Flurry of Footballs Fill the Heavens : Bruin Defenders Euphoric Over Their Eight Interceptions

Oregon, nothing.

This is Defensive Back Heaven. UCLA strong safety Alan Dial said so Saturday, and he couldn’t be wrong--not on a day when everything else went right for members of the Bruin secondary.

That’s right, the UCLA defensive backfield got a break, a pleasant change from recent weeks, when it appeared they could only sustain breaks. Dennis Price’s sprained knee, Chuckie Miller’s torn rib cartilage and James Washington’s sprained knee ligaments left the Bruins without three-quarters of the foursome that opened the season at Oklahoma. A patchwork quilt of former reserves started out to cover Oregon State’s pass-happy Air Express at Civic Stadium.

So who noticed the difference? Eight interceptions and a 49-0 win later, UCLA had more than doubled its season total of seven interceptions.

Beaver quarterback Erik Wilhelm set a school record by being picked off six times; cornerback Darryl Henley and safety Craig Rutledge had three interceptions each to tie a 15-year-old Bruin mark, and Dial returned one 100 yards for a score to tie another school record. Air Excess went awry.

“It was a real delight,” UCLA Coach Terry Donahue said. “I had no idea coming in that we would get that kind of turnover ratio. For some reason, they were throwing right at us. It turned into an avalanche.”

Rutledge, the lone member of the secondary to start all eight Bruin games, set the tone by intercepting Wilhelm six plays into the game. After that, they seemed to come in rapid-fire succession: Henley with a diving catch at the UCLA 3 for the other one in the first quarter; Henley stopping another potential score by stepping in front of wide receiver Robb Thomas in the end zone late in the first half; Rutledge returning a pass 45 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter; Dial doing the same with his 100-yard dash on Oregon State’s next series; Rutledge getting his third early in the fourth quarter; Henley grabbing Dave McLaughlin’s second pass of the game for his third, and finally, Price ending the Beavers’ final drive of the game.

“We did a good job of pressuring him,” Dial said of Wilhelm. “He didn’t have a chance to look us off. He had to look where he was going to throw the ball, so we got some good reads. That’s a credit to our defensive line.

“This was our day in the sunshine.”

Added Henley: “This shows that we have a lot of depth (in the secondary). Some of the (injured) guys are playing again, and we hope the rest will be back next week. I look forward to us all being healthy.”

Not so fast. It was Henley, himself, who was wearing a soft brace around his neck afterwards, the result of having landed on his neck. On his way to the locker room after coming out of the game, Henley passed Rutledge, who said: “I think I’ll get my fourth pick while you’re inside.” At least that’s the way Henley remembers it.

Rutledge looked at Henley, laughed and claimed he said no such thing at the time. Then he paused for a moment and came back with the final word.

“If they would have let me stay in the game,” Rutledge said, “I probably would have.”

And this was not the day to doubt the UCLA secondary.