Williams, Kerwy finishes college career with flourish
Before Saturday, the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl's claims to fame were that it is the longest-running bowl game played in cold weather, the only bowl game played on a blue rug and the only one once named for a truck stop. Or have you forgotten the Roady's Humanitarian Bowl?
This was before Kerwynn Williams of Las Vegas came up spuds for Utah State against Toledo in the fourth quarter.
Playing his final college game, Williams rushed for a career-best 235 yards to lead the Aggies to a 41-15 victory. But before there were touchdown runs, and huge chunks of yardage that made Al Czervik's divots in "Caddyshack" look miniscule by comparison, there was adversity to overcome.
Williams fumbled with 7:28 left in the game, leading to a Toledo field goal that trimmed Utah State's lead to 13-9. "They all came up and said they've got my back," he said of teammates who sidled up to offer encouragement.
And then, he had theirs.
Before the fumble, Williams had 53 yards on 12 carries.
After the fumble, he had 182 on six. He scored three touchdowns in a span of 3:16.
It was like the Heidi Game, without the interruption. Kerwynn Williams had painted the end zone at Bronco Stadium dark blue and off white/beige/whatever color the Aggies' pants were.
Here's how the final 7:28 looked in the official Famous Idaho Potato Bowl play-by-play:
■ Williams, Kerwy (the play-by-play guy apparently wasn't fast enough to keep up with Kerwynn Williams, either) rush up middle for 63 yards to the Toledo 0 (goal line). TOUCHDOWN. Clock: 06:57.
■ Williams, Kerwy rush right for 1 yard to the USU 39.
■ Williams, Kerwy rush over left guard for 56 yards to the Toledo 5.
■ Williams, Kerwy rush over left tackle for 5 yards to the Toledo 0. TOUCHDOWN. Clock: 04:55.
■ Williams, Kerwy rush left for 25 yards to the Toledo 0. TOUCHDOWN. Clock: 03:41.
■ Williams, Kerwy rush over right tackle for 32 yards to the Toledo 24.
On the next play, Hill, Joe rushed over right guard for 24 yards to the Toledo 0, making it 41-15 for the Aggies.
As I watched Williams, Kerwy run like the Idaho wind - and drag a pile of guys to Coeur d'Alene on that 5-yard touchdown - I recalled reading that in high school nobody had offered him a scholarship, because he was too small. And how his father, Kendall, kept calling these colleges until one would offer his son tuition money in return for running with the football on kick returns and, finally, when he was a junior, from the scrimmage line.
And how Williams, Kerwy was happy it was Utah State, because it stressed academics, and he was an honor student who only wanted a chance.
THREE UP
■ Fired by UNLV after guiding the football team to consecutive 5-7 seasons in 2008 and '09 - is it too late to call a mulligan? - Mike Sanford is the new coach at Indiana State, where he hopes to make them forget all about Larry Bird. Or at least Bubba the Love Sponge, whose first DJ gig was at WISU on the Terre Haute campus.
■ In October, I wrote about the Clairton (Pa.) High School football team, whose nation's-longest 55-game winning streak had breathed life into a dying steel mill town. On Friday, the Bears made it 63 in a row by defeating Dunmore 20-0 for their fourth straight state title.
■ Since scoring 138 points in Grinnell (Iowa) College's 179-104 victory over Faith Baptist (Iowa) Bible, Jack Taylor has been held to 21, 18, 39, 12, 36 and 37 points, and is now averaging 38.7 - in just 17.6 minutes. This sort of efficiency reminds me of that movie "Gung Ho," where American assembly line workers produced 15,000 Japanese cars in only one month. Only without the George Wendt character.
THREE DOWN
■ The Bloomington (Ind.) South girls basketball team beat Arlington High 107-2 on Tuesday in Indianapolis, a result that should make the 5,069 who purchased tickets to watch the Rebels beat La Verne 91-44 at Orleans Arena two nights later feel a whole lot better.
■ In an excerpt from his forthcoming book, Maurice Clarett says he got paid more in college than he did in the UFL. So a lot of people to whom the Las Vegas Locomotives still owe money might think about signing up for night classes at Ohio State.
■ A petition started by a high school volleyball player in Mississippi to remove flame retardant (brominated vegetable oil) from orange Gatorade had 198,188 signatures as of Sunday. Word to the wise (and fans of old science fiction movies): If the Powerade folks come out with a new flavor called "Soylent Green," it might be prudent to first check the label.
Las Vegas Review-Journal sports columnist Ron Kantowski can be reached at rkantowski@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0352. Follow him on Twitter: @ronkantowski.
