Email This StoryBears lose heartbreaker to UNLV
Sept. 11, 1999By Torie Johnson
Sports editor
'We played with fire and got burned,' head Coach Kevin Steele, said after
his football team lost 27-24 to the UNLV Rebels.
The Baylor Bears had the play that never happens happen to them Saturday
at Floyd Casey Stadium. They were about to win their first game of the
season 24-21 when the 'one and a million' happened.
Junior running back Darrell Bush was fighting to get into the end zone
on first-and-goal from the 8-yard line with about 12 seconds left in the
ballgame. He fumbled the ball and UNLV sophomore defensive back Kevin Thomas
scooped it up and went 99 yards for the score and the win.
'It was the million dollar play,' Steele said. 'And it was an expensive
lesson to learn.'
The 32,272 fans stood dumbfounded as several players headed immediately
for the locker room. Some fans tried to console the devastated Bears by
telling them to keep their heads up, and all the players did return to field
to hear the band play 'That Good Ol' Baylor Line.' But the team was in pain.
'It hurts, bad,' senior quarterback Jermaine Alfred said. 'A few guys
had tears in the locker room because it hurt. We lost another one that we
should have won.'
The Bears played the entire game with a winning mentality and showed
composure throughout the contest. They took the early lead at 10-0 in the
second quarter, but let the Rebels come back to eventually lead 14-10 lead
in the third. The Bears regained the lead on a quarterback sneak in the
opening minutes of the final quarter. But the Rebels came back at the seven
minute mark with a touchdown of their own to take the 21-17 lead. Bush
scored from nine yards out to give Baylor a 3-point margin, but the last
play of the game won it for UNLV.
'We let them hang around and they got momentum,' Steele said. 'We kind
of put their fire out, and then let them hang around some more.'
The Bears opened the first quarter of play on offense but weren't able
to convert the possession into points. The drive ended in a punt after
only going for about thirty yards before stalling near midfield. But,
it was the defense that stepped up early for the Bears.
To begin, the Baylor defense forced the Rebels to go three and out, and
on the ensuing punt, UNLV punter Ryan McDonald dropped the snap.
Baylor linebacker McKinley Bowie made the tackle to give the Bears good
field positon at the UNLV 11-yard line.
The Baylor coaching staff called two rushing plays for Bush and
fullback Derek Lagway. Then on third-and-goal, Alfred hit
freshman receiver Lanny O'Steen in the left corner of the endzone to put
Baylor on the scoreboard first. The extra point was good from Atteberry, and
Baylor went ahead 7-0.
The Bear defense again made the big play on the second Rebel possession.
On first-and-ten from their own 29-yard line, running back Jeremi Rudolph
fumbled the ball on a sure tackle from linebacker Rodney Smith who also
recovered the fumble.
The Bears were unable to convert the good field position into points,
though. Alfred connected with Lagway in the flat for a 23-yard pickup. But
the 248-pound fullback did the hard work by making two would-be tacklers
miss before ending the run.
After three unsuccessful attempts to get a first down, the Bears found
themselves at fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line. Steele showed some
creative play calling by going for it on fourth-and-one from the 1. However,
running back Elijah Burkins could not get into the
endzone, as the UNLV defense denied the senior.
The Rebels took over from their own 1-yard line and again the Baylor
defense was tough. After the first flag of the game went against UNLV, the
Bears forced another three and out situation. This time the punt was clean
and the Bears took over for their fourth possession of the game.
On this drive, Lagway rushed for seven yards on two carries and Alfred
tossed an incomplete pass. But Steele and the Baylor coaching staff
remained true to form and went for it again on fourth down. Alfred's attempt
went awry as the Rebels took over from their own 25-yard line. They went
three and out as the first quarter came to an end with Baylor ahead 7-0.
On the first play from scrimmage in the second quarter, the Rebels were
hit with a 15-yard late hit penalty for a defender riding Bush out of
bounds. Baylor managed several first downs and eventually made it into field
goal range for Atteberry. The 32-yard attempt was good to put Baylor up 10-0
early.
The Rebels and Bears then traded punts for the next two possessions of
the game before UNLV added their first score. The Rebels began the long
scoring drive from their own 19-yard line. The Baylor defense seemed to tire
as the Rebels were able to march the ball downfield without much
resistance. The score came on a pass from Jason Vaughan to wide
receiver Nate Turner. The extra point was good and the lead was only three
points for Baylor.
The Bears got the ball for the final time of the half with less than two
minutes remaining. Alfred hit sophomore receiver Andra Fuller for a 26-yard
pickup on second-and-ten. Then he hit O'Steen for 16 yards a few plays
later. Alfred was sacked for a 10-yard loss and the Bears were forced to
attempt the field goal.
Atteberry's 27-yard attempt hit the left upright and bounced back toward
the field and was no good. The Bears took a 10-7 lead into halftime.
UNLV began the second half on offense and started the drive with a pass
interference penalty. After Rudolph rushed for 20 yards on one play, the
Rebels had two false start penalties go against them. Then, on
third-and-nine, Vaughan's pass was incomplete and almost intercepted. The
Rebels,
taking a page from the Baylor book, went for it on fourth-and-nine, but the
complete pass was just short of the marker.
Baylor then went three and out for the first time in the contest and the
defense returned to the field. The defense showed additional fatigue as the
Rebels were able to score on the longest drive of the game. UNLV again used
up about three minutes of clock time and marched down the field to score.
After the extra point, the Bears trailed 14-10.
The Bears and Rebels traded punts before the Baylor defense again
made its presence felt. UNLV had the ball on second down from their own
20-yard line when tailback Coury Hankins fumbled the ball. Linebacker Rodney
Smith
forced the fumble, his second force of the game, and senior strong safety
Curtis Henderson recovered for Baylor.
The Bears took the gift and ended the third quarter on a what would be
their third scoring drive. In only fifty seconds, the Bears found the
end zone on a 1-yard quarterback keeper from Alfred just two seconds into
the
fourth quarter. The Bears took the 17-14 lead with the successful extra
point.
The defense forced the Rebels to go three and out in their first
possession of the fourth quarter. After two first downs on rushing plays to
redshirt freshman Adrian White, the running back fumbled the ball on
first-and-ten from the 42-yard
line. UNLV's Andre Hilliard recovered.
Off the recovery, the Rebels sustained a 4-minute drive that was a
mixture
of passes and rushes that eventually ended in a touchdown. The Rebels
converted a third-and-eight during the drive as well as a fourth-and-one.
The Rebels scored on a 7-yard pass from Vaughan to Turner.
Then, Burkins ran the kickoff back 53 yards to give the Bears good field
position. After a 23-yard scamper from Bush and a 10-yard late hit penalty,
the third of the game for the Rebels, the Bears were first-and-goal from the
9 and Bush went into the endzone right up the middle. The Bears led 24-21.
The Rebels were forced to punt the ball away to the Bears with only 4:33
remaining in the game. Baylor mustered several first downs in the final
drive of the game with rushes from Lagway and Bush before the fumble in the
final seconds.
The Baylor record fell to 0-2 in 1999 and the Rebels improved to 2-0.
The next game for the Bears will be Saturday, Sept. 18 at the Univerity of
Oklahoma at 11:30 a.m. The game will be televised.
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