Hits keep coming after game ends

SEATTLE – Apparently, 60 minutes of action wasn’t enough for the Huskies and Cougars. After the game, at least two altercations took place on the field – one right on the 50-yard line involving players from both teams and another near the Huskies student section involving both players and fans.

Once the final gun sounded, many Cougars rushed to dance on the Washington logo at midfield. That sparked a confrontation as some Huskies took umbrage. After the 2002 Apple Cup in Pullman, the victorious Washington team celebrated in similar fashion.

“Sore losers,” WSU wide receiver Jason Hill said. “I think as a winning team it’s appropriate to run to the middle of the field. They just happen to have a purple ‘W’ right there and got mad about it.”

Hill said he saw punches thrown and added that cornerback Ryan Kensok was thrown to the ground.

Said Washington quarterback Isaiah Stanback of the celebration: “I wouldn’t do it myself, but I’ll let Coach deal with those kinds of questions.”

“There is no place for that in Husky football or college football. It doesn’t matter if it was prompted or not,” UW coach Tyrone Willingham said. “Regardless of our frustration or emotion there is no place for that.”

Also, according to reports, WSU fullback Brandon Asuega-Stark was running with a WSU flag when he was tackled by fans, sparking another disturbance.

“Our kids were out there on the ‘W’; they shouldn’t do that,” head coach Bill Doba said. “That started a couple years ago at our place, and you can’t do that. That will never happen again, I promise you that.”

More yards, more records

Once again, Cougar running back Jerome Harrison turned in a magnificent performance, running for 207 yards on 36 carries. With those yards – and a 20-yard third-quarter touchdown – Harrison further entrenched himself in the WSU record book.

Already the single-season rushing leader, Harrison extended his record to finish with 1,900 yards on the season. That’s also good for 20th all-time in college football history. The touchdown, his 17th, tied him with Steve Broussard for the WSU single-season record. Harrison had four 200-yard games this season and five in his career, both school records. And with a 15th 100-yard game, he tied a mark held by Shaumbe Wright-Fair. Wright-Fair had held the Cougars record with 193 rushing yards in an Apple Cup game until Harrison eclipsed that on Saturday. With 308 rushing attempts this season, Harrison bested the previous record by more than 40 carries.

“It meant a lot to win against the Huskies,” Harrison said. “It sort of takes that bitter taste out of your mouth that we’ve had all year.”

Derting does the job

Middle linebacker Will Derting played his first full game since September despite a knee injury. The senior captain, out for nearly all of the conference schedule with a knee injury, played in all but one series against the Huskies even though he had been expected to play sparingly.

After the win, Derting was clearly the happiest of all the Cougars.

“Hi, guys!” the normally reticent Derting said as he sat down for a postgame interview, arms raised in the air. “We won! Oh, I’m so excited!”

The stat sheet shows Derting with just five tackles, but WSU coaches and players made it clear that the Okanogan, Wash., native’s impact is much more significant.

“He makes a difference, there’s no doubt about that,” Doba said. “He was the one hanging onto that trophy when the governor presented it.”

Notes

Jason Hill said he’ll start seriously considering the possibility of skipping his senior year for the NFL this morning when he gets home. “I’m going to make a decision here pretty quick, the next two, three, possibly four weeks,” said Hill, who played the Apple Cup with a splint because of a small fracture on his left index finger. … Bill Doba, at 2-1, is now just the second WSU head coach with a winning record against UW. The other is Lone Star Dietz, who was 1-0 against UW in his three years as head coach. … Because of kicker Loren Langley‘s three misses Doba said senior Graham Siderius was WSU’s placekicker on the final drive no matter what. As it turned out, that meant the senior came on to kick the final extra point after the winning score. After his third miss, Langley trudged off the field with his head down in obvious agony. … WSU reverted to its script helmet, a repeat of last year’s Apple Cup look. They also wore gray pants instead of the usual crimson.