CBS SportsLine wire reports
Oct. 3, 1998

SEATTLE -- Ortege Jenkins had nowhere to go but up.

With three Washington defenders blocking his path to the end zone, the acrobatic Arizona quarterback took flight.

"I sure wasn't going through them," Jenkins said. ``So I went over them. ... I used my ability and just hopped."

Chased out of the pocket, Jenkins raced up field, leaped high over Marques Hairston and Brendan Jones, and somersaulted into the end zone with four

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seconds left to give the No. 14 Wildcats a 31-28 victory Saturday night.

He even capped the amazing 9-yard run by landing on his feet.

"THAT'S THE MOST ATHLETIC PLAY I've ever seen," said Keith Smith, who who alternates with Jenkins at quarterback. "It showed his will to win. He wasn't going to let us lose. He didn't care about his body."

The stunning play -- and some help from the No. 20 Huskies -- gave the Wildcats (5-0, 2-0 Pac-10) their ninth straight victory over two seasons.

"He just wanted it more than the guys standing in the end zone," Arizona coach Dick Tomey said.

Arizona, winning for the first time since 1988 in Seattle, drove 80 yards in 2 minutes, 48 seconds for its winning score to ruin Marques Tuiasosopo's big night as Washington's replacement quarterback.

Smith also had a hand in the winning 13-play drive, throwing a 22-yard pass to Jenkins for a first down at the Washington 46.

Jenkins was 10-for-19 for 111 yards and one touchdown, with no interceptions. Smith was 9-for-14 for 146 yards and one TD with no interceptions. Jenkins rushed five times for 13 yards.

WASHINGTON, COMING OFF A 55-7 LOSS last week at Nebraska, dropped to 2-2 overall and 1-1 in the Pac-10 in a game it appeared to have won.

Huskies coach Jim Lambright wouldn't let his players talk to the media. He also promised to come up with a replacement for kicker Jim Skurski.

"I'm protecting them from the stupidity of what went on," Lambright said in explanation of his gag order.

Of Skurski, who missed a 23-yard field-goal attempt with 2:59 left, Lambright said: "We have a kicking game that needs a kicker."

Tuiasosopo gave Washington a 28-21 lead with 1:27 left in the third quarter with a 15-yard touchdown pass to Chris Juergens and a 2-point conversion run.

Tuiasosopo, who had an apparent TD called back because of an illegal block before Skurski's costly miss, came into the game after Brock Huard was knocked out with a badly bruised left shoulder late in the opening half.

HUARD, A LEFT-HANDER, WAS HIT BY DEFENSIVE tackle Daniel Greer and landed hard on his shoulder on the artificial turf.

Tuiasosopo was 7-for-14 for 77 yards and one touchdown with one interception. He rushed for 70 yards on seven carries.

In the third quarter, Washington's Nigel Burton recovered Trung Canidate's fumble at the Arizona 9. But the Huskies failed to score when Marcus Bell blocked Skurski's 19-yard field-goal try.

Arizona's Mark McDonald also missed a late field-attempt, a 38-yarder with 7:43 to go.

The game had some scary minutes when Arizona linebacker Bell, who finished with 21 tackles, ran into Wildcats cornerback Leland Gayles in the third quarter. Gayles lay on the Husky Stadium artificial turf for about 15 minutes before being taken off on a stretcher to an ambulance.

Arizona team officials said Gayles' injury turned out to be a stinger, a bruised neck, that caused his left arm to go numb. He later was able to move his arm, they said. Gayles was taken to a hospital as a precaution.

Arizona led 21-20 at halftime after Peter Hansen blocked Skurski's extra-point try after Washington scored on Tuiasosopo's 1-yard run with 1:20 left in the second quarter.

THE WILDCATS TOOK A 21-14 LEAD when Canidate scored on a 37-yard run with 5:44 left in the opening half. That came after Jenkins passed 17 yards to Jeremy McDaniel in the end zone for a touchdown for Arizona with 8:59 remaining in the second period. Jenkins passed to Brandon Nash for a 2-point conversion after McDaniel's score.

Washington scored first -- 20 seconds into the game -- after Canidate fumbled on the first play from scrimmage and the ball was recovered on the Arizona 13 by Burton. Willie Hurst then scored on a 13-yard run.

With 3:21 to go in the opening quarter, the Wildcats came back to score their first touchdown on a 25-yard pass from Keith Smith to Dennis Northcutt, but McDonald's extra point attempt was wide left.

The Huskies increased their lead to 14-6 on the second play of the second period - a 2-yard run by Braxton Cleman.

The Wildcats played without star cornerback Chris McAlister, who was ruled ineligible by the NCAA for one game. He took out a bank loan to buy disability insurance, which is legal. But NCAA officials objected to the fact that the loan was $3,000 over the $11,000 premium for the policy, which they said violated NCAA rules.

"Everybody ought to be angry," Tomey said of McAlister's penalty. ``It's unfair and a gross abuse of power."

McAlister, a senior, will be back for Arizona against UCLA next Saturday night.