|
|
Albert Dorsey expresses his frustration during the loss to Washington.
|
Oct. 11, 1997
No. 10 Washington Defeats Cal, 30-3
BERKELEY, Calif. - Brock Huard passed for a pair
touchdowns and Rashaan Shehee ran in two others as the
10th-ranked Washington Huskies overcame Cal's bid for upset and
captured a 30-3 victory in front of 48,000 fans in Memorial
Stadium.
A quick look at the closing statistics might have led one
to believe that Cal had come up with a win. And in reality, the
game was much closer than the final score indicated. The Bears
ran 11 more plays (78 to 67), outgained Washington in total
yardage (344 to 336) and had four more first downs (21 to 17)
on the afternoon. Cal's junior quarterback, Justin Vedder also
out dueled Huard in passing yardage, 202 compared to 189.
But Cal, which wanted to reverse a trend of slow starts,
was unable to convert numerous early opportunities into points
and a key turnover on the first play of the second half
eliminated any chances for an upset. Despite playing inspired
defense and three times driving the ball inside the Washington
30-yard-line in the first half, Cal was able to manage only
three points. Those missed scoring chances would later come
back to haunt the Bears as Washington would reel of 23
unanswered points in the second half, including 16 points in in
the third quarter.
|
|
Tarik Smith makes a run during Cal's loss.
|
Individually, Cal tailback Tarik Smith had 17 carries for
84 yards and wide receiver Bobby Shaw caught six balls for 60
yards as he moved into third place on the Cal all-time
receptions with 144 career catches. But neither could find the
endzone as the Bears were unable score a touchdown for the
first time this season.
After holding Washington to three plays and out on its
opening possession, Cal put together an impressive 42-yard
12-play drive, that saw the Bears twice converting third and
long situations. The drive, however, stalled as Cal couldn't
convert a 3rd-and-1 at the Husky 17. However, Ignacio Brache
couldn't convert a 35-yard field goal attempt as the Bears
missed out on a chance to draw first blood.
The Bears held Washington on its next possession and again
Cal put together an impressive drive -- 29 yards on 8 plays.
But for the second series in a row, the drive stalled inside
the Husky 30-yard-line forcing a 39-yard Brache field goal
attempt. This time Brache's kick was blocked and for the second
series in a row, the Bears were denied the game's first score.
The Cal defense appeared to stop Washington for a third
straight possession when Husky tight end Cameron Cleeland
fumbled a Brock Huard pass which Cal recovered on it own
40-yard-line. But an offside penalty nullified the turnover and
the Huskies proceeded to march 73 yards in eight plays for the
game's opening score. The drive was capped by a Huard to
Cleeland touchdown pass that covered the drive's final 43 yards
and gave Washington a 7-0 lead only a minute into the second
quarter.
The Bears were unable to get anything going on the next
time they had the ball and when Cal punter Nick Harris failed
to convert a 4th and 26 from the Cal 42 with a fake punt,
Washington was able to take over at midfield. With a short
field in front of them, the Huskies looked certain to add to
their lead. But the Cal defense rose to the occasion, stopping
the Husky drive at the Cal 30-yard-line and forcing a 47-yard
Nick Lentz field attempt. Lentz, however, was unable to
convert, pushing the ball wide right, and the score remained
7-0 Washington.
After an exchange of punts, Cal took over at its own 17
yard line with 3:15 remaining in the half. The Bears then
proceeded to put together yet another long drive, moving the
ball 65 yards on 14 plays. Cal was finally able to get on the
board when Brache connected on a 35-yard field goal with just
one second remaining before halftime.
Despite having the advantage in both total yards (210 to
146) and time of possession (15:33 to 14:27) in the first half,
due to the fact that Cal was unable to capitalize on two
excellent first half scoring opportunities the Huskies were
able to take a 7-3 lead into the locker room.
The key play of the game occurred on the opening kickoff of
the second half when Deltha O'Neal fumbled the kickoff. The
Huskies recovered at the Cal 24 and two plays later, Rashaan
Shehee galloped 19 yards for a touchdown giving the Huskies a
14-3 lead to open the second half.
The Bears were unable to move the ball on their ensuing
possession. After as 20-yard punt return by Washington's Jerome
Pathon the Huskies appeared to be in position to seize control
of the game taking over at the Cal 42-yard-line. Seven plays
later, Washington upped its lead when Shehee scooted seven
yards around left end for his second touchdown on the
afternoon. Lentz missed the extra point but Washington had
extended its lead to 20-3.
Although the Bears got to the Washington 31-yard-line on
the next play, the drive stalled there as a Smith running play
on 4th-and-2 was unable to gain the necessary yardage for the
first down.
A 32-yard Lentz field goal to close the third quarter put
Washington up 23-3 and gave the Huskies a comfortable margin.
Washington added a final TD with 1:24 left in t he game.
The Bears return to action next week when they travel to
Pullman, Wash., to take on the 12th-ranked Cougars while
Washington plays its second of three consective road games in
Tucson, Ariz., against the Arizona Wildcats.
