Wake-Up Call: Garcia makes big impression on national stage

The Wake-Up Call greets you each weekday with news, views and a few Tampa Bay area sports offerings to anticipate for the day and night. We encourage suggestions and contributions.

Good morning!

You could sense growing confidence from University of South Carolina sophomore quarterback Stephen Garcia on Saturday. That feeling was enunciated by ESPN2 announcers Mike Patrick and Craig James.

Looks like Steve Spurrier has found his quarterback.

Garcia is sharp tonight, very sharp.

Playing on the road against the Georgia Bulldogs, Garcia (Jefferson High) completed 31 of 53 passes for 313 yards, two touchdowns and just one interception. He rushed for 42 yards and took just two sacks. This was the night of his dreams. It had everything.

Except, of course, a victory.

The Bulldogs held on - barely - for a 41-37 SEC East victory against the Gamecocks at Athens, Ga.

South Carolina (1-1) drove to the Georgia 7-yard line - with Garcia converting on a trio of third-down plays - and seemed poised for the victory. But on fourth down, after Garcia appeared ready to tuck the ball in and run, his improvised pass attempt was broken up by Georgia linebacker Rennie Curran with 22 seconds remaining.

Garcia said the performance will provide offensive confidence - the Gamecocks managed just seven points in a season-opening victory against North Carolina State - but quickly added, "It's kind of haunting me right now, that last play.''

Spurrier acknowledged that Garcia, who was brought along slowly last year in his redshirt freshman season, had a good night of decision-making and play-making. Overall, the Gamecocks had two touchdowns negated by penalty and settled for five field goals.

"He's the quarterback we all know,'' said Gamecocks tight end Weslye Saunders, the intended receiver on Garcia's final pass attempt. "Tonight, he showed the world what we knew all along.''

"He looked poised out there,'' Gamecocks linebacker Eric Norwood said. "That's the best I've seen Garcia. If he can give us that, we'll be fine.''

The honor roll

More standout performances last weekend by Tampa Bay area athletes in college football:

• Wake Forest University wide receiver Lovell Jackson (Plant), a fourth-team tailback only three weeks ago before switching positions, hauled in a 44-yard reception to the 2-yard line, setting up the winning touchdown run with two seconds remaining in a 24-17 victory against Stanford.

"We know that Lovell Jackson's got maybe the best foot speed on our football team and he routinely runs by our defensive backs,'' Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe told the Winston-Salem Journal. "We kind of put a play in just for he, and wanted to see if we could get him behind the secondary.''

• Auburn University freshman running back Onterio McCalebb (Fort Meade) rushed for 114 yards - including a 48-yard touchdown run - in a 49-24 win against Mississippi State. McCalebb, who had 148 yards rushing in the season-opener against Louisiana Tech, is the first Auburn player in history to debut with consecutive 100-yard rushing games and the fourth Auburn freshman to accomplish that at any point of a season (Cadillac Williams was the most recent in 2001).

• Indiana University senior running back Demetrius McCray (Armwood) rushed for a career-high 134 yards on 17 carries, including a 59-yard touchdown run in the Hoosiers' 23-19 victory against Western Michigan.

• University of Alabama senior Javier Arenas (Robinson) had 101 yards in punt returns - including returns of 29 and 46 yards that set up two touchdowns - in the Crimson Tide's 40-14 win against Florida International University.

• Florida International receiver Greg Ellingson (Robinson), a teammate of Arenas in high school, caught a 9-yard second-quarter touchdown pass that put FIU ahead of Alabama 14-13. Ellingson finished with a team-high five receptions for 96 yards.

• University of Illinois wide receiver Jarred Fayson (Hillsborough), the team's go-to guy so far, had four catches for 39 yards in a 45-17 win against Illinois State. Meanwhile, receiver Chris Duvalt (Lake Gibson) caught a 27-yard touchdown pass for the Fighting Illini.

• West Virginia University receiver Jock Sanders (St. Petersburg Catholic) had nine receptions for 99 yards in the Mountaineers' 35-20 win against East Carolina.

Bucs: historic breakdowns

Sunday's NFL opener at Raymond James Stadium - Dallas Cowboys 34, Bucs 21 - was the 259th regular-season home game in Tampa Bay history. And for the first time in that span, including the 22 seasons at Tampa Stadium, the Bucs' defense surrendered three scoring plays from scrimmage of 40 yards or longer in one game.

Local fans had never witnessed such monumental breakdowns - not during the 0-and-26 streak, not during the 14 consecutive losing seasons and certainly not during the 13-year reign of former defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin.

Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo threw touchdown passes to Miles Austin (42 yards), Roy Williams (66) and Patrick Crayton (80).

It was the second time in franchise history for the Bucs' defense to give up three 40-yard-plus scoring plays in one game. It also happened on the road at Chicago's Soldier Field on Nov. 19, 1989, when the Bears got touchdown passes of 58 and 52 yards, plus a 59-yard scoring run.

Caldwell has six catches

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Andre Caldwell (Jefferson) had a career-high six receptions for 54 yards in Sunday's 12-7 loss against the Denver Broncos.

More NFL headliners:

• Atlanta Falcons linebacker Stephen Nicholas (University of South Florida) registered seven tackles in a 19-7 win against the Miami Dolphins.

• Falcons receiver Michael Jenkins (Leto) had four catches for 41 yards.

• Cleveland Browns linebacker D'Qwell Jackson (Seminole) had a team-leading 10 tackles in a 34-20 loss to the Minnesota Vikings.

• Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Darren Howard (Boca Ciega) had two sacks in a 38-10 victory against the Carolina Panthers.

Ready for some (more) football?

ESPN's "Monday Night Football'' opens tonight with former Bucs coach Jon Gruden in the booth and a Tampa native as one of the more compelling stories during the New England Patriots-Buffalo Bills game.

Bills rookie free-agent Garrison Sanborn (Jesuit), the former Florida State University player, is Buffalo's long-snapper, perhaps the game's most anonymous position. But his story merits mention.

Last spring, he was working as a system support analyst for BayCare Integrated Service Center. After trying out unsuccessfully for the Bucs and Bills in 2008, his NFL dream seemed just that - a dream.

Then the Bills called back, inviting him to rookie minicamp. He was offered a two-year contract. And now he has made the team.

ESPN will also show the Oakland Raiders-San Diego Chargers as the late portion of an opening-night double-headers. Former University of Florida wide receiver Louis Murphy (Lakewood), a fourth-round draft pick, is scheduled to start for the Raiders.

Will the Rays ever win again?

Swept by the Tigers.

Swept by the Yankees.

Swept by the Red Sox.

The Rays (72-71) are on an 11-game losing streak heading into Baltimore tonight. If the Rays are swept by the Orioles - hey, all bets are off at this point - Tampa Bay would tie the longest losing streak in franchise history (15 games, 2002).

The Rays are 1-12 in September. The franchise record for the worst mark in September is 8-19 (2006, Joe Maddon's first season).

Kazmir update

Former Rays left-hander Scott Kazmir is 0-1 in three starts with his new team, the Los Angeles Angels, but he has a 1.86 ERA. He didn't get the decision in his last two starts, but the Angels won both games, including Sunday's 3-2 victory against the Chicago White Sox. Kazmir has six walks and 14 strikeouts in 19 1/3 innings with the Angels. The Rays are 3-13 since the trade.

Rays vs. Yankees (sort of)

The Rays' organization is going head-to-head against the Yankees' organization for championships in two minor-league divisions.

In the International League, the Durham Bulls (with Armwood's Matt Joyce going 2-for-5) defeated Louisville 5-3 in Sunday night's clinching Game 5 of the semifinal series. Durham will face Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in the best-of-five championship series.

Meanwhile, the Charlotte Stone Crabs, Tampa Bay's Class A affiliate, defeated the Tampa Yankees 9-2 in Sunday night's Game 2 of the best-of-five Florida State League championship series at Steinbrenner Field.

The series is tied 1-1 and will resume tonight in Port Charlotte.

Prep football's top 10

Here are 10 eye-catching performances from the weekend in Tampa Bay area prep football:

• Pasco place-kicker Brennan Allen, playing with a twisted ankle, had field goals of 50 and 49 yards in the Pirates' 27-22 win against Plantation American Heritage. Allen also had a 54-yarder, but a penalty took it off the board.

• Tarpon Springs running back Adrian Golden had 216 rushing yards - including touchdown runs of 54 and 85 yards - in the Spongers' 24-7 victory against Dunedin.

• Hudson quarterback Zack Wynn completed 25 of 40 passes for 330 yards and four touchdowns in the Cobras' 35-10 win against Wesley Chapel. Wynn also rushed for 59 yards, including a 7-yard touchdown run.

• Jefferson quarterback Quentin Williams tossed two touchdown passes, rushed for a 33-yard score and converted the winning two-point conversion in a 29-28 victory against Newsome. (The game, initially in a weather delay, was halted after three quarters because of a curfew rule).

