Hicks Skips Out As Cougs Make Huge Stop On Goal

Key play

Reeling and cramping in 85-degree heat and the wilting pressure of a UCLA quarterback who had suddenly turned as hot as the Martin Stadium rug, the Washington State defense made its last shot a knockout punch.

The scene Saturday:

UCLA with the ball, fourth and goal at the WSU one. Two-forty-eight left in a 37-34 shootout. Game on the line.

And no star tailback.

Brian Hicks, who did so much to swing mighty momentum UCLA’s way, the potential all-American, the Doak Walker Award candidate, a Heisman Trophy possibility, was living up to his nickname.

Skip. For in place of 6-foot, 222-pound Skip Hicks at tailback had come 5-7, 180-pound freshman Jermaine Lewis, a much smaller but more inviting target at close range. Hicks carried for the 27th and final time on first and goal from the nine with four minutes left. He lost a yard. Out he came.

The Bruins say they weren’t surprised Lewis was the closer.

The Cougars - in less flattering terms - say they weren’t, either.

The lasting picture on a long, hot, bruising day was the Cougar D stuffing the Bruins at the goal line to hold on for the win.

UCLA, in the aftermath of a failed comeback - they had trailed by 16 - tried not to point fingers.

“Skip Hicks was exhausted,” coach Bob Toledo said. “There was no way he could carry the ball at that point. He was totally weak. He said, ‘Coach, I just can’t get going.”’

Hicks to that point did more than his share, running for 190 yards and four touchdowns.

Toledo said he was not unhappy with the change because - Hicks aside - the plus side of the fatigue factor as the Bruins marched for the go-ahead TD still seemed to be riding with UCLA.

“Jermaine’s a little darter, a north and south runner, a good little player,” Toledo said. “We wanted to keep him in there. He had just made a nice play (catching a pass for 10 yards on third and goal from the 11). We were hopeful that he was excited enough to score.

“I thought we’d be able to knock ‘em off the ball on that particular play. It was an off-tackle play where we had a wing and a tight end. We doubled down, kicked out and tried to squirt it up through there. Jermaine just needs a little crack. Unfortunately, we didn’t block it well enough to get it into the end zone.”

The Cougars played it splendidly.

Lewis took a quick handoff and ran behind guard Chad Sauter, a 6-4, 302-pound senior, tackle Chris Farris, a 6-9, 300-pound sophomore, and tight end Mike Grieb.

“We ran a power one, which is an inside play to the left side,” Farris recounted. “We usually have a lot of success with it. It wasn’t a surprise to see Jermaine Lewis in instead of Skip Hicks. They just ran the exact defensive scheme that can stop that play.

“They did a great job, beating us on the play that won the game,” Farris said. “I won’t know until I see the films but I would say they stunted into it.”

Although WSU’s Leon Bender was credited as the prime tackler, Farris wasn’t so sure.

“It was more of an outside play,” the UCLA giant said. “Bender is on the inside. I think it was an end. it could have been (Dorian) Boose. It could have been (Shane) Doyle. I think it was Doyle’s side. I was blocking down inside. I couldn’t really tell. All of a sudden I turned around and felt it (the pressure) on my outside. I knew that if we had hit that, the game was ours.”

Hicks was his own worst critic, at least in the UCLA locker room.

“It was one of those deals where it got to the point (that he was exhausted). Even so, I should have been strong enough to get out there and play on the 1-yard line. I’m just really upset at myself because it’s fourth and goal, we’re going for the game, and I’m on the sidelines. That shouldn’t happen. It won’t happen again.”

Would a timeout have made a difference?

“No. No time out or anything like that,” Hicks said. “The coaches called a play they thought would work. I’m really upset because, it’s a clutch situation, we’re going for the win and the game and I’m sitting on the sidelines, talking.

“It shouldn’t be like that. I should have been out there.”

Well, not if you’re wasted. Were you cramping up?

“A little bit,” Hicks said. “I was mostly just so exhausted.”

Bender hit hard all day, during and after the game.

UCLA All-Americans, he said, referring to Hicks, are soft.

“UCLA is out there in Westwood, out there in Hollywood, and they don’t want to work,” said Bender, who is from Santee, Calif. “I know a lot of people who go to UCLA, and once they get there they become soft.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color photo