Oh, These Magic Moments Highlights Define WSU’s Excellent Adventure

What if Lee Harrison had transferred to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, as coach Mike Price once suggested?

What if Skip Hicks had carried the ball for UCLA on fourth-and-1 for the Rose Bowl?

What if Kevin McKenzie hadn’t made that one-handed catch in the Coliseum, or if Brandon Moore hadn’t intercepted that pass against Stanford?

For every moment that defined Washington State’s improbable march to the Rose Bowl, there were five or six others that didn’t make the list.

What follows in an unofficial compilation of 25 such moments, spanning August to November:

1. Harrison, a former walk-on, is named the starting center just two days before the opener against UCLA. Some 5,500 yards later, he’s still in the lineup.

2. WSU, clinging to a 37-34 lead late in the game, stops UCLA on fourth-and-goal from the 1 as Hicks watches from the sideline.

3. Leon Bender Fireside Chat No. 1: “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 how they do it at UCLA with their All-Americans.”

4. Kevin McKenzie’s 51-yard TD catch gives the Cougars their first road win over USC since 1957.

5. Ryan Leaf sprints up the Coliseum tunnel shouting, “Who’s the only quarterback to beat SC?”

6. Leaf finds McKenzie for an 80-yard TD on the first play from scrimmage against Illinois.

7. Boise State kicker Todd Belcastro predicts an upset and promises to wear a Washington hat while presenting Mike Price with an autographed game ball - Price’s punishment for not recruiting Belcastro out of Mead High School.

8. With Belcastro looking on, Rian Lindell boots a 57-yard field goal in WSU’s 58-0 victory.

9. Leon Bender Fireside Chat No. 2: “I don’t think too many people broke a sweat (against Boise State). I think the only reason I sweated was because I had my pads on.”

10. Shawn McWashington makes a diving grab for a 38-yard gain to the Oregon 3-yard-line, jump-starting an offense that had been going nowhere.

11. Oregon defensive back Michael Fletcher spits in the face of WSU receiver Shawn Tims. Somewhere, Bill Romanowski nods knowingly.

12. Arizona safety David Fipp runs into umpire Jim Coyn, allowing McKenzie to break free for a 48-yard TD that tied the game at 21 in the third quarter.

13. WSU holds off Arizona 35-34 in OT when Duane Stewart tackles Ortege Jenkins at the 2, foiling the Wildcats’ attempt at the game-winning conversion.

14. Jenkins predicts Washington will “kill” the Cougars in the Apple Cup.

15. Dreams of a perfect season evaporate in Tucson when Arizona State safety Mitchell “Fright Night” Freedman forces a Leaf fumble, to be returned 69 yards for the clinching TD by Hamilton Mee.

16. WSU returns home to play Southwestern Louisiana instead of surging UCLA, thanks to some off-season shuffling by athletic director Rick Dickson.

17. Tight end Jon Kincaid, who missed most of the ‘96 season with an ankle injury that required nine surgeries, catches his first career TD pass in the Cougars’ 77-7 victory over the Ragin’ Cajuns.

18. A record 40,306 spectators pack Martin Stadium for the Stanford game after the athletic department does everything but pay fans to attend.

19. Stanford’s Damon Dunn returns a second-quarter kickoff 89 yards to the 4, but the Cardinal come away empty when Todd Husak is intercepted by WSU linebacker Brandon Moore.

20. Jason McEndoo and Ryan McShane embrace on the field after WSU’s 38-28 victory over Stanford, their final home game in a career touched by personal tragedy.

“It means so much,” McEndoo said. “Been to hell and back. To go out on top like this is amazing.”

21. Chris Jackson kicks off Apple Cup week by predicting a WSU blowout. “I’ll be damned if I’m going to let the Huskies get in my way of going to the Rose Bowl,” he adds.

22. Jackson, six days after facing a 6 a.m. reprimand from Price, burns the Huskies for eight catches, 185 yards and two TDs. “Hey CJ, say anything you want,” Price joked afterward.

23. Freshman safety Lamont Thompson picks off three Brock Huard passes, the last one a spectacular grab to kill a Washington rally.

24. Leon Bender Fireside Chat No. 3: “We knew coming into this game that we were going to win. I think they knew too. All the interviews and all the television shows, you could see it in their eyes and you could hear it in their voices.”

25. Finally, a jubilant Kenny Moore interrupts Secretary of State Ralph Munro, yelling, “Whassup, Ralph?” as the silver-haired Republican presents Price with the Apple Cup trophy.

Moore’s irreverence exemplifies the spirit of a WSU team that has refused to defer to history or expectation. The ultimate test awaits.

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