Paradise Lost
Ryan) amashlrofor the Emerald
Oreyon senior receiver Donald Haynes hauls in a 35-yard Akili Smith
pass that first deflected off fallen teammate Damon Griffin.
Ryan Yamashlro /for the Emerald
Haynes hurdles Grltfin while gaining control ot the ball and begins to
head toward the end zone to cut the Oregon delicit to 44-28.
Rum Vamasbiro/forthe Emerald
As Haynes reaches the Colorado 15-yard line, Buffaloes cornerback
Marcus Stiggers swoops in and attempts to knock the ball loose
Magic to Madness
Oregon's chance lo cut the Colorado lead to 16 Is derailed as Stiggers punches the ball out ot Haynes’ grasp. The Buffaloes’ John Sanders recovered the Ducks’ lourth fumble ot the game to help seal Colorado’s 5t43win!** ^
Loss
Continued (rom Page 1B
"Akili Smith is as advertised,”
Coloradu head coach Rick
Neuheisal said. “In terms of quar
terbacks, I’m not sure I’ve seen
anyone like him in a long time.”
Smith put the Ducks (8-4) in
position to tie the score by hitting
a 42-yard scoring strike to former
junior-college teammate Donald
Haynes and an ensuing pass to
Bobby Nero for the two-point con
version with 5:55 remaining.
That score came less than two
minutes after Smith's one-yard
scoring run pulled Oregon to
within 51-35.
After Wheeler’s interception
gave Colorado (8-4) its largest lead
of the game four minutes into the
second half, Smith responded by
marching the Ducks 77 yards in
five plays, the last a 9-yard touch
down reception by tight end Jed
Weaver.
Derien Latimer scored his Alo
ha Bowl record tying third touch
down just more than a minute
into the fourth quarter, but Col
orado game MVP Mike Moschetti
set a record for himself by throw
ing his fourth touchdown pass of
the game, a 20-yard toss to Daniel
Graham that turned out to be the
game winner. Moschetti complet
ed 11 of 23 passes for 213 yards
and no interceptions.
Oregon freshman Herman Ho
Ciiing, who began the game as the
Ducks’ leading active rusher, en
tered the game during Oregon’s
second series but accumulated no
yards on six rushes while fum
bling twice in the first half. La
timer, a Colorado Springs, Colo.,
native, started and ran for 74
yards on 19 carries.
"I’m not sure what kind of emo
tions to have right now,” said La
timer, whose 3,150 yards during
his senior year of high school was
then the 10th highest single-sea
son rushing total. “I played well,
but we lost the game and now
we’re losing a great group of se
niors. As a team, we showed a lot
of character coming back. ”
Oregon fell into an early hole
Akili Smith is as
advertised. In terms of
quarterbacks, I’m not
sure I've seen anyone like
him in a long time.
Rick Neuheisal
CU head coach
when Colorado sophomore Brian
Kelly returned the opening kick
off 93 yards as the Buffaloes
jumped out to a 17-0 load in the
first quarter.
Latimer got Oregon on the
board with second quarter touch
downs from 11 and 4 yards, but
Moschetti threw touchdowns of
5, 58 and 72 yards and Jeremy
Aldrich tied an Aloha Bowl
record with field goals of 48, 41
and 23 yards to give the Buffaloes
a 37-14 halftime lead.
After Aldrich's first field goal,
Moschetti connected with Javon
Green from five yards out. Both
Culorado scoring drives began in
side Oregon territory after fum
bles by Ho-Ching. The freshman
would spend the rest of the half
on the bench, a decision Bellotti
said had as much to do with La
timer’s success and Ho-Ching’s
injured back as it did Ho-Ching’s
fumbles.
Latimer scored to open the sec
ond half, but Colorado answered
with a three-play, 65-yard drive
that lasted just 1:13 and culminat
ed in a 58-yard touchdown recep
tion by Marcus Stiggers, who dou
bled as a cornorback for the
Buffaloes.
jason Cooper fumbled the ensu
ing kickoff, and Aldrich kicked
his second field goal three plays
later
"It seemed like the ball always
seemed to bounce their way,”
said Oregon inside linebacker
Chris Vandiver, who led both
teams with 15 tackles.
Vandiver ended the season
with a team-leading 102 after re
placing Peter Sirmon, the 1997
Pac-10 tackles leader who was
lost for the year to an injury.
Oregon was also playing with
out wide receiver Tony Hartley.
Hartley led the Ducks with 1,015
yards and 10 touchdowns on 48
catches this season but didn't
make the trip to Hawaii after be
ing suspended for an unspecified
violation of team rules.
Haynes and senior Damon Grif
fin combined to catch 15 passes
for 294 yards and a touchdown
against Colorado despite the
claims of illegality by Bellotti.
Neuheisal, obviously miffed at
Bellotti’s claim that Oregon was
the better team, said only:
“There’s an old saying: Score
board, baby.”
Later that afternoon, the score
board read 35-15 as Air Force de
feated Washington in the
O'ahuBowi.
Bowl organizers hope the dou
bleheader will help spark interest
in an eventual playoff Final Four
similar to that of college basket
ball.