SCORE (10/8) CHAR 35, Florida Atlantic 28 FINAL SCORE (10/15) CHAR 38, FIU 35
FINAL SCORE (10/8) CHAR 20, Florida Atlantic 35 FINAL SCORE (10/15) CHAR 20, FIU 17 Due to Fall Break, there will not be a Homecoming issue of Goldrush which is why we are giving our predictions for the next two games
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THE HEADS OF THE PROGRAM A look at the diverse hairstyles within the football program
KATHLEEN COOK SPORTS EDITOR
Hair. Everyone has it, but some choose to use it as a form to express themselves. Examples of this can be found all around campus, including on the roster of the football team. We broke the team down into different hair categories and talked about what it’s like to have some of the best hair on the team.
Man Buns Sweeping the nation and the 49er roster the past few years has been the man-bun craze. Jordan Starnes joined the trend when he began growing his hair out last year. The linebacker is cutting edge, showcasing undercut on the back of his head that allows for cool air to reach his neck. “The process is really annoying. I started off in the awkward phase, wearing backwards hats because Jordan Starnes. Photo by Chris Crews it was wild. Now it’s easier because I can put it up. It’s still pretty annoying at times and taking care of it is a pain, but it’s alright,” Starnes said After being in a school with strict regulations on hair, Christian Asher decided to let his hair down when he got to the Queen City. “I went to a boarding school where we had to have our hair really short all the time. I decided that since I could finally grow it out, I might as well,” Asher said. The art of the bun is something that takes time to perfect. Starnes is also quick to point out the
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differing styles of the bun. “I don’t know if I would say I’ve perfected the man bun, but I try to make it look just like a regular bun, not a man bun. I would prefer it to be called just a bun. I think the man bun sits on top of your head, I like mine neutral in the back,” Starnes said. “In the beginning I would have to ask girls in my classes or my friends to put it up for me, but now it’s like second nature.” Asher also doesn’t know if he’s got the bun down pat, but that doesn’t stop the six-foot-one linebacker from trying. “I don’t know if I’ve perfected it yet, but I’m trying to. So far it’s come pretty natural to me,” Asher said. Having long hair requires a good shampoo and conditioner. “I use Pantene shampoo and conditioner every other day,” Asher said. While Starnes has plans to cut his locks after after this season, Asher has a goal for his hair in the long run but he didn’t reveal any of his secrets. “I have a plan on doing something with it in the future, but y’all just have to wait and see that one,” Asher said.
Dreadheads
Kalif Phillips. Photo by Chris Crews
Kalif Phillips has had his dreads for about six years, sticking with them throughout the hot dog days of summer. Phillips has the thinner version of dreads, called sister locks.
“I don’t like the thick ones, I think the thick ones are ugly. Mine are called sister locks, because it’s the type that a lot of girls have as opposed to the thicker ones. The thick ones don’t do anything for me,” Phillips said. The thick ones do something for redshirtfreshman Tyriq Harris, however. Initially Harris choose cornrows after he decided to change up his hair style. He moved on to dreads next and his hair history hasn’t been the same ever since. “When I Tyriq Harris. Photo by Chris Crews first started off my hair was really long and it was really nappy, I could run my fingers through it and they wouldn’t come out. My dad was like ‘Hey you’re going to have to do something with your hair.’ I started with cornrows, then I got tired of that and switched to dreads one day. It’s been four to five years. People tell me all the time it would be so weird if I didn’t have my hair likes this,” Harris said. Joining Phillips on team sister-locks is offensive linemen Casey Perry. His dreads came shortly after the POS came onto the Charlotte campus. “They’re a lot smaller and they’re easier to take care of. I can go longer in between without looking fuzzy,” Perry said. “I had been clean cut all of my life, I thought it was a different stage of my life so I should do something different.” Phillips takes note of the opposing players’ dreads, and of course, the 49ers are heads and shoulders above their competitors. “I’ve seen a couple teams that had dreads that
GOLDRUSH · A NINER TIMES SPECIAL SECTION
were real thick and looked nappy,” Phillips said. There is a bond between the players with dreads, from asking for tips to just admiring the others’ locks the group just “goes well with each other,” Harris said. The support system found within the hair group is unrivaled. “We always talk about each others’ hair. As soon as someone gets their hair done we pay attention to it. We ask each other for ideas,” Perry said.
Untamed Redshirt-freshman Nate Mullen began to grow his hair out two years ago, drawing inspiration from Cowboys player Cole Beasley. Throughout the process of growing it out, Mullen had to fight the urge to cut it off. His dreams of having hair peeking from underneath his helmet made it all worth it this season. “I wanted my hair to come out of the helmet,” Mullen said. “I can’t wait to cut it off. But finally getting to play with it coming out of my helmet made it worth it.” Joining Mullen in the Untamed category is punter Arthur Hart. When asked to describe his hair in three words Hart said “wild, crazy, everywhere.” Hart is taking advantage of his time in college
to express himself through his hair. “I’m going to have to be an adult, get a job soon. I decided this was the last time I could grow it out,” Hart said. Expect to see Hart making a dash towards the showers after the game, but don’t expect to see him flake on his hairstyle decision. Nate Mullen. Photo by Chris Crews “A hairstyle is a gateway to your personality, it’s a great way to express yourself,” Hart said.
The Highlighter In a category all to himself is Austin Duke. The wide receiver debuted his new ‘do at football media day and it has been a statement piece ever since. “My boy Odell Beckham had it and I thought it was cool, another thing is just a confidence thing
so I stand out and create my own trend,” Duke said. After having his hair loose for the first few weeks of the season, Duke showcased braids still incorporating the eye-catching blonde. “My girlfriend got bored one day and braided my hair, it ended up looking really cool so I kept it and made it my own style,” Duke said. Teammates have been receptive to his bold hairstyle, calling it “dope” and “goddess-like.” Duke takes risks with his hair and encourages others to take a risk with their hair. “Do something that stands out. You can do anything with your hair, it Austin Duke. Photo by Chris Crews grows back. Go big with your hair, it grows back,” Duke said. The hair on the team is ever changing, but one thing remains true: when it comes to hair, Charlotte Football knows what it’s talking about.
2016 FOOTBALL SCHEDULE THURSDAY, SEPT. 1
FRIDAY, OCT. 1
SATURDAY, NOV. 5
Louisville, Ky.
Jerry Richardson Stadium
Hattiesburg, Miss.
#19/#23 Louisville 7 p.m. L, 70-14
Old Dominion
Southern Miss
6 p.m. L, 52-17
3:30 p.m.
SATURDAY, SEPT. 10
SATURDAY, OCT. 8
SATURDAY, NOV. 12
Jerry Richardson Stadium
Boca Raton, Fla.
Jerry Richardson Stadium
Elon
6 p.m. W, 47-14
Florida Atlantic 3:30 p.m.
Rice
2 p.m.
SATURDAY, SEPT. 17
SATURDAY, OCT. 15
SATURDAY, NOV. 19
Jerry Richardson Stadium
Jerry Richardson Stadium
Jerry Richardson Stadium
E. Michigan 6:00 p.m. L, 38-19
FIU
6 p.m.
Midd. Tennessee 2 p.m.
SATURDAY, SEPT. 24
SATURDAY, OCT. 22
SATURDAY, NOV. 26
Philadelphia, Pa.
Huntington, W.Va.
San Antonio, Texas
Temple Noon L, 48-20
Marshall 5:30 p.m.
CHARLOTTE VS. FIU · OCT. 15, 2016
UTSA 7 p.m.
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GOLDRUSH · A NINER TIMES SPECIAL SECTION