9:.
Watchorn takes long road to success
■ The senior defensive back has
opened up in private and on the
field for the Comhuskers.
BY JOHN GASKINS
At first glance, TYoy Watchom does
n’t seem much different from a lot of
Nebraska football in-state walk-ons.
He comes from a small Nebraska
town, grew up loving the Huskers,
dreamed of playing for them someday
and scraped and clawed his way just to
make the scout team.
For four years, he labored mostly
on the scout team with sparse chance
of ever making it onto the field in a
game.
Yet, he persevered, earned a
Blackshirt and is now a team leader in
his senior year... and has seen plenty
of action on the field.
Watchom even accepts the success
with your typical humble Nebraska
. attitude, but that’s right about where
the similarities between Watchom and
most NU football walk-ons end.
Hardly anyone, even the Big Red’s
most prized players, experience the
kind of euphoria this unassuming guy
from Columbus has experienced in the
past four weeks.
A • _
Hardly anyone has experienced the
pain and adversity of losing a father
after a rocky childhood over the past
four years.
And, then again, not many unsung
ex-walk-ons fresh off the scout team
with barely any prior experience inter
cept a pass four games in a row. In fact,
not one Husker has done that since the
team started keeping official statistics
in 1946.
In just a month, Watchorn has
made history and is now the playmaker
of a struggling defense and secondary
that was looking for answers in its first
five games.
"The last few weeks have been a bit
overwhelming,” Watchorn said. "I’ve
just been in the right place at the right
time. I always knew I was good enough
to play here. It’s just the biggest thrill in
the world.” a
“That guy is on cloud nine right
now,” fellow senior free safety Clint
Finley said. "He used to be so tense on
the field. He wanted to do good so
badly. Now, he’s looser and looking
more and more comfortable.
Everything is just clicking for him. It’s
been a big change.
“He deserves it. He’s worked his
butt off. He’s a fighter.”
Finley, Wettchom's best friend in the
secondary, remembers the exact
moment that turned Watchom's stock
at NU and attitude around.
It was the final minute of the third
game of the season against Iowa on
Sept. 23. Watchorn probably could
have counted the number of career
minutes he had logged on both of his
hands.
But defensive coordinator Craig
Bohl sent in the reserve with just a few
minutes left in the game and NU up 35
13. Watchorn picked off Iowa quarter
back Scott Mullen's pass and took it 39
yards to the house, while a Memorial
Stadium crowd treated to a sluggish
Husker effort all afternoon went
berserk.
“From that moment on, he’s been a
whole lot different,’’ Finley said. “We
hadn’t made a lot of big plays in the sec
ondary. Somebody had to step up. So
far it’s been TYoy.”
The true turning point in
Watchom’s life, though, is the making
of a Hollywood movie script.
That point came last Thanksgiving
at his house in Columbus. For two
years, Watchorn, his mother, two
brothers and younger sister had strug
gled coping with the 1997 death of his
father, Keith.
Keith died after a half-year battle
“We hadn't made a lot of
big plays in the
secondary. Somebody
had to step up. So far it's
been Troy."
Clint Finley
NU senior free safety
with pancreatic and liver cancer and a
half-year of making up with his son.
Tftjy had been resentful of Keith, a
worker at Union Pacific Railroad. His
father was an alcoholic in Troy's
younger years. He was also very
demanding of TYoy.
But when Keith lie sick on Troy’s
19th birthday the year he died, Ttoy for
gave him.
Just a few days after Keith got to see
his son take the field as a redshirt fresh
man against Akron in the '97 season
opener, he passed away.
After that, things changed.
Watchom lost that small-town, walk
on spirit He went through the motions
Please see WATCHORN on 9
cat magic
runs out in
Coliseum
BY JOSHUA CAMENZIND
In 1999, Kansas State did the
unthinkable - it beat Nebraska at
home.
The Wildcats broke a 24-year
losing streak with their 3-2 win
over NU in the process.
But on Wednesday night, KSU
was met with the task of trying to
win two in a row against the
Huskers at die Coliseum.
And they were denied, while
being swept 15-9,15-6,15-8 in die
process.
Wildcat Coach and 1999 Big
12 Coach of the Year Jim
McLaughlin left Lincoln and “the
greatest environment in the
world” a loser for the third time in
his career- a direct result of NU’s
dominance on defense.
They defended as well as
anyone I have seen since I have
been coaching,” McLaughlin said.
“They remind me of a man's
team.”
McLaughlin said his strategy
going into the match was to attack
NU’s block and cover it effectively.
K-State attacked the Husker’s
taller players, trying to hit it high
off their hands and cover any
other balls that might come back.
“You can’t try and kill the ball,”
said sophomore Jenny Pollard, a
native of North Bend, Neb. “You
have to try and get kills by hitting it
off their hands.”
The Wildcats struggled to get
kills, and their biggest offensive
threat, Liz Wegner, was held to 13
kills on a .029 hitting percentage.
Wegner came into the match
leading the Big 12 with 6.61 kills
per game and with 3,034 career
kills, has a chance to become the
all-time leader in that category in
KSU history.
But the junior from Grand
Island struggled mightily dealing
with NU’s block-a? did the rest of
the Wildcats.
The Wildcats have one player
over 6-foot, while NU sports nine
players, including setter Greichaly
Cepero, that stand 6 feet 1 inch or
taller.
NU’s height and a sell-out
crowd of 4,291 at the Coliseum are
imposing factors for visiting
squads. Add in mental errors and
a lack of rhythm, and McLaughlin
said his team never gave itself
much of a chance.
i^ase in poini, ne saia, was
when KSU tied NU at eight in the
third game and then proceeded to
make two serving errors.
