Hnida Earns Plaudits Despite the Miss

LAS VEGAS -- As groundbreaking moments go, it was a touch embarrassing. But when Katie Hnida trotted onto the field, blond ponytail flopping in the breeze, and tried an extra point after New Mexico’s first-quarter touchdown, it marked the first time a woman had played in a Division I-A game.

Hnida, who made 83 of 87 extra points in high school, booted a low line drive that was partially blocked by Brandon Chillar and sailed under the crossbar.

“My heart went out to her,” UCLA backup kicker Chris Griffith said. “I think it’s cool she’s playing football.”

*

Griffith, a senior, had his own milestone to consider. When he lost his job to Nate Fikse at midseason, he had tied the UCLA career record for points after touchdowns.

It took more than two months, but Griffith broke the mark of 135 held by John Lee by kicking the conversion after Jarrad Page’s interception return for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter.

“That had been lingering for the last six games as the one thing I could get,” Griffith said. “I’m glad I got the chance to do it.”

Fikse, also a senior, continued his excellent late-season kicking, making his only two field-goal tries and averaging 44.9 yards on eight punts. He pinned the Lobos inside the 20-yard line four times.

He made a 49-yard field goal to open the scoring and added a 39-yarder in the second quarter, giving him 12 in a row since winning the job. He missed one long attempt early in the season.

“The first field goal [Wednesday] gave us all confidence,” he said. “Taking the lead was important.”

*

Tailback Tyler Ebell fell short of reaching 1,000 yards rushing, gaining 70 in 25 carries to give him 994. He was trying to become only the third freshman in Pacific 10 Conference history to reach 1,000.

“I wasn’t thinking about it until late in the game when they told me how many I needed,” he said. “It’s OK because we won.”

Ebell gained only 17 yards in 10 first-half carries, but the line began opening bigger holes in the second half. He had five rushes of more than five yards in the second half and scored the last Bruin touchdown from one yard on fourth down with 10:40 to play.

“It was congested in there early,” he said. “But our line wore out their defensive front and we took over in the second half.”

*

Defensive tackle Rodney Leisle, a junior, is leaning toward leaving UCLA for the NFL but said he will wait until receiving an evaluation from pro scouts before making a decision.

He said that a strong pitch from incoming Coach Karl Dorrell could make a difference.

“That would sway me,” he said. “It’s a hard decision.”

*

Dorrell will meet Friday and Saturday with the seven UCLA assistants who have expressed a desire to remain -- Phil Snow, Kelly Skipper, Ron Caragher, Mark Weber, Gary Bernardi, Todd Littlejohn and Don Johnson.

*

Tight end Mike Seidman is the only Bruin invited to play in the Senior Bowl, but several of his teammates will play in other postseason all-star games.

Tackle Mike Saffer, cornerback Ricky Manning and Fikse will play in the East-West Shrine Game. Manning will also play in the Hula Bowl.

Saffer and fellow tackle Bryce Bohlander will play in the Gridiron Bowl, a game that matches Florida players against the rest of the country.

Bohlander, defensive end Rusty Williams and cornerback Joe Hunter will play in the Paradise All-Star Game in St. George, Utah.