A Step Forward, Two Back Dumb Penalties Continue To Be The Theme For Emotional Cougars

Mike Sage refused to blame his young Cougar teammates too much. He knows about the emotion of rivalry games like the Apple Cup.

He knows that sometimes it’s almost impossible to think straight.

That was the case for Washington State on Saturday in its 16-9 loss to Washington at Martin Stadium. The Cougars were flagged 14 times for 125 yards and committed five personal fouls.

“It’s Apple Cup,” said Sage, the Cougars senior offensive guard. “Emotions are running high. A lot of things happen on the field a lot of people don’t know about, especially in the trenches. Guys are doing things because they’re not thinking right and because they’re so into the game that all they’re thinking about is getting that sucker that said crap about them or made an illegal block on them the play before.

“They’re out there trying to make things happen. You can’t really knock them for that. You can tell them that hey that’s a stupid play, that’s a stupid mistake and that you can’t do that. But they’re young guys and they’re going to learn.”

Cougars coach Mike Price was disgusted with the personal fouls, saying “It’s baloney. I don’t like that. It was kind of one mistake after another that was costly,” Price said. “It’s just a fine line between winning and losing. It’s the little things that make the difference and we’re not doing the little things right.”

WSU quarterback Steve Birnbaum - who started the game and took turns with Paul Mencke - completed a 17-yard pass to Kevin Brown in the first quarter only to see his team get hit with a personal foul.

“We’d get our yards and march right back 15 yards where we started from,” Birnbaum said.

Rob Rainville was frustrated, too.

“It just seemed like every time we turned around we were making a penalty and you can’t play Pac-10 football like that,” the senior tackle said.

The Cougars were penalized 101 times this season for 801 lost yards. They averaged 67.6 yards a game in penalties entering Saturday’s game.

“We’ve had the chance to win games and have come up short by making foolish mistakes,” Sage said. “It’s just been the story of our season. I mean it’s not a lack of effort. We played our butts off but just haven’t got it done.”

Yet last year’s Cougars were flagged more times than any team in school history, losing 1,076 yards. That included the Rose Bowl.

Brown breaks sophomore rushing record

WSU’s Kevin Brown set a sophomore rushing record. The 6-foot-2, 218-pound Brown gained 85 yards on 22 carries Saturday to finish with 1,046 for the season. That broke Rich Swinton’s mark of 1,018 set in 1988.

Brown, a transfer from San Francisco City College, suffered a contusion to his knee late in the game.

Field-goal frustration

Cougars kicker Rian Lindell couldn’t explain it. What happened on his 45-yard field-goal try that was blocked by Husky linebacker Lester Towns in the second quarter?

“That’s a good question,” Lindell said. “You probably know more than I do. It felt good.”

Lindell was 8 of 17 on field goals this fall, missing 8 of his last 9 attempts.

Hacked off

Receiver Leaford Hackett called all the Cougars missed opportunities “pathetic.”

“There’s not much you can say,” Hackett said. “We just didn’t execute and it’s over now.”

He says he’s unsure what the Cougars’ future holds but that the team might be more organized and better prepared next year. The junior transfer from Los Angeles Valley Community College knows he learned plenty this season and plans on a more successful 1999.

“I’ve got one more year and hopefully I’ll go out with a bang,” he said. “I feel I’m an explosive player but this year I didn’t show a lot of the ability I have. But I’m not worried about it. It’s going to come.”

Notes

Price declined to comment if he will need to start searching for a new assistant head coach. Larry Lewis, who has been with Price in all of his nine years at WSU, could be headed for Idaho State of the Big Sky Conference. The school will hold a press conference Monday to make an official announcement on its new coach… . WSU safety Earl Riley suffered a second-quarter concussion and didn’t return. He picked off a Willie Hurst halfback pass in the first quarter… . Jerry Roquemore’s 35-yard grab from Birnbaum on the Cougars’ opening drive was his longest catch of the season. … Steve Gleason led the Cougar defense with 10 tackles, including seven unassisted and two for losses. Gleason said he’s already focusing on next season. “I think for myself and the younger guys this isn’t it,” he said. “All we can do is look forward to is next year. There’s nothing not to look forward to.”