Dawgs can’t catch Foster

  • John Sleeper / Herald Writer
  • Saturday, October 13, 2001 9:00pm
  • Sports

By John Sleeper

Herald Writer

PASADENA, Calif. – He ran over, around and seemingly through University of Washington defenders.

Mostly, though, UCLA tailback DeShaun Foster spent his time running away from them in leading the No. 7 Bruins to a 35-13 victory over No. 10 Washington Saturday at Rose Bowl Stadium.

Foster, a prime Heisman Trophy candidate, ran for 301 yards on 32 carries and four touchdowns against the Huskies, who hadn’t allowed a rushing touchdown since Foster did it last year.

“It means a lot to me,” Foster said. “That’s the o-line. I broke a few tackles, but on the long runs, I was untouched.”

Foster scored on runs of 5, 21, 1 and 92 yards. He also added a 66-yard run in the third quarter, on which he came within 6 inches of scoring.

How special was Foster’s day?

  • He’s the first Bruin ever to have rushed for better than 300 yards.

  • The total is third in the all-time list, behind Washington State’s Reuben Mayes in 1984 (357).

  • It was the most rushing yards by a Husky opponent (243, by USC’s Charles Whiite in 1979).

  • Foster’s 92-yard TD run was the second-longest rushing play from scrimmage in UCLA history. The longest was 93 by Chuck Cheshire against Montana in 1934. It also was the longest ever by a Washington opponent. The previous mark was 88, by Tyrone Wheatley in the 1993 Rose Bowl, and by UCLA’s Brian Brown in 1988.

    Some of the reason for Foster’s dominance was a polite UW defense that couldn’t wrap him up early in the game. On both his first-half touchdowns, UW “tacklers” flew off him as though repelled by a bad smell.

    “We just didn’t tackle well at all,” UW defensive coordinator Tim Hundley said.

    Foster did fumble three times, which was something the Huskies had designs for him to do. All week, the UW defense drilled on ripping the ball away.

    “And he still got 300 on us,” UW corner Omare Lowe said. “Unbelievable.”

    CW watches game: For the first time since last season’s Rose Bowl, former UW safety Curtis Williams watched his ex-teammates play Saturday.

    Sitting in a motorized wheelchair, Williams sat with family and watched the Huskies play the Bruins. Williams, paralyzed from the neck down because of a spinal cord injury he suffered in a game against Stanford last season, was transported to the game from his home in Fresno, Calif.

    Williams’ brother, David, said Williams is becoming progressively more mobile in the wheelchair and visited with teammates before the game.

    “He’s definitely getting out more,” David Williams said.

    Williams has undergone several surgical procedures since the injury, the most significant being the implantation of a pacemaker-like device that allows him to breathe without the use of a respirator. He is up to 16 hours at a time without a respirator, David Williams said.

    Williams also will work with a speech pathologist soon to learn to speak in rhythm with the pacemaker.

    Williams and his family are benefiting from a change of policy with the NCAA and its insurer, Mutual of Omaha, which allows Williams to receive in-home care at no cost to him or the family. David Williams said the plan is to hire a nurse to come to the family home 24 hours a day.

    “We have the money, now we’re looking for nurses,” David Williams said.

    The Curtis Williams Fund, established by the University of Washington to provide money over and above what’s covered by insurance, has raised more than $370,000.

    Asked what he wanted to tell UW fans, Williams said, “Thanks for your support.”

    Fake punt works: In the third quarter, the Huskies tried a fake punt, snapping the ball to Lowe. Lowe gained 24 yards on the carry for a first down.

    “It worked good in practice and it looked good on film,” Lowe said. “I was bugging (special teams coach Bobby Hauck) all game that it was open.”

    Corner Ricky Manning nailed Lowe with a hard hit at the end, but Lowe was unhurt.

    “He kind of got me on the chin,” said Lowe, a quarterback at Mount Tahoma High School. “I was trying to cut back on him, but it’s been a while since I carried the ball. My moves weren’t up to par.”

    Short routes: Washington true freshman Tui Alailefaleula started at defensive end and had a sack … Washington wideout Reggie Williams had four catches for 61 yards and set a school record for receiving yards by a true freshman, with 436 … Washington turned the ball over three times Saturday, having come into the game with just four on the year. The UW running backs still haven’t lost a fumble in 2001.

    Man arrested after threatening to blow up Rose Bowl: A man was arrested at the Rose Bowl on Saturday after threatening to blow up the stadium, police said.

    No explosives were found.

    Michael Jondreau, 58, of Santa Monica, made the threat to two UCLA students who were watching the Bruins play Washington, said Janet Pope, a spokeswoman for the Pasadena Police Department.

    “The students, obviously very frightened, flagged down one of the police officers, and that was when we took him into custody,” Pope said. “We checked and found no explosives, so don’t know why he said that.

    “In this time of heightened sensitivity it’s something we take very seriously.”

    Jondreau was booked on suspicion of making criminal threats, a felony, Pope said.

    The Associated Press contriibuted to the story

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