Thumped

Nothing went right for the Gamecocks Saturday as the team was dominated by a strong Queens team 60-6.

USC entered the contest without the services of three quality front role row players. And Queens, a varsity program, dominated set pieces. The Gamecocks lost 3 of 8 offensive scrums and 10 of 18 lineouts.

The poor set play prevented USC from generating much offense.

Despite these shortcomings USC held their own against the Royals for the first 20 minutes. Both teams traded penalty kicks before Queens scored their first try midway through the first half and led 17-3 at the break.

The second half belonged entirely to the Royals. They powered through the tired Gamecock defense, dominated set pieces and rolled to victory.

“I know that our entire team is disappointed in ourselves,” said Head Coach John Roberts.

“Queens was large, physical, skilled and hard running but there’s no excuse for the gaps in our defense particularly in the second half. There’s no shame in losing to a great team but the way we lost this one was unacceptable.”

USC entered the contest hoping to be competitive. Now, they have some soul-searching to do.

“Queens exposed our shortcomings, which is good because the season is young,” said Roberts. “We’ll fix those and move on.”

The Gamecocks host a double header this weekend, NC State 7:30 Friday and Coastal Carolina 1 p.m. Saturday.