• Mitchell running back Ricky Trinidad rushed 25 times for 178 yards in the Mustangs' 20-6 victory against Ridgewood. (Nice start for Mr. Trinidad, who had 15 rushes for 221 yards - and a 94-yard kickoff return - in Mitchell's opening game).

• Spoto place-kicker Carlos Andrade converted a 23-yard field goal as time expired in the Spartans' 10-7 victory against the Alonso Ravens.

• Taryn Laws had 118 rushing yards on 35 carries as Lakewood Ranch upset Bradenton Southeast 20-16.

• Venice quarterback Trey Burton (orally committed to the University of Florida) rushed for 187 yards and passed for 156 more in a 28-20 victory against Braden River. Burton scored on runs of 1, 58 and 95 yards.

• Lakeland running back Ben McRoy rushed for 113 yards - including 97 in the second half - as Dreadnaughts won their opener, 28-0 against Winter Haven.

• Countryside running back Alton Taylor rushed for 136 yards and four touchdowns in the Cougars' 38-6 win against Gibbs.

USF's Jones 10th pick in fantasy draft

University of South Florida junior guard Dominique Jones (Lake Wales) was the 10th overall pick in a fantasy draft of current men's college basketball players. It was organized by editors of Athlon Sports, under the premise of a scoring system where all points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks count as one point.

The top 10 picks:

1. Luke Harangody, forward, Notre Dame.

2. Cole Aldrich, center, Kansas.

3. Craig Brackins, center, Iowa State.

4. Patrick Patterson, forward, Kentucky.

5. Trevor Booker, center, Clemson.

6. Devin Ebanks, forward, West Virginia.

7. Michael Washington, center, Arkansas.

8. Tasmin Mitchell, forward, LSU.

9. Evan Turner, forward, Ohio State.

10. Dominique Jones, guard, USF.

So much for fantasy. Back to reality.

Athlon named Jones to the magazine's preseason All-Big East first team, along with Harangody, Ebanks, Greg Monroe of Georgetown and Scottie Reynolds of Villanova.

The magazine picked USF to finish 14th in the 16-team Big East.

Redmond stars in World Cup

Pitcher Todd Redmond (Northside Christian), who played this season for Triple-A Gwinnett in the Atlanta Braves' organization, had a stunning debut during Team USA's 9-1 victory against Germany last week during the IBAF Baseball World Cup in Regensburg, Germany.

Redmond took a perfect game into the seventh inning before German third baseman Daniel Wulf reached on an infield single. Redmond worked eight innings, giving up two hits and striking out seven, in Team USA's 9-1 victory against Germany.

Team USA has since advanced to second-round play in Italy.

Three-bagger

Keon Broxton (Lakeland), an outfielder for the Missoula (Mont.) Osprey, hit a Pioneer League-leading nine triples. Broxton was drafted out of Santa Fe College and was part of that school's National Junior-College World Series team.

Nice debut season for Locke

Also in the Pioneer League, former Florida pitcher Stephen Locke (King) was 6-4 with a 4.02 ERA for the Orem (Utah) Owlz. Locke had a no-hitter through five innings on July 9 before reaching his pitch count of 75.

Orem has made its nine consecutive playoff appearances, all under Manager Tom Kotchman, a Seminole resident.

Birthday wishes

Happy birthday to former Rays outfielder Delmon Young, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2003 draft. In 2007, his only full season with Tampa Bay's big-league team, he batted .288 with 13 home runs and 93 RBIs. In the offseason, he was the centerpiece of a trade to the Minnesota Twins (for Jason Bartlett and Matt Garza). Today, Young turns 24.

The Answer Man

Here's the answer to Friday's trivia question:

Since 1939, the Guy Toph Award has been presented to the top high-school football senior in Hillsborough County. Plant High School has led the way with 17 winners - John Smit (1940), Ned Baldwin (1941), Bob Belle (1943), Pete Millian (1948), George Carnes (1950), Dickie Miller (1951), Bill Shields (1952), Charlie Gil (1953), Bill Encinosa (1956), Bob Mackenzie (1957), Mark Whitehead (1958), Vernon Korhn (1962), Mark Ely (1965), Alan Gray (1976), Doug Shields (1979), Robert Marve (2006) and Derek Winter (2007).

Hillsborough had 10 winners, including Guy Tompkins with the first award in 1939.

Monday trivia

Here's our daily sports trivia question, featuring a Tampa Bay/Florida spin. Try your luck by commenting below.

What is the longest play from scrimmage surrendered by the Bucs' defense in Tampa Bay's franchise history?

Check for the answer in Tuesday's Wake-Up Call.