November 21, 1998

CORVALLIS, Ore. - One victory can't reverse 28 years of losing seasons for Oregon State. But the way the Beavers beat archrival Oregon on Saturday night, fans obviously don't care much about nostalgia now.

Ken Simonton ran for a 16-yard touchdown in the second overtime to stun No. 15 Oregon 44-41 in one of the wildest of the 102 Civil War games.

"I'll be dancing tonight," said Simonton, who had 157 yards rushing and four touchdowns, including both of Oregon State's scores in overtime. After Oregon had made a field goal on their drive, Simonton dashed right on second-and-1 and barely made it to the end zone, and the crowd stormed the field for the second time of the game.

"It's killing me right now," Ducks receiver Jed Weaver said. "I want to go break something."

Oregon (8-3, 5-3 Pacific-10) got the ball first in the second OT, and after penalties for tripping and holding, had a first-and-43 at the Oregon State 47. But the Beavers committed pass interference on the next play, giving the Ducks a first down.

The Ducks made two more first downs, but the drive stalled at the 9-yard line, and Nathan Villegas kicked a 26-yard field goal to put Oregon ahead 41-38.

Oregon won the coin toss in overtime, and as is custom in the overtime system, deferred to Oregon State (5-6, 2-6). The Beavers started from the 25 and handed off to Simonton, who dashed 19 yards. Three plays later, Simonton ran a sweep right and scored from the 1 to make it 38-31.

The Ducks couldn't move the ball on their turn, and on fourth down, Akili Smith threw for Donald Haynes, but Andrae Holland hit him before the ball got there.

A flag was thrown, but the crowd didn't notice, and thousands of fans poured into the west end zone. With green-jacketed security guards surrounding the goal post, fans eventually were cleared off the field. Several fans hung onto the crossbar, and the goalpost wobbled, but it didn't fall.

"It made me mad," Ducks receiver Damon Griffin said. "There were guys pushing us and shoving us; at that point we felt like the game was lost. We were feeling pretty low."

When the players came back onto the field, the Ducks had a first down at the Beavers' 13. With fans crowded around the sideline and end zone, Smith hit Weaver for a 12-yard gain. Jerry Brown was then stopped cold on two tries from the 1-yard line. On third down, Smith faked a handoff and found Weaver all alone for the touchdown. The extra point made it 38-38.

Trailing 31-24 with 2:34 to play in regulation, Oregon State took just 58 seconds to drive for the tying score, a 30-yard pass from Jonathan Smith to Tim Alexander.

Oregon got the ball back with 1:22 left, but after a 13-yard holding penalty, the Ducks punted as regulation ran out.

After Simonton's winning score, the fans reclaimed the field and tore down the other goalpost. A woman was injured when one of the uprights snapped under from the weight of a fan. The woman was taken off the field on a stretcher and taken to a hospital. The district attorney's office is considering arrests in the melee, state police said.

Simonton, a redshirt freshman, became only the fourth running back in Oregon State history to reach 1,000 yards. He has 1,028 this season.

The loss was a big blow for the Ducks, who had their eyes on a berth in the Holiday Bowl in San Diego, Akili Smith's hometown. Oregon still may make it, if UCLA gets to the Fiesta Bowl for the national title game and Arizona gets picked for the Rose Bowl.

It was a monumental win for the Beavers, who were coming off four straight losses, including one-point defeats to Washington and Cal, and a last-minute loss to UCLA. The defeats sealed the team's 28th straight losing season, extending their NCAA record.

"I think that it was just a great football game, and our kids never, ever quit," Oregon State coach Mike Riley said. "We kept coming back and making plays and fought right through the two overtimes."

The Beavers celebrated their first five-victory season since 1971 and their first home Pac-10 win in two years. It was only their fourth victory in the last 24 meetings with Oregon.

Oregon State capitalized on a botched punt return to tie the game at 24 with 5:11 to play. As return man Michael Fletcher tried to get out of the way, the ball bounced and hit his right leg, and Darnell Robinson recovered at the Ducks 34. Simonton ran four times and scored easily on a 5-yard TD to tie it.

Then the Ducks took almost no time to move down the field, as Akili Smith opened the drive with 36-yard pass to Tony Hartley. Oregon tied the game on a 28-yard score from Akili Smith to Hartley, who leaped at the goal line in front of two defenders with 2:34 left.

Oregon had just 31 yards rushing on 38 carries, but Akili Smith completed 35 of 53 passes for 430 yards and four TDs. Griffin caught 10 passes for 133 yards and a score.

"Our running game kind of sputtered," Smith said. "It was really tough, because we played our hearts out. Our fans were going crazy. Their fans were going crazy. It was way out there."

Jonathan Smith was 17-of-28 for 303 yards and two TDs for the Beavers.
By LANDON HALL
Associated Press Writer