UW prayer answered

TUCSON, Ariz. – A “Hail Mary” call, a confused freshman quarterback and a surprisingly powerful running game added up to a long-awaited Pac-10 football victory for Washington and its first-year coach Tyrone Willingham.

James Sims rushed for a career-high 200 yards in 30 carries and the Huskies ended a 14-game conference losing streak with a 38-14 victory over turnover-plagued Arizona on Saturday night.

The Huskies (2-8, 1-6) had not won a Pac-10 game since beating Washington State in the finale of the 2003 season. Their only other victory this season came seven games ago against Idaho.

“I’m ecstatic. It’s the best feeling in the world,” said cornerback Roy Lewis, who returned an interception 42 yards for the last of Washington’s 31 consecutive points. “A lot of us waited two years for this feeling.”

Isaiah Stanback’s 69-yard touchdown pass to Craig Chambers as the first half ended tied the game at 14-all, then the Huskies turned a pair of turnovers into scores to lead 28-14 going into the fourth quarter.

“He hit me in stride,” Chambers said. “That’s probably the best pass that’s ever been thrown to me.”

After a sack, the coaches signaled to Stanback to take a knee and run out the clock, but he called time out and successfully lobbied for the “Hail Mary” play. He threw it as hard as he could, he said, and the ball traveled at least 70 yards in the air.

“That really changed the momentum,” Stanback said.

The Huskies rolled for 333 yards rushing and took advantage of Arizona freshman quarterback Willie Tuitama’s many mistakes.

“I honestly didn’t think Arizona would be off their game tonight,” said Willingham, the former Stanford coach back in the Pac-10 after being fired by Notre Dame. “With their upset over UCLA, I thought they would be excited and ready for us, but we took advantage of every opportunity.”

Sims became the first Huskies’ player to top 200 yards rushing since Marques Tuiasosopo gained 207 against Stanford on Oct. 30, 1999.

Arizona (3-7, 2-5) had won two in a row with Tuitama, the latest a 52-14 stunner over then-No. 7 UCLA a week ago. But the 18-year-old threw three interceptions and fumbled the ball away twice in his third start.

“We did a lot to confuse the quarterback,” Lewis said. “We definitely got in his head, and that’s what you want to do with a young quarterback.”

Arizona coach Mike Stoops called it “a great learning experience” for Tuitama.

“You’re going to have some bad games,” Stoops said. “He learned a great deal from this.”

Stanback rushed for 96 yards in 14 carries, including touchdown runs of 28 and 1 yards.

Tuitama, 22 for 41 for 235 yards and two touchdowns, fumbled the snap on third-and-inches at the Washington 49, perhaps his most costly turnover. The Huskies’ Tahj Bomar recovered, and Washington went 51 yards in seven plays, Stanback scoring on a 1-yard run to put the visitors up 28-14 with 3:14 left in the third quarter.

“I could not get it done,” Tuitama said. “I put the loss on my shoulders.”