MONDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2016 | SERVING TEXAS A&M SINCE 1893 | © 2016 STUDENT MEDIA | @THEBATTONLINE
Wide reciever Christian Kirk makes a 25-yard touchdown catch in the third quarter. Kirk finished the game as the Aggies’ leading reciever with nine catches for 58 yards.
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QB Trevor Knight: ‘This isn’t the end all be all’ By Angel Franco @angelmadison_
O
ne of the biggest components of playing the game of football is getting off the field successfully, whether on offense or defense. With undefeated records on the line, it was imperative for both No. 6 Texas A&M and No. 1 Alabama to play a seemingly perfect game. With the Aggies down 13-7 at the half with the ball in their possession to start the third quarter, A&M senior quarterback Trevor Knight connected with sophomore wide receiver Christian Kirk to cap off a six play 75-yard drive and take the 14-13 lead over the No. 1 team in the country. But the drive that followed proved to be the turning point in the game. A&M’s defense, which held the Tide to 13 points in the first half — the fewest all season for Alabama — had once again made a crucial third down stop that could’ve given the Aggie
offense the chance to make the game shift in its favor. But the strong defensive stand was negated by a roughing the passer call on senior linebacker Shaan Washington that gave the high-powered Alabama offense a new set of downs. Senior safety Justin Evans said the defensive miscue changed the momentum of the game. Evans also said it was important to stay focused following plays like those because there is still a task at hand. “We made a couple critical errors that kept their drive alive,” Evans said. “So if we wouldn’t have got them we would’ve been off the field; who knows what would’ve happened.” Alabama capitalized on the defensive miscue by scoring a touchdown to regain the lead 20-14. After this score, A&M’s chances of defeating the Tide seemed to diminish with every offensive possession for the remainder of the game. Following a punishing sack by Alabama’s Tim Williams, the Aggies found themselves in a long yardage situation. The following play, Alabama forced a fumble which was returned for a touchdown, FOOTBALL ON PG. 2
AGGIES FORGE ON AFTER FIRST LOSS
Morgan Engel — THE BATTALION
CRIME
ELECTION 2016
EARLY VOTING BEGINS MONDAY Early voting in Texas begins Oct. 24 in MSC 526B. People who are registered to vote in Brazos County may begin casting their votes Monday, and continue to do so each week day until Election Day Nov. 8. Lines are expected to be long on Election Day so voters are encouraged to consider voting early. — Staff Report
Gig the Vote to host local candidates in forum By Eraj Mohiuddin @5678Eraj College Station will elect a new mayor, new councilmen and several other officials in two weeks, and two of the mayoral candidates and five city council candidates will talk in a panel about voting in the upcoming election Monday. Gig the Vote, a nonpartisan Student Government Association initiative aimed at encouraging students to register and vote in local elections, will host a panel with seven of the candidates. Although the program will not advocate a specific candidate, Gig the Vote hopes to increase awareness of the importance of these elections. The program began forming when SGA Executive Vice President of Municipal Affairs and Gig the Vote founder Spencer Davis noticed that the local voting rates were significantly lower than the student body elections. “Around 11,000 students voted in the Student Vice Presidential election two years ago,” said Caleb Saulk, event coordinator. “Spencer was looking at the people who elected the mayor of College Station and it was substantially less than the number of people who voted in the student elections. It was half the 11,000.” Hoping to raise awareness of local elections, Gig the Vote members began organizing the program by contacting candidates and aligning schedules. Political science professor Dwight Roblyer will be the moderator for the panel, and the program will be held panel-style with questions from both the moderator and attendees. “I want [this program] to spark interest,” said Jake Wilson, Gig the Vote director. “It won’t give students details, but we want them to get interested. We have the candidate’s bios online, so they can check that out to see who they want to vote for. We just want to get students interested.” The Candidate Forum will allow students to understand what their vote in the election can FORUM ON PG. 4
PHOTO VIA UPD
The home game against Tennessee was the largest instance of ticket forgery at Kyle Field this year. FILE
Friday’s win over Georgia marked head coach Laurie Corbelli’s 600th career win.
