Zereoue's understudy shines

DAILY MAIL SPORTSWRITER

PHILADELPHIA - Amos, Alvin, Amos, Alvin.

Do not expect the ratio of carries to be proportional to mentionsin the first paragraph. That despite the fact both of West VirginiaUniversity's top two tailbacks have started and produced 100-yarddays this season.Yet WVU's Amos Zereoue and backup Alvin Swoope have something incommon.Both rank among the Big East Conference's top 10 rushers.Considering Swoope, a 5-foot-10, 205-pound junior from Port St.Lucie, Fla., did not play in the opener against Ohio State, hispresence among the leaders is surprising. But his 224 yards on 36carries places him eighth in the league with an average of 56 yardsagame.Much of that came Saturday, when Swoope started for an injuredZereoue in WVU's 37-7 romp at Temple. He gained 141 yards and scoredtwice on 16 first-half carries. It earned him a shower at halftime -a twisted neck dictated he would not return."It was my first start," Swoope said when asked what he wouldremember about the game. "And my first carry."On WVU's second play from scrimmage, Swoope zig-zagged 47 yards tothe Temple 7. He scored on the next play.All of which was gratifying to someone destined to be Zereoue'sbackup until the two-time 1,000-yard rusher leaves Morgantown.Swoope is in the midst of a career comeback of sorts. He left theprogram for personal reasons after the Gator Bowl that ended the1996season. Swoope is a father. He returned to WVU last winter.His 1999 playing time is not even guaranteed. Breathing on thathurt neck are freshmen such as Lewis Daniels, Brannon Goins and AvonCobourne. The speedy, 5-8 Goins saw his first varsity actionSaturday, rushing 11 times in the second half for 48 yards."He's good and he played pretty good without a lot of work,"Nehlen said of Goins. "We hoped he went in the right spot."Others seemed happy for Swoope, who plays a sort of Jeff Hostetlerto Zereoue's Phil Simms."Alvin might not have the breakaway speed Amos has, but he has thesame moves," quarterback Marc Bulger said."I think it was pretty easy," said wideout David Saunders, whocaught two touchdowns. "My play was easy because of the work ofAlvin Swoope."Of the Big East's top 10 rushers, Swoope has the highest per-carryaverage (6.2).- n nFor his performance, Swoope was named the Big East's Co-OffensivePlayer of the Week.He shared the honor with Virginia Tech tailback Lamont Pegues, whohad 146 yards and a touchdown in the Hokies' 17-0 victory overBostonCollege on Thursday.The Defensive Player of the Week was Tech free safety KeionCarpenter, who had an interception and nine tackles.Tech's Andre Davis was named the Special Teams Player of the Weekfor blocking a punt and returning it 34 yards.- n nSince the Big East added football in 1991, only four league teamshave beaten WVU's next opponent, Miami (Fla.).The Hurricanes (3-2, 1-1) will travel to Morgantown on Oct. 24 fora 3:30 p.m. game that will be televised by CBS. Both Miami and WVUare off this weekend.Only two in the conference have beaten Miami more than once. WVUis 2-5 against the Hurricanes, winning in 1993 and 1997. VirginiaTech has won four straight over Miami - including this season's 27-20overtime road win - after losing the first three.A loss for the Hurricanes, coming off a 26-14 defeat to FloridaState, would virtually eliminate them from league-title contention.Although not the powerhouse of last decade, Miami is improved oflate, in part because 29 freshmen played substantially in 1997.Miami features senior quarterback Scott Covington, who has thrownfor 1,048 yards and 12 touchdowns. Sophomore wideout Santana Mosshas 16 catches, seven for touchdowns.- n nOdds and tight ends:- The last time WVU scored at least 37 points in four consecutivegames was 1993. Then, the Mountaineers beat Pitt (42-21), Syracuse(43-0), Rutgers (58-22) and Temple (49-7).- Senior Damon Cogdell started his second straight game at middlelinebacker.- WVU has earned celebration penalties in its last two games, thuscreating the dreaded 35-yard extra-point try.- Despite a Beamonesque leap in attendance from the 1996 WVU-Temple game (2,546), it was still possible to have a conversationfrom the open-air press box to someone in the stands.- A nominee for worst pass of 1998 was turned in by Templefreshman Greg Muckerson.Sprinting, then falling toward the right sideline, Muckersonattempted an underhanded flip to tailback Stacey Mack, who had hisback turned. Cornerback Scooter Davis intercepted."I'm like, 'Man,' " Davis said.Writer Mike Cherry can be reached at 348-5170.