WSU’s Bender Breaks Bruins Cougars Seal Opener After Key Tackle

UCLA’s ball, fourth-and-goal from Washington State’s 1-yard-line, the Cougars clinging to a three-point lead, less than 3 minutes left in the game and …

“Skip Hicks was exhausted - there’s no way he could have carried the ball at that point,” said UCLA coach Bob Toledo.

Hicks didn’t.

Third-string freshman Jermaine Lewis did.

WSU’s defense prevailed, stopping Lewis for no gain, and the Cougars escaped with a 37-34 victory in a Pacific-10 Conference football opener before an announced crowd of 26,000 in Martin Stadium.

“I wasn’t surprised that it wasn’t Hicks in there in that situation because he had took himself out of the game - I guess that’s the way they do it at UCLA with their All-Americans,” said WSU defensive tackle Leon Bender, who was the first to meet Lewis on the game’s pivotal play.

The 6-foot, 222-pound Hicks had piled up 190 yards on 27 carries to that point, and he had found WSU’s end zone no fewer than four times.

Lewis, at 5-7 and 180 pounds, stood no chance against the 6-5, 299-pound Bender.

And so the Cougars, who had scored 27 straight points in building a seemingly safe 30-14 halftime cushion, won a nail-biter that probably never should have been.

The game began in shocking fashion, with Hicks racing 92 yards on the second play from scrimmage. Free safety Ray Jackson caught him at the 2-yard-line, but Hicks scored two plays later for a 7-0 UCLA lead.

The 93-yard run was the second-longest in UCLA history. It came after Hicks cut through the middle of WSU’s defense - right where Bender should have been, had he not been benched by Price for an incident that occurred after last year’s Apple Cup.

“The reason why I wasn’t on the field is because I got kind of upset in the U-Dub game and I told the official that he called a bad game,” Bender explained.

The Bruins stretched their lead to 14-3 on the second play of the second quarter, a 1-yard Hicks run that was set up by a WSU interception.

The interception, thrown by WSU backup Steve Birnbaum, came one series after starter Ryan Leaf suffered a sprained right ankle and had to leave the game to get retaped.

Leaf returned shortly thereafter and proceeded to torch the Bruins’ inexperienced cornerbacks with one takeoff pattern after another. His final numbers: 17 of 30 for 381 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions.

Scattered among his completions were big-gainers for 23, 57, 29, 78, 49, 55 and 26 yards. So much for the Bruins’ man-to-man coverage.

“If you’re going to try and bump us, you’d better look out because we’re going downtown,” WSU coach Mike Price crowed.

Junior Nian Taylor was Leaf’s primary target. The 6-1, 182-pounder caught five passes for 200 yards and two touchdowns, toying with UCLA cornerback Aaron Roques whenever the Bruins dared to blitz a safety.

“That was an invitation to me because it left me one-on-one with a corner,” said Taylor, whose TD receptions were for 57 and 29 yards.

Taylor’s performance marked the fifth time a WSU receiver has amassed at least 200 yards. Deron Pointer holds the record at 255, set against Arizona State in 1993.

The Bruins apparently felt they could rattle Leaf with their frequent blitzes, a tactic that had been somewhat effective last year, when Leaf completed just 20 of 46 passes in a 38-14 WSU loss.

“He didn’t throw takeoffs like that last year,” Price marveled. “He would wobble them out there at times. Today, he threw a tight spiral and hit Nian right in stride.”

When Taylor wasn’t open, there were other options.

Tailback Michael Black gained 102 yards on 27 carries and scored one TD. Chris Jackson’s 78-yard catch-and-run stretched WSU’s lead to 37-21 early in the third quarter. And Shawn McWashington came up with two first-down grabs that allowed the Cougars to run out the clock.

“The Fab Five is as advertised,” McWashington said, referring to a receiving rotation that also includes Kevin McKenzie and Shawn Tims.

Even with WSU’s offense in high gear - it racked up 529 yards - the Bruins put up a spirited fight. They finished with 466 yards, and had four more first downs than the Cougars.

Cade McNown, UCLA’s hot-and-cold quarterback, rallied UCLA to within 37-27 by directing a masterful drive late in the third quarter. He completed 4 of 7 passes for 40 yards on the drive, ending it with a 5-yard scoring pass to Danny Farmer on third-and-goal.

The Bruins closed within 37-34 less than 5 minutes later, thanks in part to a WSU penalty.< WSU punter Jeff Banks had pinned UCLA within its own 10-yard line, but an illegal-formation penalty - the Cougars’ second on a punt - forced Banks to punt again. This time it was returned to the UCLA 39.

McNown promptly found Jim McElroy for a 50-yard gain to the WSU 11, and Hicks scored his final touchdown two plays later.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: 6 Color photos

MEMO: Cut in the Spokane edition.