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48 °F Forecast | Road Cams Thursday, January 27, 2005 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Opportunities Moving to Southern Oregon? MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend October 17, 2004 Beavs post record-setting win Serna boots five field goals as Beavers win at Washington for the first time in 19 years By CLIFF KIRKPATRICK for the Mail Tribune SEATTLE — Records fell thanks to many strong individual performances, but the most important part of Saturday’s game was the win. The Oregon State football team traveled to Husky Stadium and defeated Washington 29-14 in a Pacific-10 Conference game before an announced crowd of 65,351. It’s the first time the Beavers (2-4, 1-2 Pac-10) have won here since 1985, losing seven straight. It’s also the second time they’ve beaten the Huskies (1-5, 0-3) at any venue during that time. OSU also snapped it’s latest two-game losing streak, and kept hope alive for a bowl bid. Advertisement "There’s two proud programs that didn’t start out the season the way they wanted, so this was a big, big game for either team," OSU coach Mike Riley said. "It was a hard-fought game, and it was a good win for our team. We needed to win a game, a Pac-10 game, and to build on it. It’s something to hang on to and go on." Redshirt freshman Alexis Serna kicked five field goals, including a career best 55-yarder to end the first half. It put the Beavers up 9-7, and was the first of two momentum swings for OSU. It was a record-breaking day for Serna, setting the school record for field goals in a single game. Four different kickers on five occasions had previously hit four. Kirk Yliniemi was the last one to accomplished it, twice in 2003 against Boise State and Washington State. "It was exciting," Serna said. "Darrick Bruns did a great job of snapping the ball, Colt (Charles) did a great job holding for me and the line blocked. Overall, it was awesome." Senior free safety Mitch Meeuwsen intercepted two passes, and set the OSU career record for picks with 16. He broke Dan Espalin’s mark of 15 set from 1962-64. "It was a must-win," Meeuwsen said. "We felt we had to come out and prove ourselves, and establish ourselves as a great defense in the Pac-10." While they were setting records, the rest of the team came through with solid play in all areas. Quarterback Derek Anderson was an efficient 26-for-40 passing for 286 yards and a touchdown. There were a number of catchable balls dropped, but Anderson made wise choices, spreading the ball around to seven receivers. "I thought Derek played very well," Riley said. "He found receivers, and he played with poise. I thought one thing that happened today, the offensive line gave him more chances to progress through his receivers out in the pattern. I thought he made some big-time plays, third down in particular." Split end Mike Hass led the team with eight receptions for 98 yards. When the Huskies paid too much attention to him, Marcel Love came open for long plays. He grabbed five passes for 96 yards and a touchdown. The running game produced 101 yards of offense, but was held to zero net yards at halftime. Riley challenged his offensive line to improve during intermission, and it worked. The Huskies are one of the nation’s worst defenses in stopping the run because they feature three freshmen, due to injury, on the defensive line. "I was really proud of how our kids came up here and played hard," Riley said. "They came back through some adversity, and Washington made some good plays." The Beavers improved running the ball thanks to a 55-yard touchdown run by Dwight Wright. He followed pulling center Matt Brock through a hole for the second momentum changing play. "It was really big," Wright said. "They came out and made plays, and we needed to answer." Washington took its first possession of the second half 80 yards for a 14-9 lead. OSU responded right away with a two-play drive, ending with Wright’s run. He ended up with 99 yards on 22 carries. "That was great to see," Riley said. "We hope to keep building on the running game. We are not there yet, we’ve got a long way to go." The defense played one of its best games of the season, even though Washington racked up 345 yards. There were seven turnovers, and the Beavers stopped the Huskies in the red zone four times. There were two fumbles forced by Keith Ellison and Trent Bray. One of Meeuwsen’s interceptions was in the end zone, and the Beavers held the Huskies on downs once. Senior defensive end Bill Swancutt finally played a dominating game. The OSU quarterback sack leader recorded his first sack of the season and forced a fumble. "It’s a helpless feeling because you play hard but have nothing to show for it," Washington center Brad Vanneman said. "We had good chances today. We just didn’t execute at the right times. We moved the ball pretty consistently and then we get on the 1-yard line and hit a wall or something." OSU even contained one of those tricky mobile quarterbacks. After Casey Paus left the game with two first-quarter interceptions, the Huskies inserted Isaiah Stanback, a converted receiver, to run the option. He broke off some big plays, especially with his scrambling ability. However, the Beavers kept enough containment to set up the turnovers. "It’s always big to beat Washington, and do it here is special," Meeuwsen said. "The fumbles near the goal line, they were huge. That’s our job to get the ball back to the offense." Cliff Kirkpatrick covers Oregon State football for the Corvallis Gazette-Times. 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