Top > Sport > 2004 > September > 2004-09-20

Bruins` Drew runs wild, defies Husky defense

SEATTLE -- Even with everything they knew about Maurice Drew, the Huskies couldn`t stop him.

They had watched the videotape of Drew last week against Illinois, when the 5-foot-8 UCLA sophomore tailback rushed for 142 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries. They knew he loved to cut back and run the other way.

But knowledge didn`t lead to execution as Drew rushed for 322 yards and five touchdowns on 26 carries in UCLA`s 37-31 win over Washington on Saturday night at Husky Stadium.

Husky junior linebacker Evan Benjamin, the former Redmond High star, took the blame for a 62-yard touchdown run by Drew late in the first quarter.

``Personally, I know that I overran him, he cut back and scored on a 60-yarder,`` Benjamin said. ``That was on me. It`s just killing me right now to let down the team and the whole defense.``

Benjamin had plenty of company. Drew had touchdown runs of 47, 62, 58,15 and 37 yards. He set records for the most rushing yardage and touchdowns by an UW opponent.

``That kid is very adept at cutting the ball back,`` UW coach Keith Gilbertson said. ``If you don`t play your gap right or overrun the run, that gap can really hurt you. So you try to keep people in the gaps and don`t overrun the run and get off the block to make a tackle.``

Might sound easy. But the Huskies made it look tough.

When Drew ran 37 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter to put UCLA up 34-24, he broke five tackles.

``We didn`t tackle,`` Benjamin said. ``We missed some gaps. We didn`t play our blocks. It was on us. We didn`t play well and didn`t do the things we needed to do to stop them.``

Benjamin didn`t want to take all of the credit away from Drew, a former star at De La Salle High in Concord, Calif., the school that recently had its 151-game winning streak snapped by Bellevue.

``He runs hard,`` Benjamin said. ``I give Maurice Drew and Manuel White (84 yards on 22 carries) a lot of props because they did a good job today and played well.

``But I thought it was more of us making a lot of mistakes than them doing well. They did find the holes. They made the right reads.``

Several of those mistakes involved how defenders approached the running backs.

``Everybody`s trying to get to the ball and everybody`s taking the wrong angle and that`s when they cut it back and make those long runs,`` Benjamin said. ``You can`t do that against guys like Drew and White.``

Drew enjoyed playing as an invisible man.

``I don`t think the defense saw me the whole time because they were going the opposite way I was going with the ball and I didn`t know why,`` Drew said. ``Our offensive line is big, so they probably couldn`t see me because I am only 5-8.``

Benjamin, who finished with 10 tackles and an interception in his second game since switching to linebacker from safety, still put the blame on the defense for Drew`s huge game.

``We knew what they were going to do and we didn`t stop it,`` Benjamin said.

White-Frisbee makes big stop

Defensive tackle Jordan White-Frisbee, a true freshman from Inglemoor, came up with one of the only big defensive plays of the game for the Huskies when he tackled White for a 1-yard loss on third down at the UW 3-yard line early in the fourth quarter.

``That was a dream come true,`` said White-Frisbee, who had four tackles in a reserve role. ``Coming in one of the first real games you`ve played all season and making a big stop, that felt pretty good.``

UCLA settled for a field goal, which made the score 37-31 and kept the Huskies within a touchdown of tying the game.

White-Frisbee, who is 6-6 and 330 pounds, replaced Dan Milsten in the fourth quarter. White-Frisbee didn`t even expect to play this season when he signed in February.

``Honestly, I thought I was going to redshirt in the beginning,`` White-Frisbee said. ``I worked hard all summer. About (fall) camp, I started running with the 2`s (second string) and I felt ready.``

Gilbertson might use White-Frisbee a lot more after his performance on Saturday.

Local Notes

Fullback Zach Tuiasosopo of Woodinville hurt his back in the first half and only had one rushing attempt for 3 yards and no pass receptions in the game after he played a key role in the offense two weeks ago against Fresno State.

``We weren`t sure how many shots (hits) he could take the second half,`` Gilbertson said about Tuiasosopo`s diminished role. ``It was bothering him. I think he will be fine.``

Darin Harris, a reserve free safety and true freshman from Decatur, made his debut on the kickoff team. He forced a fumble by UCLA that set up a field goal to give the Huskies a 17-7 lead in the first quarter.

Sophomore linebacker Tahj Bomar of Kentwood play on the kick return team and punt team and had one tackle. ...Redshirt freshman Carl Bonnell of Kentwood was the backup quarterback to Casey Paus, but didn`t get to play.