Emerald
Editor in chief: Laura Cadiz
Sports Editor: Tim Pyle
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Ducks spare the drama in blowout win
■ Spurred by a solid all-around
effort, Oregon scores 45 straight
points after trailing 3-0
By Mirjam Swanson
Oregon Daily Emerald
It just wouldn’t be like the Oregon
football team to let fans go home with
out some late-game heroics.
And so with 13 seconds left, junior
cornerback Jermaine Hanspard pum
meled Washington State wide receiver
Collin Henderson, jarring the ball loose.
Senior linebacker Nathan Naggi imme
diately scooped up the fumble and
dashed 47 yards for a touchdown.
For the fourth time in seven games,
the Ducks (6-3 overall, 4-2 Pacific-10
Conference) scored on their final pos
session.
Only this time, it wasn’t at all dramatic.
Naggi’s touchdown—a fulfilling mo
ment for the hard-working role player
— served mostly as quick payback for
the Cougars’ (2-7,1-5) first touchdown,
which came with 28 seconds left.
It was merely icing on a most-con
vincing 52-10 Oregon victory.
“I’m just glad we got to score right af
ter they scored,” Naggi said. “We had a
great defensive effort, and that last play
just reflected that.”
The win, a good overall performance
by the Ducks both offensively and defen
sively, was significant for several reasons.
With its sixth win, Oregon is bowl-el
igible — for the sixth consecutive sea
son. The Ducks haven’t had this kind of
extended success in 60 years.
It was also win No. 100 at Autzen Sta
dium, coming in front of 44,090 appre
ciative supporters who cheered Oregon
on as it increased its conference-lead
ing home-winning streak to 13.
“It’s great that I’ll be able to say I was on
that team that accomplished all of those
things,” said senior linebacker Dietrich
Moore, whose team-leading contribution
of eight tackles and two sacks was one of
many standout Duck performances.
“Our defense played a whale of a
Turn to Football, Page 8
c . .. „ Jeffrey Stockton Emerald
Freshman wide receiver Keenan Howry secures one of his four receptions for a team-high 68 yards against the Cougars. His long was a 28-yard touchdown.
Harrington shows his starting stuff
Head coach Mike Bellotti may not
be saying it, but the rest of the Ore
gon football team knows it:
Joey Harrington is now the man at quar
terback for the Ducks.
His performance Saturday night at
Autzen Stadium—although it came against
dreadful Washington State—only solidi
fied Harrington’s claim to the starting spot.
The sophomore from Portland has won
the respect and support of his teammates
with his fiery demeanor, rocket right arm
and elusive mobility.
Skill-wise, he may not be that different
from junior A.J. Feeley, as Bellotti repeat
edly points out, but Harrington’s knack for
running the option and escaping from
would-be tacklers has set him apart.
“I’ve seen Joey get out of some things
that it didn’t look possible to get out of,”
said senior flanker Tony Hartley, who be
came No. 1 on Oregon’s all-time receiving
yardage list Saturday.
Although Feeley has proven himself a
Turn to Tim Pyle, Page 9
.i ... S.., n.
Jeffrey Stockton Emerald
Brianne Meharry goes up for two of her 18 points in Sunday’s exhibition win.
J
Meharry sparks UO’s exhibition win
■ In front of 3,321 fans, the Ducks pull away to
beat Lokomotiva Kosice 74-59 in Sunday’s
exhibition game at McArthur Court
By Mirjam Swanson
Oregon Daily Emerald
Freshman guard Kourtney Shreve said she was “soooo
nervous” before the first game of her collegiate career at
McArthur Court on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Paulette Fredrick, sophomore forward
Alyssa Fredrick’s mother, said she was popping antacids
down in San Diego, anxiously wondering how her
daughter and the rest of the Oregon women’s basketball
team were doing.
Junior forward Brianne Meharry? She wasn’t sweating
a thing during the Ducks’ 74-59 exhibition win against
Lokomotiva Kosice, a traveling club team from Slovakia.
Telling teammates and coaches that she preferred to
come off of the bench this time, Meharry yielded her
starting spot to fellow junior forward Angelina Wolvert.
“Before the game we drew names out of a cup because
I don’t really feel that anyone’s playing poorly enough
for two of the three to start,” said head coach Jody Runge
about having three proven post players to fill two start
ing post positions. “Ange drew names, and the names
came out Bri and Jenny [Mowe]. Bri said, ‘No, I’d rather
come off the bench. You start Ange. ’ ”
So Meharry reclined for 41/2 minutes before immers
ing herself in the game. She finished with 18 points, four
rebounds and a steal in 20 minutes.
“Bri is a winner,” Runge said. “She finds ways to make
things happen. She’s as good as it gets as far as having a
sense of the game. We’re glad to have her back running on
all cylinders.”
Meharry’s play made it evident that the tom anterior
cruciate ligament she suffered midway through her
freshman season is distant history as she maneuvered
her way up and under defenders for most of her points.
Her steady contribution helped Oregon overcome a
slow start in which the Ducks couldn’t shake their per
sistent and crafty opponents.
“At the beginning, it was a little frustrating,” said point
guard Shaquala Williams, who had 12 points and three
assists in 24 minutes. “But once we figured things out, we
were fine. This team did a great job of exposing our weak
nesses, and we just have to go back and work on them.”
She was spelled by junior Karen Piers and then by
Shreve, who didn’t score but made her presence obvious
anyway with 10 minutes of crowd-pleasing, rough-and
tumble hustle. Freshman forward Courtney Moore also
had a good debut as a Duck. She finished with eight
points in eight minutes.
“The freshmen came in and put on a show,” Meharry
said. “That was especially fun for the crowd. ”
The 3,321 in attendance got to see every member of
the Oregon roster participate.
“You always expect to play everybody as much as you
can [in an exhibition],” Runge said. “It helps the young
players, getting out there in the bright lights. ”