SEATTLE — Washington burned Arizona State twice with trick plays in the first half Saturday, but the third time was anything but a charm for the Huskies.
After managing just seven points in their past two games, the Huskies were desperate to find some offense, and early in the game, the trickery worked for the Huskies.
A third-quarter trick play backfired, however, and swung the momentum in Arizona State’s favor for good as the Sun Devils scored 23 unanswered points on the way to a 39-19 win.
Leading by three in the third quarter, offensive coordinator Tim Lappano drew up a play that involved a double reverse that was supposed to have quarterback Ronnie Fouch throwing a pass. Arizona State sniffed the play out, however, and before Fouch could find an open receiver, he was hammered for a 12-yard loss.
That play, which ASU coach Dennis Erickson called the turning point of the game, led to a Washington three-and-out and the first of three second-half touchdowns for the Sun Devils.
“We probably went to the well one too many times in the second half with the reverse pass,” Lappano said.
In the first half, however, the trick plays were working. Freshman receiver Cody Bruns threw to D’Andre Goodwin for 27 yards on the Huskies’ first possession, which ended in a field goal. In the second quarter, quarterback Ronnie Fouch threw a lateral to Bruns, who then threw back to Fouch for a six-yard touchdown, the first touchdown reception for Fouch at any level.
“I think it kind of gave us that boost as a team,” said Bruns. “We’ve been the lowest of lows this season, so I think that kind of gave us a little boost, kind of gave us a little energy.”
Throwing passes is nothing new to Bruns, who was a quarterback growing up in Prosser. After playing quarterback on the freshman team there, however, Bruns switched to receiver because the Mustangs had Kellen Moore — now the starting quarterback at Boise State — playing quarterback. After Moore graduated, Bruns moved back to quarterback and started two games as a senior, but eventually went back to playing receiver.
“We’ve been saying for the last couple of weeks one of the things we wanted to do was have our coaches be aggressive,” Washington coach Tyrone Willingham said. “Having Cody healthy gave us an opportunity because he does throw a wonderful ball and I think you saw that.”
Last call for Perkins: UW kicker Ryan Perkins has another year of eligibility left, but this will be his last season as a Husky. Perkins has had two reconstructive knee surgeries on his kicking leg, and doctors have told him that he is doing too much damage to his leg to continue past this season.
“It’s an agreement between the doctors and me and the coaches,” he said. “I did some serious damage to my knee. You can see clearly even to the naked eye on the X-rays that the knee looks completely different than it was at the start of the season. There’s basically no cartilage left. Basically, I’m glad to be kicking field goals still.”
Perkins’ second-to-last home game was a memorable one, as he made all four of his field goal attempts. That was the most field goals made by a Washington kicker since John Anderson made five in the 2002 Apple Cup.
A halftime tribute: The UW band honored Ed McMichael by spelling out Tuba Man during its halftime performance. McMichael, a fixture at Seattle sporting events for years, died Monday from injuries suffered in an Oct. 25 beating.
Injury report: Cornerback Vonzell McDowell, Jr. left the game late in the fourth quarter with an apparent wrist injury, and was taken in for X-rays, the results of which were not available Saturday. Receiver Jordan Polk suffered a concussion on a second-quarter kickoff return and did not return to the game. Donald Butler (shoulder) and Daniel Te’o-Nesheim (stinger) were both able to return to the game after briefly leaving with injuries.
A first for Erickson: For all Dennis Erickson has accomplished in his coaching career, the ASU coach had never won at Husky Stadium prior to Saturday in four previous tries.
“Just getting a win is the most important thing,” the Everett native said. “This stadium is a place I grew up around and I haven’t been very lucky here, so it was nice to win here, but that wasn’t the biggest thing. The biggest thing is getting a win for our team.”
Herald Writer John Boyle: jboyle@heraldnet.com. For more on UW sports, check out the Huskies blog at heraldnet.com /huskiesblog
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