Football
Continued from Page 11
“We didn’t try to change much
this week,” said Simonton, who
ran for a game-high 157 yards on
28 carries. “We came out and had
a script, and we just wanted to ex
ecute.”
No one's script could have pre
dicted the wild extra sessions.
Oregon (8-3 overall, 5-3 Pacific
10 Conference) won the toss to be
gin the first overtime and deferred
possession. Simonton carried on
each of Oregon State’s (5-6, 2-6)
four plays, tire last a one-yard scor
ing run.
The Beavers then appeared to
stop the Ducks on a fourth-and-12
from the 27-yard line, as Akili
Smith’s pass to Tony Hartley was
broken up by Andrae Holland.
Students poured onto the field,
with a few attempting to tear
down the goal post after what they
thought was the Beavers’ best sea
son in 27 years.
But the celebration would have
to wait, as officials had flagged
Holland for pass interference be
fore the mayhem ensued. It took at
least 10 minutes for play to re
sume, with Oregon having a first
down on the Beavers’ 13-yard line.
“That was perfect,” Smith said of
the premature celebration. “I knew
we were going to win the game.”
Smith completed a 12-yard pass
to tight end Jed Weaver that put
the Ducks at the Oregon State one
yard line, and three plays later
Smith connected with Weaver
again to knot the score at 38-38.
Smith completed 35-of-55 pass
es for 430 yards and four touch
down despite being sacked six
times and threw for 1,269 yards
and 11 touchdowns in his last
three regular-season games at Ore
gon. Weaver and Damon Griffin
each caught 10 passes, one shy of
the Oregon record, with seven of
Weaver's receptions coming on
overtime.
The Beavers won the toss to be
ing the second overtime and also
deferred, and Oregon chose to
move the action to the opposite
endzone.
The Ducks’ second drive began
as a debacle: a completion to
Weaver for seven yards, a three
yard loss on a sack, another seven
yard pass to Weaver then two
penalties, for tripping and hold
ing, that had Oregon facing first
and 43 from the 47-yard line.
But just like the first overtime, a
timely pass interference call gave
Oregon new life and a first down,
and Smith completed five straight
to move the Ducks to the eight yard
line. The drive stalled there, and a
26-yard Nathan Villegas field goal
gave Oregon a 41-38 lead.
Two plays later, the Oregon
State students were again celebrat
ing at midfield after a Simonton
touchdown.
“It was an exciting game,” Ore
gon head coach Mike Bellotti said.
“Great for fans, great for TV. I just
wish we could have come out on
top.”
The Ducks appeared to have the
game in hand with six minutes,
four seconds remaining in regula
tion, when Oregon State went
three-and-out following Villegas’
first field goal of the game to give
Oregon a 24-17 lead.
Mike Fessler punted to Michael
Fletcher, who has dazzled Oregon
fans all season with his near-re
fusal to call fair catches. That atti
tude worked for 10 games, but
Fessler’s punt bounced in front of
Fletcher, then hit him in the leg
when he leapt to avoid it. Oregon
State’s Darnell Robinson recov
ered the fumble on the Oregon 33
yard line, and Simonton rushed
on all four plays, the last a five
yard touchdown.
“It was probably my worst play
of the year,” said Fletcher, who
has returned two punts for touch
downs this season. “My worst
judgment play of the year so far. It
had to come down to a turnover,
and I was the one to make the
turnover.”
Oregon got the ball back with
the score tied 24-24 and 5:07 left.
Smith connected with Hartley
from 28-yards out for a touch
down to end the drive, which also
included a 36-yard Hartley recep
tion.
un nanim/ r.rmruut
Akili Smith scores Oregon's third touchdown on a 3-yard run bringing the score to 21-17.
But the Oregon State offense
again responded, this time on four
straight completions by freshman
Jonathan Smith. The last was a
short toss to Tim Alexander, who
shed Oregon’s Rashad Bauman
and Aaron Cheuvront on his way
to a 30-yard touchdown.
Smith completed 17-of-28 pass
es for 303 yards and two touch
downs on the day.
Oregon had one more chance
with 1:22 remaining in regulation,
but suffered a holding penalty and
a sack after reaching the 50 and
was forced to punt.
The Ducks ran just once on that
drive, possibly admitting their
game-long shortcomings on the
ground. Jerry Brown led Oregon
with 29 yards on 13 carries, and
starting tailback Herman Ho-Ching
had 12 carries for four yards.
“We didn’t quite have the run
ning game today, but I don't know
if that’s on the running backs,” Be
lotti said, who said before the
game that Oregon’s biggest
matchup problems would be with
defensive ends Inoke Breckter
field and Jamil Braithwaite.
Scott liametvTimeraL
Ken Simonton scored four touchdowns, two of which in overtime, helping lead the Beavers to victory on Saturday.
Matt Hankins/Emerald
Tailback Jerry Brown led the Ducks with just 29 rushing yards against the Beavers at Sat
urday’s Civil War game.
Hood
Continued from Page 11
determine what had happened.
With Oregon State defenders
crashing around him, as they
had the entire game, Akili
Smith stepped up in the pocket
and delivered a hurried throw
at the feet of Hartley. While
Hartley appeared to have inside
position on Holland, Smith’s
fourth-down toss harmlessly
fell to the turf and, in an
instant, seemingly Oregon
State's entire student body
charged the field.
The celebration, as it turned
out, was a bit premature.
Line judge Cappy Anderson
thought Holland had knocked
Hartley down before the
Oregon receiver had a chance
to catch the football, so a
penalty flag was tossed. Two
seconds later Anderson himself
was tossed from the sideline in
the ensuing riot. As many as
10,000 fans stormed the field,
they accented the goal posts,
they ripped the pylons from the
end zones and hugged half a
dozen Beaver players who were
hurrying to the locker room.
Needless to say, this was a
big mess. Oregon State’s Public
Address announcer first tried
to call everyone back to their
seats. Then, Oregon State
security guards tried dragging
students off the playing field
one by one. Even Oregon State
Athletic director Mitch
Barnhardt, who was on the
Beaver sideline when the first
tidal wave of students erupted,
helped to move fans off the
field.
Glass from broken bottles
had to picked up from the 50
yard line. Order had to restored
somehow. Beaver head coach
Mike Riley said after the game
he was worried what might
happen to his team after the
delay. He was concerned his
player’s would lose focus and
that that would be enough to
cost them the game.
But it didn’t much matter in
the end. Less than an hour
later, Oregon State tailback Ken
Simonton broke free of
Oregon’s secondary for the
game-winning touchdown and
Beaver fans were at it again.
And in the end, there weren’t
too many fans — Beaver or
Duck — who didn’t join in the
celebration. Because while
Oregon may have lost the game,
and a chance at a 10-win
season, the Ducks found a
rivalry they didn’t even know
they were missing.
Joel Hood is the sports editor for
the Emerald He can be reached
via e-mail at hood@gladstone.
uoregon.edu.