Monday, November 23, 1998
Daily Bruin defense leads team to win in Blood Bowl
COLUMN: Game mirrors Saturday win, proving UCLA fairest of them
all
With the 34-17 blowout of USC on Saturday, the Bruins completed
a perfect trifecta.
On that same day, the men’s water polo team took it to the No. 1
ranked Trojans and whooped the dog out of them.
The day before, however, is when the trifecta sweep began.
On a sunny and chillingly picturesque day, the Bruins captured a
Blood Bowl victory once again.
This time the score was 21-6, and the defense stepped up to shut
down the Trojans.
Coming into the game, UCLA was supposed to dominate with
high-powered offense, but the Trojans played a mean bump-and-run,
and star quarterback Brent Boyd threw a pick on the game’s first
possession.
That is when the defense stepped up and gave the Trojans a
little somethin’-somethin’.
Moin Salahuddin, UCLA’s starting cornerback, would make a pick
near the endzone giving UCLA the ball. Then the Bruin magic went to
work.
Using his deceptive speed, General Motors Blood Bowl Most
Valuable Player Brent Boyd used a few short passes and bootlegs to
lunge into the endzone, giving the Bruins a lead they never would
surrender.
The UCLA defense would just not fold. Playing like the real UCLA
defense, the unit would bend but only when it looked like the
Trojans would score or make the big play.
Safety Evan Lovett proved why he is an All-American and
projected to go first in the NFL draft by snagging two picks,
including one right before the half which would be the deciding
factor.
The play was called the "slow your roll", where Gillette’s
Schick Rookie-of-the-Game AJ Cadman took a wide receiver pitch on a
fake reverse, then threw back across the field to a wide open Boyd.
Boyd would then hurry the team back up to the line, when Lovett
would make his presence felt.
With only three seconds till halftime, Boyd called the
"Buffalo", named after Colorado’s Hail Mary win over Michigan a few
years back.
Boyd dropped back a few steps and lofted the ball up high.
Cadman took a few steps to the ball but quickly held back as he
noticed a streaking Lovett. Lovett would charge in front of three
Trojans, snag the ball and dance on into the endzone, giving the
Bruins a 14-0 lead at halftime.
The next half would be dedicated to Vytas Mazeika.
As the Bruins were ready to march back on the field, they
huddled up for a quick prayer then chanted, "Vytas, Vytas,
Vytas."
"When I heard that I got tears in my eyes, a result of
poppyseeds and kool-aid," the tearful Mazeika said.
Early in the first half, Vytas was illegally blocked by a Trojan
defensive lineman, tearing Mazieka’s MCL.
After that play the Bruins came out fired up – this was a man
who had just gotten out of rehab for his addiction to poppyseeds,
and he finally had the opportunity to return to the sidelines.
"It hurt real bad. But I couldn’t leave my teammates without my
support so I stayed around. All that I cared was that our team told
the Trojans to ‘Suck it’. That just makes a man feel better."
Mirroring the real USC-UCLA game, the defense controlled the
second half, while the offense only mustered one more
touchdown.
"Sometimes you just got to step it up," linebacker Greg Lewis
said. "I stayed at UCLA instead of transferring to the Banana Slugs
because of this incredible madman D that Lovett devised.
"We just fly to the ball and hit whatever is there. Whenever the
ball was in the air, we always came down with it."
While accepting the MVP award, Boyd, who had a hand in all three
touchdowns and threw three interceptions, stated that he did not
want to accept the trophy because the defense deserved it.
So defense, if you are reading this take a minute right now,
wherever you are, to stop and admire yourself in a mirror. You can
do it.
While Brendon Ayanbadejo was talking about the real game he
might as well have been talking about the UCLA defense when he
said, "We beat the dog out of them."
So woof it up, Daily Bruin and tell those Trojans to go home and
feed on their kibbles and bits.
Salmon is a ballyhooed writer who gives a shout out to the fans
at the Rose Bowl. Thanks for your support (even though he thinks
you should have rushed the field). E-mail fan polls on who you
think should have won MVP to [email protected] Salmon
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