Shehee, Huard Pile On Cardinal

Finally.

That’s most of what the Washington Huskies were saying Saturday after they showed why they have believed all along that they could be a good football team in 1995.

Offensively, they were terrific in beating Stanford. Defensively, they were … well, they were elastic.

Add it all up and it totaled 1,000 yards and 66 points for both teams and more smiles in the Washington locker room than after the Huskies’ first five games combined.

The 24th-ranked Huskies outshot the Cardinal, 38-28, in a game that thoroughly entertained 45,210 spectators on an 80-degree afternoon.

“That’s how our offense is supposed to work,” said senior tight end Ernie Conwell.

Washington quarterback Damon Huard enjoyed the game of his life.

So did tailback Rashaan Shehee.

And flanker Dave Janoski had the best game of his career. And so did split end Fred Coleman. And receiver Jerome Pathon. And Conwell.

It was a glorious day for the offense, while the defense came through with enough plays and turnovers to beat the resilient Cardinal.

Huard passed for 295 yards and Shehee rushed for 196 yards and three TDs, capped by an 80-yard game-clincher with 1:04 remaining.

“I couldn’t be more pleased with four quarters of offense and defense,” said coach Jim Lambright, who has not been able to say that with a straight face this season even though his team has built a 4-2 record. “This was the most positive experience we’ve had this year.”

The Huskies scored five touchdowns and a field goal, and got into position for another field-goal attempt. They rolled up 535 yards of offense, 24 first downs, controlled the ball, made big third-down plays, hit some long passes for a change … and did not turn the ball over.

After a personal-foul penalty in the opening minutes ruined their first possession of the game, they were virtually unstoppable in displaying every facet of the wide-open offense they had promised in the spring and preseason, but had not gotten untracked in their first five games.

“We put it all together,” said Huard, who completed 20 of 30 passes and had three balls dropped. “We put it together for 60 minutes. Last week we played for 57 minutes.”

Last week, the Huskies watched a seven-point lead disintegrate into a 29-21 loss to Notre Dame, all in the final 3 minutes. Huard’s last-minute interception in Notre Dame territory sealed the outcome.

“Obviously, that hurt my feelings and my heart,” Huard said. “It was hard. It was tough to swallow, but I’ll take this win any day over a win over Notre Dame. That scarred me to a certain degree - it’s something I’ll always remember. But if we go to the Rose Bowl…”

The Cardinal (4-1-1), which got 348 yards passing from senior quarterback Mark Butterfield, got inside the Washington 20-yard line four times in the first half. But key defensive plays, as well as a couple of offensive miscues, enabled the Huskies to lead 14-6 at halftime.

In the third quarter, Stanford quickly drove the length of the field to tie the score at 14, and then the teams started trading scores.

UW went 72 yards, pushed by Huard’s 22-yard scramble and Coleman’s spectacular catch for a 36-yard gain. Then the Huskies got a break.

The Cardinal got to midfield, looking like they were on their way to tying the score at 21 when tailback Mike Mitchell bobbled a Butterfield pass over the middle. UW linebacker Ink Aleaga grabbed the ball out of the air and returned the interception to the Stanford 46. Six plays later, John Wales kicked a 36-yard field goal in the final minute of the third quarter, giving the Huskies an all-important 10-point bulge (24-14).

Washington 38, Stanford 28

Washington 0 14 10 14 - 38

Stanford 3 3 8 14 - 28

Stan-FG Abrams 24

UW-Shehee 7 run (Wales kick)

UW-Huard 2 run (Wales kick)

Stan-FG Abrams 28

Stan-Kirwan 16 pass from Butterfield (Harris pass from Butterfield)

UW-Shehee 1 run (Wales kick)

UW-FG 36 Wales

Stan-Clark 3 pass from Butterfield (Abrams kick)

UW-Conwell 11 pass from Huard (Wales kick)

UW-Shehee 80 run (Wales kick)

Stan-Comella 7 pass from Butterfield (Abrams kick)

A-45,210.

UW Sta First downs 24 23 Rushes-yards 44-240 34-117 Passing 295 348 Return Yards 10 0 Comp-Att-Int 20-30-0 22-35-2 Punts 4-37 2-44 Fumbles-Lost 0-0 1-0 Penalties-Yards 7-66 6-45 Time of Possession 33:28 26:32

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHINGWashington, Shehee 30-196, Thomas 7-20, Huard 6-20, Keiaho 1-4. Stanford, Mitchell 8-55, Bookman 14-52, Butterfield 8-5, Comella 3-4, Salina 1-1.

PASSINGWashington, Huard 20-30-0-295. Stanford, Butterfield 22-35-2—348.

RECEIVINGWashington, Janoski 7-73, Conwell 4-41, Shehee 3-36, Coleman 2-78, Pathon 2-59, Thomas 1-4, deSaussure 1-4. Stanford, Harris 9-163, Kirwan 3-57, Clark 3-24, Manning 2-57, Evans 2-11, Comella 2-10, Bookman 1-26.