Price Feels Seniors’ Pain During Finale

Mike Price hopes his most enduring memory of Saturday’s 33-30 Apple Cup loss to Washington doesn’t end up being one of the several nightmarish incidents he encountered during the game.

He would just as soon forget the Damon Huard’s 42-yard pass that somehow slipped through the arms of Cougar cornerback Brian Walker and into the hands of Husky split end Dave Janoski for a crucial fourth-quarter touchdown.

And he could certainly do without the lingering visions of Jerome Pathon’s 30-yard kickoff return that helped set up John Wales’ game-winning field goal with just 62 seconds left in the game. And Husky tailback Rashaan Shehee’s 85-yard touchdown run on the second play of the second half.

But what Price would most like to forget is the sight of six of his own seniors ending their careers in anguish on the sidelines, unable to perform.

Running back Derek Sparks, cornerback Greg Burns and backup quarterback Shawn Deeds were all injured earlier in the year and watched the game in sweats.

Offensive tackle John Scukanec sprained an ankle early in the second quarter. Running back Frank Madu was ejected for punching a Husky defender.

And linebacker and co-captain Chris Hayes, after trying for almost three quarters to play through the pain of an ankle sprain, took himself out of the game for good early in the second half and spent the final minutes of his career limping around the outside of each sideline strategy session.

“Probably, I shouldn’t look back on it,” Price said Sunday when asked to pick a favorite memory from all of the excitement that unfolded in the wind and rain at Husky Stadium. “Not on the unfortunate experience of having those injuries happen to the seniors and those seniors not being able to finish the game.

“We were counting on (them) so much to have such a great game their final year and then, for whatever reason, not be able to play? I hope I don’t look back on (the game) for that. I hope I look back on it as the emergence of a new crop, a new generation of Ryan Leaf and Miguel Meriwether; (Adesola) Moronkola, Brandon Moore, Ryan McShane and some of of those players that played for the first time or got their first start and played very, very well.

“I hope I look back on it and say this is when it started for our team.”

Many thought it started last year when a tough, veteran defense led WSU to an 8-4 finish and an Alamo Bowl win over Baylor.

But heavy graduation losses, a torturous schedule, a bad run of injuries and a noticeable absence of the kind of breaks that blessed last year’s team, left the Cougars reeling throughout the second half of the season.

They closed with six consecutive losses and finished 2-6 and tied with California for eighth place in the Pacific-10 Conference. Their 3-8 overall record equalled the school’s worst since 1974.

Yet Price was able glean enough positive things from Saturday’s loss to easy some of the disappointment that he expects to haunt him for some time.

And most of those things were provided by Leaf, Meriwether, Moore and the other young players he named as the foundation of his program’s bright future.

Leaf, a redshirt freshman quarterback, drew favorable comparisons to former Cougar great Drew Bledsoe in throwing for 291 yards and a touchdown and running for two other scores.

Meriwether, another redshirt freshman, filled in admirably for Madu and rushed for 79 yards and one touchdown on only nine carries.

Moronkola, a true freshman, and Moore, a sophomore, each picked off a pass and made several other outstanding defensive plays. And McShane, another sophomore, shook off a knee strain, to do what he could in the offensive trenches.

“I’m still encouraged with our future,” Price said, “and I guess that helps soften the blow of letting one slip away. It was just a matter of Washington making the play and Washington State not making the play.”

Punching in

Madu, who did not come to the interview area following Saturday’s loss to explain the incident that led to his ejection, told his coaches that the punch that got him tossed, was thrown in retaliation.

“I guess the (defender) had his hand up underneath in his face,” Price explained. “And when he pulled it back, Frank struck him. But a senior should know it’s always the second guy or the second action that gets caught.

“Very seldom do you see the first blow. It’s always the retaliation that gets you penalized, so you just have to take it.”

, DataTimes