Kelvin Drake will never forget the last time North Texas played Rice, not because of what happened on the field, but because of what happened away from it.

Kelvin Drake

The standout North Texas lineman was dealing with one of the toughest times in his life after Hurricane Ike plowed into Galveston. Drake’s mother and two siblings were forced from their home by the storm.

The family met before UNT’s game against Rice in Houston in 2008.

“That was a special time for me,” Drake said Tuesday as UNT prepared for the rematch at Fouts Field on Saturday. “I got to see my family after they were evacuated.”

Drake’s brother and sister will be at the UNT-Rice game again this week, along with several other family members of players from the Houston area.

Starting cornerback Royce Hill of Houston and backup linebacker Brad Graham of Katy are just two of several players with ties to the area on UNT’s roster.

“Rice is not too far from home and the guys from the Houston area will have family and friends who will come and see us play,” Hill said. “I know a lot of guys who are playing for Rice.”

Rice also has several players from the Denton area.

Justin Hill of Lake Dallas is a starting linebacker for Rice. He finished with seven tackles in Rice’s season-opening loss to Texas.

“This is a game our guys from Houston are looking forward to,” UNT head coach Todd Dodge said.

UNT confident in McCord

Dodge said Tuesday that he is confident in the ability of cornerback D’Leon McCord to replace starter Steven Ford, who broke his right leg in a loss to Clemson last week.

“D’Leon played really well and didn’t hurt us at all,” Dodge said. “We expect for him to really thrive in that position. He’s not the fastest cornerback we have, but he might be the most physical defensive back we have. No one really got any separation on him.”

Ford had surgery Tuesday and is expected to be out six weeks.

McCord finished with two tackles against Clemson.

“It’s a great challenge for me as an individual, but I believe I can step in,” McCord said.

One factor that could help UNT is the fact that McCord played extensively with Royce Hill, a junior in his third year as a starter.

“I believe we can be a good pair,” McCord said. “We had really good chemistry in the spring. I talked to him every day and tried to learn more about our defense and I got to know him outside of football.”

UNT to double-train Smith

Starting free safety Ira Smith will practice at both safety and cornerback to help fill the void created by Ford’s injury.

UNT recruited Smith out of Gulf Coast (Miss.) Community College as a cornerback before moving him to safety. Dodge said Monday that he was considering the move and confirmed Tuesday that Smith had begun working at both positions.

Jones has surgery, others on their way back

Defensive tackle Tevinn Cantly practiced Tuesday and could be available for Saturday’s game against Rice.

Center J.J. Johnson’s underwent on MRI on his foot, while wide receiver Benny Jones had season-ending surgery on his broken leg.

Dodge said that Johnson’s foot is swollen and sore. His status for the Rice game is uncertain. Nick Leppo would take Johnson’s place if he cannot play.

Cantly will fill a void at defensive tackle for UNT, which has little depth beyond starters Kelvin Jackson and Shavod Atkinson.

“We need Cantly back,” Dodge said. “We need him to be our third defensive tackle.”

Dodge said that Cantly looked good in practice Tuesday and would only play defensive tackle after training both at tackle and end last season.

Volleyball

UNT off to great start that coach says could be better

UNT is off to its best start since 1976 at 5-2 after splitting four matches last weekend at the Samford Bulldog Invitational.

The Mean Green opened with a loss to Syracuse, came back to beat Samford and Tennessee Tech and then lost to Northwestern State.

That performance didn’t satisfy new head coach Ken Murczek, despite the fact it is a historic one.

The girls would have been feeling good if we had pulled out that match against Northwestern State,” Murczek said. “Our confidence is still an issue. Hopefully the players can start reflecting back on what they are doing in training and use that. We are battling history.”

Murczek was disappointed in the way UNT failed to capitalize on a few opportunities in the tournament. The Mean Green won the first set of its match against Northwestern State, but couldn’t build on that performance and was pushed to a fifth set.

Northwestern posted back-to-back aces to close out a 15-12 win to clinch the match.

UNT was also up 21-18 in the fourth set of its match against Syracuse, but couldn’t close out a game it lost 25-22.

The highlight of the weekend for UNT came when it rebounded from its loss to Syracuse and beat Samford.

“We regrouped and beat the best team in the tournament,” Murczek said. “We got it handed it to us in the first game and were able to turn it around. That was exciting and emotional for the girls, who played at a higher level than maybe even they thought they could.”

Middle blocker Rachelle Wilson and setter Kayla Saey were named to the all-tournament team.

UNT will look to build on its solid start to the season in the Texas State Tournament this weekend, when the Mean Green will face Alabama, Texas State and Tennessee-Martin.

“Our competition will be enhanced this weekend,” Murczek said. “Alabama is an SEC team and Texas State went to the NCAA tournament last year.”

Wiley receives SBC honors

UNT defensive specialist Sarah Willey was named the Sun Belt Conference Defensive Specialist of the Week on Monday for her performance in the Samford Bulldog Invitational.

Willey recorded 78 digs in the tournament while averaging 4.88 digs per set. She posted 29 digs in a loss to Northwestern State and moved into eighth place on UNT’s career digs list with 822.

Willey, who committed just three errors in 76 attempts in serve-receive, has been splitting time with Central Florida transfer Kristin Petrasic.

“Sarah had a good weekend,” Murczek said “It’s a tough position because you are in serve-receive and have to be the captain of the defense in the back row. You can’t lose your focus. The competition is a good thing, but it would be nice to have stability. Sarah provided that after the first match.”

Soccer

UNT to face Big 12 power

UNT will face perhaps its biggest challenge of the season Friday, when the Mean Green takes on Texas Tech in the Red Raider Classic.

The Mean Green beat Tech at home last season, but will face a revitalized Red Raiders team that won its first five games of the season before falling to third-ranked Notre Dame.

Tech knocked off TCU 3-0 and Rice 2-0 earlier this season and is receiving votes in the NSCAA/HendrickCars.com national poll.

“Texas Tech is loaded,” UNT head coach John Hedlund said. “From what we have heard, they are the second-best team in the Big 12. This is their best team and there will be a revenge factor because we beat them last year. We are also playing on Astroturf, which we never play on.”

That set of circumstances will make for a tough match for the Mean Green, which is 4-1-1 on the season.

“It’s a good test because we are trying to get ready for conference play,” Hedlund said. “The girls will be excited. They get up for every Big 12 team.”

UNT bounces back, ties UNM

UNT bounced back from its first loss of the season last week to pick up a 1-1 tie against a traditionally solid New Mexico team.

The Mean Green lost its first game of the week to Sam Houston State in less-than-ideal conditions.

“The tie against New Mexico was a great result for us,” Hedlund said. “One poll has them ranked No. 21 nationally. We showed well against a very good team that will probably go to the NCAA tournament.”

Michelle Young scored UNT’s lone goal after New Mexico had jumped out to a 1-0 lead.

The Lobos had already beaten Nebraska and nationally ranked Marquette on the road before facing the Mean Green.

The tie helped take away the sting of UNT’s 1-0 double overtime loss to Sam Houston. Kirby Zak scored the lone goal of the game for Sam Houston.

“It was probably the worst conditions we have ever played in,” Hedlund said. “On a dry field, we would have probably beaten that team by four or five goals. The weather didn’t work with us at all. It was sprinkling in warmups. If we saw lightning, we would have delayed the game and eventually it would have been cancelled. We never saw any lightning and it came down in buckets the first 10 minutes we played. It was a great neutralizer for them because we couldn’t get our passing game going.”

BRETT VITO can be reached at 940-566-6870. His e-mail address is bvito@dentonrc.com .