Football Falls to Arizona State
Sept. 26, 1998
TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) -
Ryan Kealy threw two touchdown passes and Arizona State's much-maligned defense held Oregon State to 14 yards rushing Saturday night as the Sun Devils beat the Beavers 24-3.Arizona State (2-2, 1-1 Pac-10) sputtered much of the night on offense, with J.R. Redmond fumbling the ball away at the Oregon State 11 on one drive and failing to convert on fourth-and-1 from the Beavers' 20 on another.
But Kealy's two scoring passes, Redmond's 2-yard touchdown run and Stephen Baker's 45-yard field goal were more than enough to send the Beavers (2-2, 0-2) to their 14th consecutive Pac-10 loss and their 18th road loss in a row. Oregon State fumbled the ball away three times.
Kealy threw a 17-yard scoring pass to Tariq McDonald in the second quarter and a 19-yarder to Lenzie Jackson in the fourth. Kealy's second touchdown with 12:29 to play came after Oregon State's Rodney Tompkins muffed Baker's 51-yard punt and Arizona State's Courtney Palmore recovered at the Beavers' 19.
The Beavers' Ken Simonton, who entered the game the Pac-10's leading rusher at just over 100 yards per game, had 28 yards in 16 carries.
Once again, penalties were a problem for Arizona State. The Sun Devils were penalized 12 times for 123 yards. Seven of Oregon State's 20 first downs were by penalty.
Kealy was 12-for-28 for 173 yards and was intercepted once. He was just 1-for-8 in the second half, but that pass went for a touchdown.
Redmond had 83 yards in 23 carries. Gerald Greene, the No. 2 tailback with Davaren Hightower out with an injury, gained 86 yards in 17 attempts.
Bryant completed 29 of 49 passes for 198 yards. Converted Beaver quarterback Tim Alexander caught a career-best nine passes for 65 yards.
The Sun Devils opened a 14-3 lead in the first half.
Redmond's 2-yard touchdown run capped a nine-play, 61-yard drive for Arizona State's first score with 6:23 to play in the first quarter. Redmond carried five times for 23 yards on the drive.
The Beavers used a fake punt to set up Jose Cortez's 29-yard field goal to cut the lead to 7-3 with 1:25 left in the first quarter. On fourth-and-one at the Oregon State 29, punter Mike Fessler threw a 25-yard pass to Keith Heyward-Johnson to the Sun Devils' 46. The Beavers drove to ASU 7, but the drive stalled.
After Oregon State scored, Arizona State took the kickoff and went 68 yards in 13 plays. Kealy rifled a 17-yard pass over the middle to McDonald for the score to put the Sun Devils up 14-3 with 12:17 to play in the half. Kealy's 15-yard pass to Creig Spann on third-and-five at the 27 set up the touchdown.
The Sun Devils' Adam Archuleta recovered Simonton's fumble at the Oregon State 34 and Arizona State drove to the 11 midway through the second quarter. But Redmond fumbled the ball away for the third time this season and Oregon State's Terrence Carroll recovered.
Arizona State's only score of the third period was Baker's 45-yard field goal that made it 17-3 with 3:56 left in the period. The Sun Devils moved into field-goal range when the Beavers were called for roughing the kicker when Arizona State was forced to punt on fourth-and-34 from its own 38-yard line.
