A Difficult Stretch Ends for Donahue

UCLA Coach Terry Donahue hugged his wife, Andrea, and his three daughters on the Coliseum field Saturday night after his team had beaten USC, 24-21.

It was a joyful occasion and, perhaps, one of relief for Donahue.

The Bruins hadn’t beaten USC since 1986, although they managed a 10-10 tie as an underdog in 1989.

“It was vital that we get over the psychological hump,” Donahue said.

A season isn’t really successful for either school unless it defeats its cross-town rival.

Donahue, whose Bruins are 8-3 and headed for a John Hancock Bowl date with Illinois Dec. 31 in El Paso, put Saturday’s victory in perspective.

“We didn’t win (beat USC) for four years, from 1976-1979, and that was more difficult because I hadn’t beaten them as a head coach,” he said.

“The streak we’ve come out of now was difficult, but not compared to 1976 to 1979. Streaks like that go back and forth. We beat USC four out of five times in the ‘80s. Then, they finally broke through, and tonight the shoe was on the other foot.”

Donahue can empathize with USC, which finished the season with a 3-8 record. He endured losing seasons in 1989 (3-7-1) and 1990 (5-6) before his Bruins became winners again.

There were anxious moments Saturday for the UCLA coach, especially in the second quarter when his fullback, Maury Toy, slammed into the line on third and goal at the USC one-yard line.

There was the usual pileup, and the officials didn’t signal touchdown until they deliberated.

Finally, it was determined that Bruin reserve tight end Brian Allen had scored, recovering Toy’s fumble.

“What I think basically happened was that the fullback (Toy) went over the goal line, and the officials lost the ball,” Donahue said. “The ball came out--and this is a one-sided story--but, according to our guys, Toy was clearly in the end zone before he ever fumbled the ball.

“There was a time (lapse), and you didn’t know where they would go with the decision. But there was no question that Brian Allen had the ball.

“They just couldn’t figure out whether the first guy got in or didn’t.”

The touchdown gave the Bruins a 17-0 lead, but USC scored shortly before the half, then made it a close game thereafter.

“That was a big play for them,” UCLA linebacker Arnold Ale said of quarterback Reggie Perry’s 13-yard touchdown pass to flanker Curtis Conway.

Ale made the play of the game when he sacked Perry for a five-yard loss when the Trojans were threatening on fourth and five from the UCLA 37-yard line with 1:19 to play.

Perry fumbled, and UCLA defensive end Mike Chalenski recovered.

There were other big plays, such as UCLA tailback Kevin Williams scoring on a 72-yard run in the first quarter on an option play for a 10-0 lead.

“We thought we could get a big play like that when USC was in that particular defense,” Williams said. “I looked over at them and thought, ‘Yeah, here we go.’ ”

Williams gained 131 yards in 21 carries and finished the regular season with 1,089 yards rushing, the most by a Bruin back since Gaston Green gained 1,098 in 1987.

UCLA quarterback Tommy Maddox also experienced a feeling of relief when he threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Toy to improve UCLA’s lead to 24-14 in the third quarter.

It was his first scoring pass since an Oct. 26 game against Arizona State, a string of 15 quarters.