BIG TALENTS, ANOTHER BIG GAME.Byline: Billy Witz New schools, new teammates, new rivalry. Yet, if it's the same old Carson Palmer Carson Palmer (born December 27, 1979 in Fresno, California), is an American football quarterback for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League. He attended the University of Southern California, where he won the Heisman Trophy Award in 2002 in his senior season. and the same old DeShaun Foster DeShaun Xavier Foster (born January 10, 1980 in Charlotte, North Carolina) is an American football running back who plays for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League. , everyone's in for a treat Saturday at the Rose Bowl when UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX plays host to USC An abbreviation for U.S. Code. . The pair of high-profile freshmen turned in one of the most remarkable duels in CIF Southern Section CIF Southern Section (commonly abbreviated as CIFSS) is the largest of the ten sections which comprise the California Interscholastic Federation. Its membership includes most public and private high schools in Orange, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura, Santa Barbara, history last December, with Palmer quarterbacking Santa Margarita Santa Margarita ("Saint Margaret") may refer to:
There were other good players on the field - Santa Margarita receiver John Minardi John Minardi (born October 19, 1979 in San Jose, California) is an National Football League wide receiver for the Houston Texans. National Football League Combine
Palmer completed 19 of 29 passes for 419 yards and five touchdowns and ran for another. Foster rushed for 377 yards and all six Tustin touchdowns on 33 carries. ``That was the best (high school) game I ever played in,'' said Palmer, who will make his third start Saturday for USC. ``Some of the competition I played against was pretty bad. I would be done at halftime. It was no fun just killing a team, but in a championship game it was different. ``We pretty much had to score every time to win (and) the crowd was into it. Man, it was a lot of fun.'' Foster doesn't agree. ``I try to block it out,'' he said with a laugh when asked what he remembers about the game. ``It was so frustrating because I just couldn't get past that team.'' Tustin had been knocked out of the playoffs the previous two seasons by Santa Margarita and while both teams were 13-0 last year, Santa Margarita was expected to win comfortably. It not only had Palmer but a defense that allowed less than 10 points and 75 yards rushing per game. Foster, who is 6-foot-1 and 205 pounds, kept Tustin close. He also played most of the game at cornerback, leaving him so tired that he was deprived of a long touchdown run in the second half when he fell to the ground with cramps after beating the last Santa Margarita defender. The usually stoic Foster fought back tears as the teams shook hands after the game. Palmer, now 6-4 and 220 pounds, displayed the arm, accuracy and poise that has USC so enthusiastic about its future. He led Santa Margarita to a touchdown every time it had the ball. ``If a receiver has a little bit of room and the (defensive back) is not covering him completely, he's going to throw the ball right in there and there's no way the (defensive back) is going to get the ball,'' said Williams, who has played occasionally on UCLA's special teams this season. After Palmer signed with USC and Foster with UCLA, they had a chance to be teammates last summer in the Shrine Game. ``There's always tension between a Bruin and a Trojan,'' said Palmer, laughing. ``We joked around with each other every day. I would say, `How come you want to be a Bruin?' and things like that. We did talk a little bit about what it would have been like to play at the same school. Now, all of a sudden, we're playing against each other in the biggest game of the year.'' And no doubt both will play a large role. As a quarterback, Palmer will naturally be at the center of USC's game plan, but Foster will play a large role as well. He is the Bruins' third-string tailback tail·back n. Football The back on an offensive team who lines up farthest from the line of scrimmage. tailback Noun Brit a queue of traffic stretching back from an obstruction but in name only. He's the Bruins' leading rusher despite missing eight quarters with a knee injury. That the two will be at a packed Rose Bowl, less than 12 months after playing before 8,000 at Cal State Fullerton, is not lost on either one. ``It's pretty amazing a·maze v. a·mazed, a·maz·ing, a·maz·es v.tr. 1. To affect with great wonder; astonish. See Synonyms at surprise. 2. Obsolete To bewilder; perplex. v.intr. , isn't it?'' said Foster. ``I never pictured that we would be playing against each other in a game like this so soon,'' Palmer said. ``For him to be on the other side is something. It was less than a year ago that we were playing in the CIF (1) (Common Intermediate Format) A standard video format used in videoconferencing. CIF formats are defined by their resolution, and standards both above and below the original resolution have been established. The original CIF is also known as Full CIF (FCIF). championship game. It's really the same kind of situation, but the stakes are a lot higher.'' CAPTION(S): 2 Photos PHOTO (1--2) UCLA's DeShaun Foster, left, and USC's Carson Palmer, both mere freshmen, didn't expect to be clashing in a vital football game again so soon. Michael Owen
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