By Steve MullinsAssistant Sports Editor
With the exception of a few key mistakes and UNLV’s interceptionreturn for touchdown, San Diego State’s offense was pleased with itsperformance. On Saturday night, the unit rolled up 418 yards of totaloffense.
“The offensive line blocked really well,” said SDSU quarterbackLon Sheriff. “I had time to throw and let my guys make plays.”
With nice pockets to throw from, Sheriff was able to connect withreceivers on long routes. Through three quarters, he was 15-of-23 for295 yards and one touchdown.
“I’vebeen saying it from the beginning, don’t worry about Lon,” saidAztecs wide receiver J.R. Tolver. “He was going to come around. Hisstrength is standing in the pocket and throwing the rock. Today, mostof his throws were right on the money.”
Said Sheriff: “I was doing OK before the interception, But italways comes down to one play. Either you make it or you don’t.Quarterbacks aren’t judged so much by stats, but by wins and losses.”
The drive that wasn’t
Up 24-21 with five minutes to go in the third quarter, SDSU’soffense went to work from its own 24-yard line. Eleven plays later,it was threatening to score an insurance touchdown on first-and-goalfrom the Rebels’ 5.
Then came the undoing.
UNLV’s linebackers were creeping in for a blitz. The movement wasenough to force the Aztecs into a 5-yard, illegal-procedure penalty.
On the next play, Sheriff tripped and lost five more yards. Onsecond-and-15, Sheriff missed Lewis at the goal line. On third down,Sheriff missed Lewis in the end zone. On fourth down, Nate Tandberg’s32-yard field goal was blocked.
Turning point
On second-and-6 from the Rebels’ 37-yard line, Sheriff spottedDeric Martin near the right sideline. As he threw, his right arm wasbumped. The contact was just enough to knock his pass off line. As aresult, UNLV’s starting cornerback Amar Brisco was able to step infront of the ball, intercept it and return it 72 yards for thegame-winning touchdown.
Rebel yell
For the Aztecs, the worst part wasn’t that Rebels quarterbackJason Thomas was making plays. The worst part was the fact he wasrubbing it in.
“He’s been (trash talking) since he was in high school,” said SDSUsafety Will Demps, who faced Thomas in the prep ranks. “He hasn’tchanged. To us, he’s not that great. But today, he went out and madeplays. He showed us up.”
The jawing between the Aztecs and Thomas was evident from thebeginning. In the first quarter, cornerback Brian Russell met Thomasin the backfield on a blitz.
“I tried to rough him up and he didn’t like it too much,” Russellsaid. “That’s the nature of the game. You’re out there competing andwhen somebody says something smart to you, you come right back. Itwas fun.”
One Aztec who didn’t find Thomas’ act amusing was Jerome Haywood.
“He was really cocky,” Haywood said. “You can’t put what he saidin the paper.
“I can’t wait until next year. That’s his ass. It’s over for thatyoung man.”
Back of the Van
Nearly two years ago, running back Jason Van owned QualcommStadium. Saturday night, he said he flashed back.
Midway through the second quarter against UNLV, Van saw an openingnear the goal line. Moments later, he was celebrating his firstcareer touchdown.
“It was the same feeling, getting into the end zone,” Van said.”It was just like in high school. It was great. The O-line, they’remy guys. They opened up holes big enough to drive a truck through.”
Van finished with a career-high 78 yards and two touchdowns. OnDec. 8, 1998, he rushed for 264 yards and three touchdowns in Helix’s19-7 victory over Chula Vista in the CIF-San Diego Section DivisionII Championship Game.
Moving on
Eight of SDSU’s 11 seniors were healthy enough to play in thefinal game of their careers. Leading the class was Brian Berg, whofinished with nine tackles, one for a loss.
“It’s kind of weird,” said senior linebacker Mac Cleary. “I’vebeen playing since I was 8 years old. Now I’ve had the last pregame,the last tackle, the last time on the field with the guys. This wasthe last time for everything.”
MWC Standings
Conf. Overall 1. Colorado State 2. Air Force 3. UNLV 4. BYU 5. Utah 6. New Mexico 7. SDSU 8. Wyoming 6-1 5-2 4-3 4-3 3-4 3-4 3-4 0-7 9-2 8-3 6-5 6-6 4-7 5-7 3-8 1-10
Quotable
“Maybe they were back there saying, ‘the white guy can play alittle.'”
— Russell on why the Rebels avoided throwing to his side
By the numbers
1 — Third-down conversions for Aztecs in 12 attempts
6 — Consecutive completions by Sheriff to open the game
51 — Average yards per reception for Lewis
91 — Net rushing yards for UNLV, which entered the game averaging221.2 per game
