SEATTLE – It was quite a predicament.
On one hand, Snohomish High senior Adam Heater simply had to root for his future UCLA Bruins teammates. Then again, he felt a strong allegiance to his older brother’s team, the Washington Huskies.
After it was all over Heater said he was happy with the outcome, as UCLA nipped Washington 37-31 in a Pac-10 Conference opener Saturday at Husky Stadium.
“It was a great game. Both teams played pretty well,” said Heater, a 6-foot-5, 245-pound tight end who has verbally committed to play football for the Bruins next year. “I’m kind of split in a way, but I had to pull for UCLA.”
Heater’s older brother, Andy Heater, is a reserve junior defensive tackle for Washington. The connections don’t end there: Adam’s father, Chuck Heater, coached with current UCLA head coach Karl Dorrell at Colorado and Washington. The elder Heater now coaches at Utah.
Snohomish teammates Taylor Cochran and Rory Gillooly accompanied Adam Heater on Saturday, when the Bruins put on an offensive show with 546 total net yards.
“It’s fun to watch ‘em up close,” Heater said. “They have some great athletes.”
The most impressive of the bunch was UCLA running back Maurice Drew, who set a Bruins record and UW opponent record with 322 yards rushing. Heater said he’s looking forward to teaming up with Drew, who ran for five touchdowns.
“He’s a stud. I’m really excited to get a chance to play with him.”
It’s been a pretty fantastic weekend for Heater. Besides getting to catch UCLA’s victory, Heater’s Panthers got their first win of the season Friday night in a Western Conference North Division road game against Oak Harbor.
“We had a good win (Friday) night, finally. I was really happy. It helped our confidence,” Heater said.
James has career day: UW tailback Kenny James set a career rushing record with 27 carries and 133 yards. He carried the ball in each of the Huskies’ first five plays and seven of the Huskies’ opening drive, when he gained 57 yards.
“Our offense came out running the ball like we were supposed to,” James said. “We came out scoring points. If we polish up a few things, we’re going to be a great team. I’m excited to play next week.”
James came out of the game in the second quarter because of an equipment malfunction.
“My chinstrap broke,” he said. “I just had to get that fixed. It wasn’t because I was hurt or anything. I came back and ran hard.”
James’ previous highs were 104 yards (vs. Oregon in 2003) and 19 carries (vs. WSU in 2003).
Ref explains clock controversy: In the waning moments, UCLA had the ball on the UW 38, fourth down and an inch to go. Bruins coach Karl Dorrell wanted to entice the UW defensive line into jumping offside, which is exactly what the Huskies appeared to do.
Instead, the ruling was that the Huskies got back onside in time, before the ball was snapped. Quarterback Drew Olson, thinking an infraction had occurred, knelt down.
That gave Washington the ball.
It was at that point that UW head coach Keith Gilbertson, who was out of timeouts, protested that the clock should have been stopped at 1:06 because of a change of possession.
“There were about seven or eight seconds that were wasted there,” Gilbertson said. “I’m going to take a close look at the video.”
Referee Larry Farina said, “I signaled for the clock to start and it did not. I counted seven seconds off and at that point, we killed everything and reset the clock at 59 seconds.”
Farina said he conferred with back judge Michael Samuels, whose job it is to watch the game clock. Samuels agreed that seven seconds should have elapsed.
Short bursts: Tight end Joe Toledo, who missed the Fresno State game with back and groin injuries, played against the Bruins and caught a pass for 9 yards. “Joe practiced pretty well at the end of the week and we felt a two tight-end set was a good set for us,” Gilbertson said. “Joe’s a big, talented guy who, if we can keep him healthy, he’ll add a lot to the offense.”
Meadowdale High School football coach Mark Stewart was honored at the end of the third quarter as one of the Husky Legends. Stewart was a standout linebacker for the Huskies from 1979 to 1982 … Husky junior outside linebacker Evan Benjamin, who switched from safety prior to this season, picked off a pass Saturday, his second in two games as a linebacker … Former Mariner High School standout Trenton Tuiasosopo saw his first action as a Husky. Tuiasosopo, a true freshman, was on the kickoff-return team … Washington’s 24 points in the first quarter tied the third-most the Huskies have ever scored in an opening period. Washington scored 28 in the first quarter against Idaho in 1968; 25 against San Jose State in 1996; and 24 against Northwestern in 1980.
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