Page 14 - Florida Sentinel 12-13-16 Online Edition

Sports
Bucs' Defense, Tandy
USF Hires Charlie Strong To Be New Head Coach
Charlie Strong was fired by Texas after having three straight losing seasons.
Three weeks after being fired by Texas, Charlie Strong was hired Sunday to be the coach at South Florida, returning to a region where he has deep roots and a conference where he has won championships.
Strong was fired by Texas on Nov. 26, the day after coach- ing his final game with the Longhorns. At No. 25 USF, he replaces Willie Taggart, who left the Tampa school to be- come coach at Oregon just a few days ago.
"Charlie is a tremendous leader and mentor for our stu- dent-athletes and a widely-re- spected coach with a resume full of achievements at the highest levels of college foot- ball," USF athletic director Mark Harlan said in a state- ment. "He combines a drive to win with great integrity and deep, long-standing connec- tions in the state of Florida. The future of USF football is very bright under his direction."
The Bulls went 10-2 this sea- son and finished second in the American Athletic Conference East division to league cham- pion Temple.
Strong was 16-21 with no winning seasons in three years at Texas after replacing Mack Brown. Before going to Texas, Strong was 37-15 in four years at Louisville (2010-13), includ- ing 23-3 in the final two sea- sons.
The Cardinals were in the Big East/American Athletic Conference when Strong was coach and they won at least a share of two league champi- onships.
The 56-year-old Strong has deep roots coaching in the state of Florida. He did three stints covering 13 seasons as an assis- tant coach at the University of Florida under Steve Spurrier, Ron Zook and Urban Meyer, mostly as de- fensive coordinator. He was also defensive coordinator at South Carolina from 1999- 2002.
"Some of the best football talent in the country is right here in the Bay Area and throughout the state of Florida, and I feel blessed to have the opportunity to work with the young men in the USF football program and build on the strong foundation already in place," Strong said in a state- ment.
Redskins Safety Crushes
Come Up Big Again With
Darren Sproles With Dirty Hit
Win Over Saints
Philadelphia Eagles star Darren Sproles left Sun- day's game against the Red- skins in the fourth quarter after a scary and dangerous hit on a punt return.
Washington's Deshazor Everett leveled Sproles be- fore he caught the ball, and he had to be helped from the locker room.
The Tampa Bay Bucca- neers' defense shut down the New Orleans Saints' league- best offense Sunday, limiting it to three field goals and no touchdowns in a 16-11 victory.
The win, Tampa's fifth straight, means the Bucs keep pace with the Atlanta Falcons for first place in the NFC South with both teams at 8-5. The Bucs have won five straight for the first time since the 2002 season that ended with a Super Bowl title.
"What a job by our de- fense," said Bucs head coach Dirk Koetter, who said that when he looked down at the stat sheet, "I [was] wondering if I was really at this game. There's a lot of stuff on here I don't recognize. But I do rec- ognize what a heck of a job our defense did."
The Bucs were without Adam Humphries, Jameis Winston's check- down man, and without starter Cecil Shorts, who is now on IR. Top target Mike Evans was limited to four catches for 42 yards. They managed to score just one touchdown -- a 1-yard run from Doug Martin.
"For the second-consecu- tive week, that was not the prettiest of games," Koetter said. "[I'm] very proud of our guys for finding a way. It starts with our defense. Who says they don't play defense in Tampa Bay?"
Also for the second straight
Darren Sproles left the game after this scary mo- ment.
KEITH TANDY
week, backup safety Keith
Tandy made a game-winning interception. It came on fourth-and-1, with 57 seconds remaining, on a pass intended for Willie Snead at the New Orleans 47-yard line.
"It was a formation we'd seen on film," Tandy said. "Bradley [McDougald] was just talking to me, 'I'm coming to you so sit on it.' ... You always know in crunch- time situations that teams go to one of their favorite plays and that was one of their fa- vorite plays."
