Arizona Rallies to Win After Carter Is Injured

Dan White’s four-yard touchdown pass to tight end Lamar Harris with 3 minutes 54 seconds left lifted No. 16-ranked Arizona to a 28-27 victory over Arizona State Friday.

The game-winner capped a 13-play, 60-yard drive that consumed just over five minutes.

The Wildcats, 8-3 overall and 6-2 in the Pacific 10 Conference, held on for their 10th victory in 13 games against their intrastate rivals after Arizona State’s Jon Baker barely missed a 47-yard field-goal attempt with 23 seconds remaining.

White completed 23 of 34 passes for 266 yards before the second-largest crowd in Arizona Stadium history--58,810.

Ontiwaun Carter, Arizona’s all-time leading rusher, and fullback Charles Myles were injured on the same play late in the third quarter. Carter, who was down on the field for almost 15 minutes, was diagnosed with a sprained neck. He left in an ambulance after being held to 25 yards in 12 carries. His career total is 3,457 yards. Myles suffered a sprained left knee.

The Wildcats jumped to a 9-0 lead but trailed, 27-15, going into the fourth quarter.

Arizona State took a 10-9 lead when Damien Richardson returned a blocked punt eight yards for a touchdown with 19 seconds left in the first quarter. Arizona State increased the lead to 17-9 on Jake Plummer’s 54-yard scoring strike to Keith Poole early in the second.

An exchange of field goals made the halftime score 20-12. In the third quarter, Plummer scrambled two yards on third and goal to put Arizona State ahead, 27-15.

Backup tailback Gary Taylor capped a 79-yard drive with a five-yard run, trimming the Sun Devils’ lead to 27-22 with just over 10 minutes left.

Arizona State finished 3-8, its worst record since a 2-7-2 finish in 1946, and was 2-6 in the Pac-10.