Tim Pyle
Continued from Page 9
Bowl in El Paso, Texas.
“Yeah, I’m gonna miss
[Autzen],” said rover/return man
Michael Fletcher, an Autzen fa
vorite who returned five punts
for 43 yards, two kickoffs for 37
yards and made five tackles. “It’s
the greatest place to play in
America, and I’m glad to step out
of here with a victory.”
Offensive lineman Deke Moen,
all 6-foot-4, 280 pounds of him,
wasn’t afraid to share his affection
for Autzen.
“It was a real special game for
us,” said Moen, who was instru
mental in opening holes for tail
back Reuben Droughns and pro
viding quarterback Joey
Harrington time to pass. “I was sit
ting there during the game just
looking up, thinking this is the
last time on the field with all these
crazy fans here.
“I don’t even know if it’s hit me
yet. I was sitting out there, and I
kind of got teary-eyed. Yeah, I’m
gonna miss it something fierce. I
just walked off that field the last
time. I just looked back...”
Flanker Tony Hartley put a fit
ting cap on his magnificent career
— one which has him sitting atop
the Ducks’ all-time receiving
yardage list — with a game-high
eight catches for 100 yards, single
handedly accounting for all but 46
of Oregon’s receiving yards.
“We wanted to go out in style,”
said Hartley, himself probably the
best-dressed Duck. “Every player
[ mu
does. It’s your last game at home,
and we wanted to shine.
“Four years of my life right
here, and it was an excellent expe
rience I’ll never forget.”
Linebacker Peter Sirmon, who
also capped a memorable career
in fine fashion with 10 tackles,
one fumble forced and one sack,
wasn’t as emotional as some of his
class-mates, but his feelings shone
through the linebacker demeanor,
nevertheless.
“All the seniors had a real need
to go out with a win and to go out
on top,” Sirmon said. “We’ve all
had pretty good careers here, es
pecially in the win-loss column
compared to the other guys in the
Pac-10.”
Cornerback Justin Wilcox, per
haps the most pleasant surprise
on the team this season with his
consistently good play at comer
back after moving from free safety
in fall camp, was almost speech
less. But not quite.
“There’s no better way to go out
of Autzen Stadium than to beat
OSU at home,” Wilcox said. “You
couldn’t write it any better. It’s
just awesome.”
Awesome.
That’s a good way to describe it
— both the payback win over the
Beavers and what those seniors
have done for Duck football dur
ing their careers.
Thanks for the memories, guys.
Now, bring home that Sun
Bowl trophy.
Tim Pyle is the sports editor for the Emerald. He
can be reached via e-mail at tpyle@gladstone.
uoregon.edu.
Jeffrey Stockton Emerald
Oregon comerback Justin Wilcox was one of 22 seniors saying goodbye to Autzen.
Droughns
Continued from Page 9
to do with that.
“Reuben Droughns is a great
player,” said Erickson, who won
two national championships at Mi
ami and coached the NFL’s Seattle
Seahawks for four seasons. “I did
n’t have to play him to know that. ”
Although Simonton has more
yards rushing this season —1,329
to 1,139—and probably gets more
nation-wide attention, Oregon
players were unanimous in who
they think is the better back.
“I’ll put my money on
Droughns any day,” defensive end
Saul Patu said.
Flanker Tony Hartley called
Droughns vs. Simonton “no con
test” and accurately pinpointed the
difference in the 103rd Civil War.
“We actually were the ones
who were running the ball, so it
was like a complete switch.”
And that reversal showed up on
the scoreboard as well.
S': ;■
Scott Barnett Emerald
Ducks defensive end Saul Patu tracks Beaver quarterback Jonathan Smith, whom he sacked three times and forced to fumble once.
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