A&M HEAD VOLLEYBALL COACH HITS 600TH WIN Laurie Corbelli reflects on 24 years, passion for volleyball By Heath Clary @Heath_Clary In her 24 years as head volleyball coach at Texas A&M, Laurie Corbelli has enjoyed tremendous success, but she has never treated winning as the only goal. Corbelli has always made it a point to build relationships with her players, which is one of the reasons her players hold her in such high regard. It’s also the reason why some of them committed to A&M in the first place. “Knowing that she cares for us personally, not just as volleyball players, I think that’s really important for a coach,” said junior setter Stephanie Aiple. “A lot of coaches out there just care about volleyball and being successful, and while she does care about that stuff, she also wants to know you on a deeper level, so that really comforted me in coming here.” But winning matches is how most people measure a coach’s success, and Corbelli has had her fair share of that as well. Friday’s exciting come-from-behind win over Georgia marked Corbelli’s 600th career win, 500 of which have come at the helm of the Texas A&M program. “I think it says longevity more than anything else,” Corbelli said of amassing such a large number of wins. “Just grinding it out every year, the passion I have for volleyball, for coaching, for the kids
and what an adrenaline addict I am.” For Corbelli, though, it’s not about the wins. It’s about the memories and the relationships. Her husband John serves as A&M’s associate head coach and has been her right-hand man since she took the A&M job. Their son Russell is also an assistant coach on the staff, and Corbelli said getting to enjoy the success with her family makes the experience even more special. It is not lost on the players that they had the privilege of being by Corbelli’s side as she reached that milestone victory. “It just shows we’re out here working not only for our wins but for her success, too,” said junior outside hitter Kiara McGee. “Last season, watching her win Coach of the Year was really great. She works us so hard in practice and really wants this for us. Her and John are so great as coaches, and it’s awesome to get that for them.” Aiple echoed those sentiments. “She works her butt off and she makes us work our butts off and so it’s super rewarding that we can be the team to get her to 500 [wins],” Aiple said. Freshman outside hitter Hollann Hans grew up coming to Texas A&M volleyball camps as a child, and even though she always wanted to be an Aggie, what cemented her decision was Corbelli’s sterling reputation. “I used to come to all the games so I always saw her on the sidelines and I heard from different people that she’s a great coach,” Hans said. “Getting to see VOLLEYBALL ON PG. 3
UPD continues investigation of ticket forgery By Emily Bost @EmmyBost When fans filtered into College Station for the A&M game against Tennessee, some were turned away because they unknowingly bought counterfeit tickets, and an investigation into the parties responsible for the ticket forgery is still underway. The Oct. 8 football game was the highest instance of ticket forgery Kyle Field has experienced all year. Sixty-eight documented victims purchased 120 counterfeit tickets, racking up a total estimated financial loss of $18,825. The forged tickets were discovered as victims’ tickets were being scanned at the Kyle Field entry gates, according to Lt. Allan Baron of the University Police Department. Notifications of issues with counterfeit tickets trickled in to UPD as the game day progressed. The prevalence of counterfeit tickets increases from higher demand of more competitive games. Because the A&M vs. Tennessee game was one of the biggest games of the year, Mark Riordan, vice president of marketing and communications at the 12th Man Foundation, said the amount of counterfeits were extremely widespread. “At any high-demand event, you’re going to have counterfeits,” Riordan said. “We take the precautions to make sure that we can’t be counterfeited with design elements that include foil and barcodes, but every day the counterfeiters are getting better at what they do. We are trying to stay a step ahead of them.” Baron said one individual was found in possession of five counterfeit tickets, and that person was arrested and charged with five counts of Trademark Counterfeiting, a Class B Misdemeanor. TICKETS ON PG. 4