Kansas State had nine total
service errors on the night, and hit
only ,133 as a team. McLaughlin
said if NU plays like it did against
his team, the Huskers will be hard
for any team to beat down the
road
"If Nebraska wins the serve
and pass against any opponent,
they are going to win it all,” he said.
As for KSU, they will meet NU
again on Nov. 25 in Manhattan.
“It’s one of those games that
you can't do anything about,” said
junior and Spencer, Neb. native
Lisa Mimick. “But there is always
that chance because we have
them again.”
4 4 4
RlePhoto/DN
Senior defensive back Troy Watchom has intercepted a pass in
each of Nebraska's past four games, the first-ever NU defend
er to do so.
Husker outside
hitter Angie
Oxley blocks an
attempted kill
from Kansas
State with help
from middle
blocker Jenny
Kropp.The
Huskers put
down the
Wildcats in
three straight
games 15-9,15
6,15-8.
Photos by Scott McClurg/DN
Huskers block KSU upset attempt
BY SEAN CALLAHAN
A lot of things can change over
a year.
The last time the Kansas State
volleyball team stepped foot into
the NU Coliseum, they walked
away pretty confident after out
dueling the Comhuskers in a five
game thriller.
Coming into Wednesday’s
match, the Wildcats (13-5,7-3),
ranked No. 20 by Volleyball
Magazine, thought they might be
able to make it two in a row
against the top-ranked
Comhuskers (18-0,10-0).
Think again. The Huskers
made the Cats look like every
other Big 12 foe they faced this
season-helpless.
In a match that lasted more
them 90 minutes, NU swept KSU
15-9,15-6 and 15-8.
Nebraska Coach John Cook
said he showed some signs of
concern in the third game when
K-State had the score tied at eight,
but overall Was very pleased with
his teams’ performance.
“I thought it was a very good
effort tonight,” Cook said. “It was
just an electric atmosphere.
"It was a big match because K
State was ranked second in the
Big 12. We were up for this and we
wanted to play well."
The third game letdown Cook
was talking about occurred when
NU had a 8-4 lead but failed to
shut the door on Kansas State. It
appeared the Wildcats had stolen
the momentum when they ran off
four straight points to tie the
game at 8.
“K-State does some pretty
nice things,” Cook said. “They
made our block look pretty bad a
couple of times tonight.”
Kansas State’s momentum
was short-lived, however. After a
time out, Nebraska regrouped
and closed the match on a 7-0
run.
Offensively, the Huskers once
again turned to a balanced attack
Nebraska 15 15 15
Kansas St. 9 6 8
'Krai& -^SW'As.***.** "■•%» * \
led by sophomores Amber
Holmquist and Laura Pilakowski.
The duo tallied a team-high 12
and 11 kills respectively.
Junior Jenny Kropp and
Holmquist led NU on the defense
side with a combined 15 blocks.
Wednesday’s match marked
the first time this year NU has
played a match on television.
Fox Sports will re-air the
broadcast at noon on Friday.
After the match, Holmquist
said the Huskers were able to
push the television coverage, and
the atmosphere in general, to the
back of their minds.
“We were ready for the inten
sity,” Holmquist said. “We came
in and matched it.
“I feel like we go out there
every time to play for the fans. If
the TV’s there, that’s great. We just
play for ourselves and our fans.” '
Nebraska setter Greichaty Cepero digs a ball during the third game of the (tuskers’
win over Kansas State Wednesday night at the NU Coliseum.
Crouch follows now-BU assistant Frazier's lead
■ Current NU signal-caller Crouch looks
up to Frazier, who will coach from the
visitors'sideline on Saturday.
BY JOSHUA CAMEN3ND
Eric Crouch doesn’t know Baylor run
ning backs Coach Tommie Frazier all that
well.
The two have spoken a couple of
times, and Crouch compares meeting
the former Nebraska quarterback for the
first time similar with the same experi
ence he had with Tom Osborne.
"You just really don’t know what to
l 4
say, Crouch said.
But Crouch does know one thing to
say about the two-time National
Champion.
“What he did was phenomenal and,
in my opinion, he should have won the
Heisman Trophy,” Crouch said, referring
to Frazier’s 1995 campaign.
Frazier helped NU beat Florida 62-24
in the 1996 Fiesta Bowl to win the nation
al championship, but Frazier finished
second to Ohio State’s Eddie George in
the Heisman race.
Since then, no Husker has been seri
ously considered for the award, given
annually to the nation’s top player - until
i »
now that is.
On Saturday, Crouch will get an
opportunity to show his stuff in the pres
ence of Frazier, now an assistant at
Baylor under Kevin Steele.
“It will definitely be a motivating fac
tor,” Crouch said.
Crouch has impressed Frazier and
Heisman voters up to this point while
leading No. 1 Nebraska to a perfect 6-0
record and putting up big-time statistics
on the side.
The junior has followed the mold that
was perfected by Frazier as a versatile
option quarterback that can run well and
pass pretty good on the side.
t, V
just to oe ame to near my name in
the same sentence as him makes me
proud enough to where I could live the
rest of my life without hearing another
comment or comparison about it and I
would be fine,” Crouch said.
But Crouch will keep hearing those
comparisons if his level of play holds
true.
Crouch has rushed for 530 yards,
while passing for 752 as well. He has 10
rushing and nine passing touchdowns
and is arguably the most important cog
Please see CROUCH on 9