UW Football
Notebook: Huskies reeling, but not pointing fingers after loss

By Bob Condotta
Seattle Times staff reporter

DEAN RUTZ / THE SEATTLE TIMES Defensive tackle Dan Milsten tries to fire up the crowd while being loaded into an ambulance with a broken fibula and dislocated ankle.

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There was no lack of accountability in the Washington locker room after yesterday's 29-14 loss to the Oregon State Beavers yesterday.

Player after player — from Scott White to Derrick Johnson to James Sims — met with reporters and blamed themselves.

No one seemed to take it harder than Sims, who lost two fumbles inside the Oregon State 3-yard line, essentially costing the Huskies two touchdowns.

"You can definitely put this one on me," he said. "This one's on my shoulders right now. If we had those two fumbles back, this game would have been a lot different. So I'm taking the burden on myself."

The first Sims fumble came with UW ahead 7-6 in the second quarter. Sims took a good hit from linebacker Trent Bray and lost the ball, with Oregon State recovering at its 6.

The second fumble came with UW down 23-14, one play after it had taken three points off the scoreboard by accepting an offsides penalty on a made field goal. Sims was hit after a 3-yard gain but kept pushing for the end zone and had the ball jarred loose, with Oregon State recovering at the 1.

Sims lost the ball just as he hit the ground, but said it was unquestionably a fumble.

"I was trying to get more than what I should have," he said. "I probably should have gone down on that one, but I stayed up and got hit and someone got a hand in there."

Injury bug hits again

Sophomore defensive tackle Dan Milsten suffered a dislocated ankle and a fractured fibula when he was hit from behind by Oregon State guard Josh Linehan on a running play in the first quarter.
 
Milsten is the fifth player to suffer a season-ending injury in the last four weeks. All were starters or key reserves.

"I just feel sick for our kids," said Washington coach Keith Gilbertson. "I don't have an answer for it. We work hard and train hard and lift hard but it just happens sometimes."

Milsten didn't go quietly, however. After being lifted onto a stretcher, he waved his arms to get the crowd cheering.

The injury to Milsten left UW with just three experienced defensive tackles and forced end Manase Hopoi to move back to tackle. As a result, the Huskies also decided to take true freshman Ceasar Rayford out of his redshirt year and use him at defensive end. Rayford becomes the seventh true freshmen to play for UW this season.

Receiver Quintin Daniels also suffered a knee injury of undetermined severity, and receiver Charles Frederick aggravated a hamstring injury.

Hass gets his kicks

When Oregon State wide receiver Mike Hass was a senior at Portland's Jesuit High School three years ago, no one thought he could play college football.

Even Division I-AA schools failed to appreciate him.

"They all told me to come on and walk on," Hass said. "I knew I had some talent. Why not walk on at a big school?"

He accepted Oregon State's invitation and began climbing the depth chart. Last fall, he earned a scholarship.

The 6-foot-1, 210-pound junior entered yesterday's game ranked first in the Pac-10 and sixth nationally in receptions per game (7.6). He also was first in the conference and fourth in the nation in reception yards at 120.2 per game. He caught eight passes yesterday for 98 yards.

"You've got to believe in yourself, first of all," Hass said. "I was a good high-school player but they all think speed is the big deal. It's also running routes and just catching the ball, knowing where it is."

Hass caught a school-record 14 passes on Sept. 25 against Arizona State. He also set a school record with 293 reception yards Sept. 10 against Boise State.

"He's a great story, great competitor," Beavers coach Mike Riley said. "He continues to make big plays for us."

Notes

• Washington cornerback Derrick Johnson said during the week he planned to have fun in the game, knowing how much Oregon State likes to pass. But yesterday he blamed himself for not doing a better job on Hass.

"My teammates trust me on third-and-eight and (one-on-one) coverage and I've got to make that play when my number's called, and I didn't do that today," he said.

• Joe Toledo, a junior tight end whose career seemed in doubt last season due to a chronic back injury, made the first TD catch of his career on a diving grab in the third quarter. "It's been a long time coming, I'll say that much," he said.

• In the first half, Beavers tailback Dwight Wright was held to 11 yards on 10 carries. But the first time he touched the ball in the third quarter, he broke through for a 55-yard touchdown run.

"I talked to the (offensive) line at halftime and we talked about making big plays," said Wright, who finished with 99 yards and a 4.5 average.

• It was a bad day for Casey Paus. The UW starting quarterback was 1 for 5 with two interceptions in the first quarter before being replaced, then took a hard hit from an Oregon State defender while holding for a field goal that was missed in the second quarter. Paus limped off the field, apparently aggravating a sore knee.

Seattle Times staff reporter Bob Sherwin contributed to this notebook.