The Dawgs needed all 499 yards of offense gained, including a school-record
89-yard pass play from Cody Pickett to Reggie Williams to fend off a pesky SJS
squad. Pickett threw for 347 yards on the day, with three touchdowns through
the air. Running Back Rich Alexis went for 125 on the ground on 24 carries.
While the Huskies thoroughly dominated the second-half of action, San Jose State
wasted no time in making sure Washington knew they had come to play.
The Spartans got to work early through the air, with Charles Pauley and Tuati
Wooden the recipients of two Scott Rislov passes that found themselves deep in
Husky territory. Manase Hopoi registered his first sack as a Dawg and also tackled Rislov behind the line of scrimmage for another tackle for loss. The
Spartan drive stalled at the Washington 22, as Anthony Kelley made a nice play
on a shovel pass to Charles Pauley for a loss of one. Nick Gilliam had to do a
quick double-take on his approach on a 39-yard try and missed it wide left.
The Huskies were not auspicious on their first possession. After a motion
penalty, Pat Reddick dropped a wide-open pass and then Reggie Williams appeared
to make a spectacular catch on a slant route but Gerald Jones popped him and the
ball felt to the field turf.
Again, the Spartans looked very solid going down the field, led by Rislov and TB
Lamar Ferguson. Ferguson rambled for three carries in a row, picking up two
first downs in Husky territory in the process. Roc Alexander had nothing but
field truf between him and the San Jose State end zone, but dropped a sure pick
intended for Spartan receiver Jamall Brousard. Once again Nick Gilliam missed a field goal attempt, this one from 37 yards out.
Washington started their second drive and immediately went to work. Kevin Ware
and Paul Arnold both caught passes for first-downs, sandwiched between an
interference call on Spartan free safety Gerald Jones. All looked swimmingly
until Cody Pickett fumbled the ball on an option keeper, recovered by SJS
cornerback Melvin Cook at the Spartan 15.
It's clear the Spartans owned the first quarter and they took that momentum into
the second, drawing first blood. They put together a methodical 15-play,
85-yard drive that lasted 5 minutes and 25 seconds. The key play in the drive
came early, as Anthony Kelley was called for roughing on a third-down play the
Huskies stopped short. The penalty kept the drive alive. Tight End Courtney
Anderson had the big play of the drive for the Spartans, a 35-yard corner post
where he beat Husky strong safety Greg CArothers.
The Huskies mustered a few first downs with catches by Kevin Ware and Reggie
Williams, but bogged down once again inside Spartan territory, this time at the
42. A Derek McLaughlin punt was fair-caught by Charles Pauley at the 9. The
Dawg D was able to force a punt out of the Spartans when their drive ended at
their own 35. Charles Frederick made his fair catch interesting, going for a
shoestring grab at the Husky 28.
Lusty-throated boos started coming out in full force when the Washington drive
ended with a Cody Pickett pass, intended for Rich Alexis, thrown woefully short.
Derek McLaughlin kicked the ball downfield, where it was picked up by one of the
gunners, Melvin Cook, who returned it to the SJS 30.
Backup quarterback Marcus Arroyo came in to spell Scott Rislov on the Spartans'
next drive, and like Rislov Arroyo was looking for Charles Pauley. Derrick
Johnson nearly had a pick on a ball intended for Pauley. Charles got his revenge, going for 41 yards on a quick hitter before Chris Massey could drag him
down.
The Huskies' D stiffened up, forcing a 44-yard field goal attempt from Gilliam
was true, upping the Spartans' lead to 10 with 2:20 left before halftime. When
the ensuing kickoff resulted in a touchback, the Dawgs went quickly to work
using a no-huddle attack.
It worked. By alternating Rich Alexis draws and completions to Pat Reddick,
Pickett was able to
move the offense down to the goal-line. There, Cody committed a cardinal sin;
he tried to hand off when he didn't have control of the ball. Just when it appeared Washington would go into half-time only down 3, outside linebacker Brian Foreman made sure the Huskies
would go into the locker room down by double-digits when he recovered the fumble of a handoff from Pickett intended for Alexis.
Whatever Washington head coach Rick Neuheisel said to his team worked dividends
off the bat as the Dawgs got exactly what they needed when the second-half commensed; a nice sustained drive resulting in a touchdown. Most of the yardage
came via Rich Alexis, as he chewed up yards via the ground and air. Ultimately
he came out of the game deep in Spartans territory but backup Chris Singleton
got two yards on a key 3rd and 1 conversion. Cody Pickett got Washington on the
scoreboard when he was able to elude SJS linebacker Luke LaHerran and throw a
strike to Wilbur Hooks in the northwest corner of the endzone for six. John
Anderson put the capper on a 15-play, 80-yard drive that lasted 6:11, bringing
the home team to within a field goal.
