Happiest 1-9 team around

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Bearcats rally for first win

Sunday, November 15, 1998

BY TOM GROESCHEN
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Cornelius Bonner leaps into Chad Plummer's arms after Plummer scored a two-point conversion. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

Their first victory of 1998 was so stunning, so dramatic, that the giddy University of Cincinnati football team almost didn't know how to react.

UC (1-9) upset Houston 44-43 at Nippert Stadium on Saturday night, rallying from a 17-point fourth-quarter deficit. Bearcat players stormed the field afterward along with several hundred fans, forming the classic midfield mob scene.

"We had guys laughing, guys crying," said UC defensive tackle Kevin Ward. "Some guys were so confused, they didn't know what to do."

UC players stumbled through their fight song afterward, admittedly having forgotten some of the words. But mostly, there was a shared relief after a long, grueling season.

"It felt like we won the Super Bowl," said placekicker Joe Judge (Badin).

It was UC's first victory since the Humanitarian Bowl on Dec. 29, 1997.

Freshman tailback DeMarco McCleskey's fourth TD of the game, a 2-yard leap into the end zone, tied it 43-43 with 1:01 left. Judge drilled the extra point for the 44-43 lead, then UC stopped Houston's final drive.

McCleskey rushed for 179 yards, and his four TDs were the most by a Bearcat since David Small in 1993.

The Homecoming crowd of 16,886 was a season low for UC. And maybe 2,000 were there at the end, most having departed after UC fell into a 41-24 hole to start the fourth quarter. The diehards saw what UC coach Rick Minter termed one of the greatest wins in UC history.

"It doesn't erase all the agony of this season, but it's monumental in terms of where we are and what it will mean to us," Minter said. UC avoided the program's first winless season since the 1937 Bearcats went 0-10.

It didn't look possible after Houston blocked an extra point and returned it 95 yards to take a 43-37 lead with 4:19 left.

"At that point, yeah, I thought it was over," said Judge.

But the Bearcats finally said enough losing was enough.

"It was Senior Day; it was Homecoming; and we wanted to win it for our seniors," Judge said. "We had nothing to lose, so we just kept going."

Sophomore quarterback Deontey Kenner led the Bearcats on their final march, moving UC 68 yards for the go-ahead score. Kenner completed 3-of-3 passes for 67 of the 68 yards on the drive.

"He's still a young quarterback, but he played like a warrior down the stretch," Minter said.

Kenner, whose first big appearance as a Bearcat was a prominent role in the 1997 Humanitarian Bowl win, said this tops that.

"This is better than the bowl win, right now," Kenner said. "Considering where we've been this year and what's been said around town, this one just means so much."

It appeared to be UC's day early, when Kenner found wideout Cornelius Bonner on a 78-yard catch-and-run TD pass just 57 seconds into the game. But Bonner was flagged for excessive celebration.

There was another excessive celebration penalty when McCleskey scored one of his four TDs. All so UC.

But something happened.

When it needed to, the UC defense - which has allowed the most points in America this year, 45 per game - made the stops. It held Houston for no offensive points in the fourth quarter, while the UC offense pitched in with 20 points.

Houston (3-7, 2-3 Conference USA) will have lots of explaining to do back home.

"Cincinnati was a good offensive team, and we knew that coming in," Houston coach Kim Helton said. "They proved it at the end. They dominated us."

Minter, composed as usual but obviously elated, said the game was one of the greatest in Nippert Stadium history.

"I'm so happy for our seniors," he said. "They played like champs, and they were able to close their home careers on a high note."

Among the happiest fans were five staffers from the UC student paper, the News Record, who were taking turns sleeping atop a Clifton pizzeria until the Bearcats won. The vigil lasted 21 nights, according to sports editor Jason Geil.

"First, we're going to party," Geil said, grinning. "Then we're coming down. It was starting to get cold up there."

Now no one dreads the final trip of the year. UC finishes its season next week at Arkansas State (4-7).

Houston 1413 14 2 - 43
Cincinnati 14 3 7 20 - 44

First Quarter
Cin-Bonner 78 pass from Kenner (kick blocked), 14:03
Hou-Iglesias 20 pass from McKinley (Waddell kick), 10:23
Cin-McCleskey 5 run (Plummer pass from Kenner), 4:05
Hou-deGroot 62 pass from McKinley (Waddell kick), 2:31
Second Quarter
Hou-Sanford 75 run (Waddell kick), 4:54
Hou-Regimbald 22 pass from McKinley (kick failed), 0:28
Cin-FG Judge 45, 0:04
Third Quarter
Hou-James 31 pass from McKinley (Waddell kick), 13:59
Cin-McCleskey 7 run (Judge kick), 5:45
Hou-Hill 41 pass from McKinley (Waddell kick), 3:29
Fourth Quarter
Cin-McCleskey 10 run (Judge kick), 14:01
Cin-Wize 4 run (kick failed), 4:19
Hou-Williams 95 return of blocked PAT, 4:19
Cin-McCleskey 2 run (Judge kick), 1:01
A-16,886.

Hou Cin
First downs 19 32
Rushes-yards 26-167 47-204
Passing 376 297
Comp-Att-Int 25-42-1 17-28-2
Return Yards 174 128
Punts-Avg. 6-37.3 5-40.8
Fumbles-Lost 2-0 0-0
Penalties-Yards 15-128 5-60
Time of Possession 26:54 33:06

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING-Houston, Sanford 23-159, Penn 2-13, McKinley 1-(minus 5). Cincinnati, McCleskey 35-179, Wize 2-19, Smith 2-7, Garden 1-4, Plummer 2-2, Kenner 5-(minus 7).

PASSING-Houston, McKinley 25-42-1-376. Cincinnati, Kenner 17-28-2-297.

RECEIVING-Houston, James 10-125, Iglesias 6-56, Sanford 4-60, deGroot 1-62, Hill 1-41, Regimbald 1-22, Penn 1-8, Pritchett 1-2. Cincinnati, Plummer 7-85, Bonner 5-138, Wize 3-32, Collins-Baker 2-42.

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