Howry Gets to Have a Little Fun

Your senior year in college is supposed to be fun, especially when you are set to graduate on time.

But until Saturday Oregon wide receiver Keenan Howry hadn’t been having much fun.

In January, Howry had surgery on his left shoulder to repair the ligament damage he suffered in 2001 and missed all of spring practice. When the Ducks began fall drills, Howry, from Los Alamitos, lost more time because of tendinitis in his right knee.

Then two weeks ago, Howry suffered a personal loss when his aunt, Glendean Ward, died of cancer. She was 57.

“He was very close to her,” said Glenda Howry, Keenan’s mother and Glendean’s sister.

“She kept him when he was a baby, helped raise him. She was like a grandmother. We all called her Mama T because that’s what he called her.”

Howry visited Ward, who lived in Carson, one last time last month. After Oregon’s game at Arizona last weekend, Howry returned for Ward’s funeral, and stayed three extra days at home to finish sorting things out.

So if Howry was having a subpar season, it was understandable. Before Saturday’s game against UCLA, he was the Ducks’ fourth-leading receiver with 12 catches for 174 yards and one touchdown.

But against the Bruins, Howry looked like his old self. In the second quarter he broke loose for a 79-yard punt return, and in the fourth quarter he hauled in a 74-yard touchdown pass from Jason Fife. Both plays were vital for the Ducks in a 31-30 victory.

Howry credited his blockers for the punt return, saying the Ducks now set up their returns in the middle of the field regardless of where the ball is caught. “I got the ball, made a little move, then headed to the middle and ran to the open field, where I got a great block from Jason Willis,” he said.

On the touchdown catch, he gave an assist to the Bruins. After reading remarks from UCLA defenders quoted in newspapers as saying he didn’t look like himself, that he wasn’t running hard, Howry was waiting to make a big play.

“They got me fired up,” said Howry, who had three receptions for 87 yards, and 87 yards in punt returns. “This season we’ve spent the year establishing the running game, and the passing game hasn’t been needed. I couldn’t believe someone would think I’m not playing hard.”

Howry said he had to get “about 80 tickets” for Saturday’s game. He would have liked to have needed one more for his favorite fan. But he believes Glendean is watching him, and watching out for him. “I’ve been playing for her ever since the Arizona game last week,” Howry said.

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Howry wasn’t the only Californian to hurt the Bruins.

Freshman running back Terrence Whitehead, who starred at Crenshaw High, ran 37 yards for a touchdown. It was the longest gain from scrimmage by a Duck runner this season.

Aaron Gipson, a freshman defensive back from Alta Loma, had two of the three first-half interceptions against UCLA’s Cory Paus. Another freshman, Steven Moore from Dorsey High, had the other.

Junior running back Onterrio Smith of Sacramento rushed for 154 yards in 25 carries. It was his sixth straight 100-yard game, breaking the Oregon record set by Bobby Moore (now Ahmad Rashad).

Fife, a junior who played at Lake Elsinore Temescal Canyon, completed 14 of 18 passes for 202 yards with two touchdowns despite four sacks.

And sophomore Jared Siegel of Sacramento kicked a 59-yard field goal, setting an Oregon record and tying the Pac-10 record for conference games set by Stanford’s Rod Garcia against USC in 1973.