Then, the Spartans made a mental error that got the sleeping Dawgs in the stands
up and going. Kendrick Starling fair-caught a John Anderson pooch at the SJS 7,
after the visitors were assessed 15 yards on the previous play for roughing
Pickett. The ensuing 3-and-out had to put a smile on Husky DC Tim Hundley's
face as the home crowd went nuts.
SJS was not able to get their punt out of their own territory, giving Pickett
and the Dawgs excellent field position for their next series. Pickett again
marched his troops downfield with relative ease, hooking up with Reggie Williams
for a pretty pass-and-catch in the northwest corner, beating Spartan corner
Carlos Koustas. This drive was a little quicker, going 5 plays for 46 yards and
lasting just shy of 2 minutes.
The Dawgs were looking for a big play on D to capitalize on their turn in
momentum, and Evan Benjamin was quick to deliver. The freshman from Redmond
snagged a ball tipped by Tuati Wooden and returned it to the Spartans' 41-yard
line. Rich Alexis, back in the game, took over running the ball and Reggie
Williams handled things through the air.
The Dawgs didn't quite take advantage of Benjamin's pick to the fullest, as they
settled for Anderson's 29-yard field goal attempt, which was good. This pushed Washington's advantage to 17-10, having scored 17 unanswered points since the
beginning of the second half. The drive went 6 plays, 30 yards and lasted 1:31.
SJS went back to their bread and butter man, Charles Pauley, on their next
possession, but couldn't muster more than a couple of first downs before they
had to punt. The key play in this possession was Husky WIL Marquis Cooper
batting down a ball on third down and 7, forcing Spartan punter Michael Carr to
punt. He came up with a beauty, a 43-yarder that was downed at the Washington
11-yard line.
It was about time for the Reggie Williams show, and the sophomore from Lakwood
didn't disappoint. He took the first play on the drive, a simple curl route,
and went 89 yards for a Washington touchdown. Once he took the pass, he headed
toward the SJS sidelines and then upfield, outrunning the Spartan defenders.
Williams' reception put him in the record books, as it was the longest touchdown reception ever by a Husky. The previous long was 83 yards by Willie Rosborough
against Air Force in 1980.
AT this point, the Spartans just couldn't stem the purple and gold tide. A
penalty on the ensuing kickoff forced SJS deep, and then the Dawgs put on the
pressure. Josh Miller and Jafar Williams got to Marcus Arroyo just as he tried
to get rid of it. Terry Johnson was on the spot and gladly picked off Arroyo's
errant toss in the endzone for six as the ball tumbled into his arms. John
Anderson's PAT was straight and true, bringing Washington's total of unanswered
points to 31.
Scott Rislov came back in the game, and not a moment too soon for the Spartans.
Unfortunately, the crowd had finally got the defense in the game and they
started playing some inspired ball. Washington's D forced a punt from SJS and
the Spartans still were unable to get the ball out of their half of the field.
Pickett looked to have a touchdown to Kevin Ware after the Senior from Spring, Texas made a great grab in the endzone. The Side Judge called it six, but the
Back Judge came in and overruled the call. When the replay came up on the
jumbotron, the Husky fans were beside themselves. It looked like a touchdown.
The Spartans capitalized on their good fortune, as Gerald Jones came up with an
interception on a Pickett pass intended for Ware.
With a reprieve, SJS was ready to roll, but don't tell that to senior center
LeMons Walker. Walker overshot Rislov with a shotgun snap, and Husky defensive
end Manase Hopoi pounced on the loose ball. The sophomore from
Sacramento, California had a monster game with four tackles for loss, including
two sacks and the fumble recovery. Strong safety Greg Carothers led the
Washington defense with a dozen stops, while the Spartans' strong safety C.J.
Arnold topped the SJS tacklers with ten total tackles.
While the ensuing Washington drive went for over 2 minutes, the Dawgs were only able to drive three yards. John Anderson buried a 31-yard field goal to up the
score to 34-10.
At this point the scoring was complete, as neither team could put together
enough offense to make another run at some points. The second-string offense
was finally able to get some mop-up work, but not until there were roughly two
minutes left on the clock. At that point the game was essentially complete,
with sophomore tailback Chris Singleton rounding out the Husky rushing attack
with 23 yards on 5 carries.
CLICK HERE FOR GAME STATISTICS
Rick Neuheisel's quotes from the locker room will follow shortly.
Husky player quotes will be posted tomorrow.
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