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SPORTS EDITOR: JEFF SMITH Smittside@aol.com
Crumble in Corvallis
Tom Patterson Emerald
Oregon State safety Jake Cookus is tackled by fullback Josh Line after one of his three interceptions in the game.
■ Oregon fumbles away its Rose
Bowl hopes with two fourth
quarter turnovers
By Scott Pesznecker
Oregon Daily Emerald
CORVALLIS—In a season filled with
late-game comebacks, the Oregon foot
ball team found itseif trailing Oregon
State by 10 points in the fourth quarter.
But in the state’s 104th Civil War, the
Beavers made all the late-game heroics.
Ducks’ quarterback Joey Harrington
fumbled on the Oregon State’s 10-yard
line with six minutes to play and his
team went on to lose 23-13 in front of a
sellout crowd at Reser Stadium.
While he did connect 25-of-48 pass
es, Harrington spotted the Beavers (10
1 overall, 7-1 Pacific-10 Conference)
five interceptions to accompany his
late-game fumble. One of those inter
ceptions came after the fumble, when
the Ducks (9-2, 7-1) had one last
chance to drive down field.
“Some of them were not his fault,
but the quarterback always takes more
the credit, more the blame than he de
serves,” Oregon head coach Mike Bel
lotti said. “He battled, unfortunately
the ball a couple times did not go
where he wanted. ”
Harrington said he was confident
that the Ducks would win before his
fourth-quarter fumble.
“I had no doubts. We had the ball at
the 10-yard line, we score, we cut it to
three points with six, seven, five min
utes left,” he said. “It didn’t matter; be
cause we’d battled back all year.”
Regardless of his turnovers, Harring
ton’s teammates rallied behind him be
neath Gill Coliseum after the game.
“Joey’s put together a great season,”
comerback Rashad Bauman said.
“Joey’s gone in there day-in and day
out and handled business. Some
games just don’t go your way, and this
is one of those games that just didn’t go
our way. It’s part of the game. ”
In Pullman, Washington beat Wash
ington State, 51-3, in the Apple Cup,
giving the Huskies the Rose Bowl berth
and most likely sending the Beavers to
the Holiday Bowl.
Oregon will probably go to the Sun
Bowl in El Paso, Texas, or one of the
two bowls in Hawaii.
“I don’t have a feeling on any bowl
right now,” Bellotti said. “I’ll wait and ■
see what happens.”
In his second year as OSU’s head
coach, Dennis Erickson led his team to
a 10-1 overall record, its best-ever in ;
history. This, just one year after snap
ping a 28-year span of losing seasons.
“When you go 10-1 at a school that
has never been 10-1, and was at rock
bottom a few years ago, it doesn’t get
any better than that,” Erickson said.
The Beavers scored their first 17
Turn to Corvallis, page 9
Even until the bitter end, this team kept us watching
^lHAKUNA
H*# MATATA
JEFF SMITH
CORVALLIS—They
made you watch until
the final second. There
were times you might
not have wanted to look away, but
you just couldn’t.
Ten point deficit with seven
minutes to go? For most teams, it’s
a time to at least let the possibility
of defeat cross into your mind.
But for this Oregon football
team, after all the improbable
comeback wins it had this season,
you had to give them their full 60
■ minutes of football. Because we
1 all have seen the magic that has
happened in those precious final
ticks of the clock.
There Oregon was, on the Ore
gon State 10-yard line with 6:10 to
play in the game. The Ducks had
driven 70 yards down the field,
and actually had the benefit of
three holding penalties on the
Beaver secondary—as opposed
to the numerous flags called on
the Tucks throughout the game.
Maybe this was it. If Oregon
scores here, and cuts it to three,
then it’s anybody’s game. Maybe
Oregon needed to be down by 10 in
the fourth to come back and clinch
the prestigious Rose Bowl berth.
After all, it would only be fitting.
Joey Harrington accepts the
snap...
He begins to roll out and looks
for an open receiver in the end
zone...
And then bam!
Oregon State defensive end
Sefa O’Reilly blindsides Harring
ton from the right side and drills
him in the back.
The ball drops out of the quarter
back’s hands, and gets scooped up
by Oregon State’s DeLawrence
Grant with 6:06 to play in the game.
The sold-out Reser Stadium
crowd — except for the clusters of
green and yellow clad people —
goes berserk.
Ballgame, Rose Bowl and in
state supremacy all gets dashed
for the Ducks in that one play.
The minutes slowly wind
down as Harrington paces the
sidelines. Five minutes... four
three... and then the Oregon de
fense forces a Beaver punt at the
2:57 mark. But the punt is pinned
at the Oregon three-yard line.
All the Ducks care about is that
it gets the ball back. Harrington
completes two crucial passes to
wide receiver Sarnie Parker to
move the ball to the 34-yard line. |
Then Oregon State commits a per
sonal foul on an illegal blow to the
head to push it all the way to the
Turn to Smith, page 9
Men’s hoops comes on strong late to secure the win
A second half
surge gives
Oregon an 85
70 win against
Mississippi
Valley State at
Mac Court
By Jeff Smith
Oregon Daily Emerald
Overshadowed by some other game in some oth
er sport, the Oregon men’s basketball team quietly
opened its season Friday with a win.
The Ducks demonstrated signs of early season
sluggishness at times — and signs of perfection at
others — in their 85-70 victory against Mississippi
Valley State.
The visiting Delta Devils gave the 7,664 fans in
attendance at McArthur Court an early scare, when
they battled the Ducks hoop-for-hoop and only
trailed 40-35 at the half.
“For some reason, things just weren’t going our
way and we didn’t have a big enough lead,” said
senior forward Bryan Bracey, who recorded his
first career double-double with 22 points and a per
sonal best 12 rebounds. “So we were really excited
to get out there in the second half and throw a press
on them and get after them. ”
The second session began with MVSU’s Henry
Jordan draining a jumper to cut the margin to 40
37, but then Oregon’s Julius Hicks took charge.
Hicks went in strong to the hoop and banked one
in.
Then, he rebounded a Freddie Jones miss and
tipped it in, while getting fouled in the process by
Jordan for a three-point play.
On the other end of the floor, he made his pres
ence felt by sending a Dewayne Jefferson shot at
tempt into the fifth row of the student section.
And, just for good measure, Hicks received a
pass from Bracey and converted the bucket to ex
tend the Duck lead to 47-39 with 18:02 to play.
“Tonight, we really came out wanting to be in
tense,” said the senior center, who finished with
nine points and seven rebounds.
Then, as if they were on a relay track team, Hicks
seemed to pass the baton to teammate Anthony
Norwood, who put the game away. Norwood con
tinued the Oregon run by connecting a three-point
er to up the margin to 11.
On the very next play, freshman point guard
Turn to Hoops, page 9
Catharine Kendall Emerald
Oregon junior guard Anthony Norwood had 15 points to help lead the
Ducks to their season-opening win against Mississippi Valley State.