The Bucs picked Drew Brees off three times Sunday and held him without a touch- down pass. That's the first time in Brees' career that he has thrown three intercep- tions with no touchdown passes for two straight games.
"Right now, we're a confi- dent bunch," said Tandy, who stepped in for Chris Conte again this week and led the team with nine com- bined tackles, a tackle for a loss and three pass breakups to go along with his pick.
Dez Bryant's Critical Fumble
On His First Catch Seals
Cowboys' Second Loss
Dallas Cowboys superstar wide receiver Dez Bryant went from non-factor to the factor, but for all the wrong reasons if you’re a Cowboys fan.
With 2:33 left in the fourth and the Cowboys trailing by three, Dak Prescott hit Bryant for his first reception of the game that would have given Dallas a first down.
Only problem is Bryant immediately fumbled the re- ception, ending the Cowboys' drive and putting the finish- ing touches on their 11-game win streak after Dallas' 13-10 loss to the Giants.
The Cowboys have now
DEZ BRYANT
lost twice this season, both times to the Giants by a com- bined four points. New York keeps its slim division hopes alive after handing Dallas its first loss since the Giants beat the Cowboys 20-19 in Week 1.
Jury Finds Man Who Shot
Former Saints Star Will Smith
Broncos-Titans Breaks Down
The man who fatally shot retired New Orleans Saints defensive leader Will Smith was convicted of manslaugh- ter on Sunday night, ending a week-long trial in which the defendant insisted he only fired because the popular football star was drunk, vio- lent and had grabbed a gun following a traffic crash on the night of April 9.
Smith was part of the Saints team that lifted the stricken city's spirits in the years after Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005, helping carry the team to a winning season in 2006 and a Super Bowl win four years later. His death at the hands of Cardell Hayes, 29, was stunning, even for a city where residents are accus- tomed to reports of multiple gunfire deaths every week.
Hayes faces a possible sen- tence of up to 40 years in prison at his sentencing on Feb. 17.
Hayes' defense lawyers said Smith's popularity led to a rush to judgment by police and prosecutors.
Hayes, however, was the only witness to say Smith armed himself that night. Prosecutors acknowledged
Into Sideline Scuffle Over
Low Hit On Chris Harris Jr.
WILL SMITH AND CARDELL HAYES
that a loaded gun was found in Smith's car but said there was no evidence that it was ever fired or that Smith had grabbed it.
A pathologist report showed Smith was legally drunk with a high blood-alco- hol level that night, the end of a day in which he had spent time at the city's annual French Quarter Festival, a bar and two restaurants. He, his wife and two passengers were in his Mercedes SUV the night of the shooting. They were heading from New Orleans' Lower Garden District toward downtown when a series of events led to the shooting, be- ginning with Smith's vehicle appearing to lightly bump Hayes' Hummer -- although the prosecution raised doubts that the two vehicles actually touched.
Denver Broncos corner- back Chris Harris, Jr. said Tennessee Titans wide receiver Harry Douglas "tried to end my career'' with a low hit on Harris' right knee in the second quarter of the Titans' 13-10 win Sunday at Nissan Stadium.
On a 6-yard run by Der- rick Henry with 3 minutes, 10 seconds left in the first half, Harris was standing away from the pile in the middle of the field when Douglas dove at Harris' right knee.
Harris, who suffered a torn ACL in his left knee in 2013, pulled his right leg back just after contact or any injury likely could have been much worse. Harris fell to the ground following the hit, clutching his right knee.
After a few moments down on the field, he walked slowly back to the bench
area with the team's train- ers. Harris did return to the game before halftime and played the entire second half.
"I never had a player try to end my career before,'' Har- ris said. "That's not football, he tried to end my career with a hit like that ... [the of- ficials] didn't call it, but hopefully the league can take a look at that.''
Minutes later, as he walked to the team bus, Harris added, "Whatever the biggest fine is, that's what he should get.''
Guilty Of Manslaughter
PAGE 14 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY TUESDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2016