Thompson Steps Up Freshman Defender Catches On

Who is Lamont Thompson and can the Washington State Cougars find enough superlatives to shower upon him?

In order, the most amazing freshman find the Cougars have had in years, and no.

Thrust into the starting lineup three games ago in a shakeup of the secondary, the freshman from Richmond, Calif., became the surprise star of Apple Cup 1997 with three interceptions of Washington quarterback Brock Huard and a team-leading 12 tackles.

“Wow!” said Cougars coach Mike Price. “What a player. He’s just a big-time player. That’s recruiting. I think we beat (Nevada) Reno on him. Do you believe it?”

Not really. In his last two games, Thompson alone has five interceptions and the Cougars have nine - after making just nine in the first nine games.

“I think (secondary coach Craig) Bray has been sandbagging us,” Price said.

Thompson’s first two interceptions led to Cougar scores, and the third - a fantastic recovery of a ball that went through the hands of UW’s leaping Jerome Pathon - helped stave off the Huskies’ hopes of a comeback.

“He kind of had it,” said Thompson, inserted at free safety when Ray Jackson was moved to cornerback. “Then, I kind of knocked it out of his hands and the ball fell on top of me. It’s just unbelievable - I was in the right place at the right time.”

Earlier, Thompson chased down a fluttering pass after Shane Doyle had hit Huard as he threw when the Huskies were driving inside the Cougar 25-yard line. In the third quarter, Thompson got another pick when Huard delivered way too high for Pathon - Jackson separating the Husky receiver from the ball and Thompson making a diving catch.

“I never thought I’d be able to help the team out,” said Thompson of his rapid ascent. “I don’t know what my expectations were.”

Rain man

For a brief time, it looked like the touchdown that would clinch the Apple Cup. It wasn’t, but it will always be a keeper for Rob Rainville.

The junior offensive tackle from Lewiston fell on a fumble in the end zone in the third quarter for a touchdown that put WSU up 24-7.

“I’ve never scored a touchdown - in high school, never,” said Rainville, “and now I do it in the Apple Cup for the Rose Bowl. Holy cow.”

Michael Black had gained 2 yards from the Husky 3 when Marques Hairston knocked the ball loose.

“I don’t know how I came away with it,” Rainville said. “The other guy (a Husky) had it. I started tugging on the ball. They told them to get up and I got up last and I had the ball. They called touchdown and that was it.”

Olive branch

In August, Leon Bender was the Coug who called UCLA soft. On Saturday, he was thankful the Bruins held on to beat USC, assuring the Cougars of their trip to the Rose Bowl.

“I want to thank UCLA,” Bender said. “I might have said some bad things about them before, and I’m not saying I take them back, but I want to thank them. I want to commend them on the job that they have done today to beat the Trojans. I want to thank them for helping us get to the Rose Bowl.

“It’s been a long season, and I hope they have fun at whatever bowl game they go to.”

Wise guy

Cougar offensive tackle Ryan McShane insists that quarterback Ryan Leaf’s game face never goes away.

“He’s such a competitor, and so calm and collected,” McShane said. “And he’s no-nonsense.

“Even when there were just 9 seconds left and we were just going to take a knee, I said to him, “Did you say this was a pass?” to try to get him to laugh and he said, “Shut up and get up to the line.”

A deadly Pathon

The record will show that Jerome Pathon didn’t even lead the Huskies in receiving, and that two balls which went through his hands wound up as interceptions. And with eight receptions for 185 yards and two huge touchdowns, WSU’s Chris Jackson was probably the best receiver on the field.

But there was no denying Pathon’s impact - or the impression he left.

“He made some great catches,” said Price. “He’s a special player.”

The record-setting walk-on from Vancouver, B.C., had two huge catches in the opening drive that put UW up 7-0 - spinning completely around to snag a pass on third down and then grabbing a ball thrown behind him for the touchdown.

He had another sensational catch wiped out by a penalty in the second half, and caught UW’s desperation catch-up touchdown on a play where Huard faked a spike and caught the Cougar secondary off guard.

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