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Streak deep-sixed

Johnson's 57-yard TD catch at :28 clips Cards

By Chip Cosby

CCOSBY@HERALD- LEADER.COM

It looked another in a long line of heartbreaking near-misses for the Kentucky football team.

Trailing Louisville 34-33 in the final minute and driving for a go-ahead score, center Eric Scott was whistled for a costly 15-yard personal foul that pushed the Cats back to their own 43-yard line with 35 seconds left.

But instead of going home with yet another loss to their archrival, the Cats came up with some magic.

Quarterback Andre Woodson hit Steve Johnson on a 57-yard scoring pass with 28 seconds left to give the Cats a miraculous 40-34 win over the ninth-ranked Cards in front of a raucous crowd of 70,857 at Commonwealth Stadium.

It was Kentucky's first win over a top-10 team since beating No. 4 Penn State in 1977 and ended a four-game losing streak to the Cards.

The game-winning play was a fitting end for a UK team that pulled itself off the mat time and again last night.

The Cats bounced back after blowing a 13-point first quarter lead. They bounced back after allowing a Trent Guy 100-yard kickoff return. They bounced back after allowing Louisville to take a one-point lead on Anthony Allen's 2-yard run with 1:45 remaining.

"This team just kept coming back," UK Coach Rich Brooks said. "No matter what went wrong, they found a way to make it right. I'm so proud of this team and particularly our seniors, who have been through so much with this program. To come back and win a game of this magnitude and significance ... it's just a huge, huge win for them, and hopefully it will solidify the faith that the fans have had with this team."

Johnson's touchdown came on a vertical route. Johnson said a U of L safety went over to cover tight end Jacob Tamme, leaving him free down the left sideline. Johnson got open on the same play late in the first half, but Woodson led him just a little too much, and he couldn't bring the ball in.

"We saw that the play would work, so we went back to it," Johnson said. "I was shocked I was so open. You don't think the No. 9 team in the nation would make a mistake like that twice, but they did."

The game lived up to the hype. Both teams combined for 927 yards of total offense. The big-name players made big plays. U of L quarterback Brian Brohm passed for 366 yards and two scores, while Woodson went for 275 and four TDs.

But it was the Cats who threw the final, fatal punch.

"We were in zone coverage," U of L Coach Steve Kragthorpe said. "It was a good throw on Andre's part. We should have had it handled, but give them credit. It was a good play on their part."

UK (3-0) has won eight of its last nine games, and Brooks thinks a Top 25 ranking should be a given.

"If we're not ranked, somebody's crazy," he said. "If we're not ranked, somebody's smoking something."

Kentucky got off to a fast start thanks in large part to Cardinal turnovers.

Guy fumbled the opening kickoff, immediately setting up the Cats with a first-and-10 at the U of L 20.

The Cats were forced to settle for a 36-yard Lones Seiber field goal, but they got the ball right back when Trevard Lindley picked off Brian Brohm's first pass and returned it to the Cardinal 18.

Kentucky was able to hit paydirt this time around, as Woodson rolled left and hit Johnson in the back of the end zone to give the Wildcats a 10-0 lead just three minutes into the game. Seiber tacked on another three-pointer from 31 yards out to make it 13-0.

The Cardinal offense finally got going late in the second quarter. Brohm hit Harry Douglas on a pair of 15-yard passes, setting up an 8-yard scoring strike from Brohm to Anthony Allen to get the Cards on the board and narrow the gap to 13-7.

Rafael Little responded with a 10-yard touchdown run to pad the lead to 19-7 before Brohm went back to work with his second TD strike, a 3-yarder to Douglas that made it 19-14 Cats.

The Kentucky defense had no answer for Douglas all night, as the senior caught 13 passes for 223 yards.

The Wildcats were driving with a chance to take a double-digit lead late in the first half when the Louisville defense delivered a momentum-changing play. On fourth-and-1 from the UK 36, the Cats tried an option play to the left side only to have Lamar Myles stuff Little for no gain.

U of L then just needed five plays to go 63 yards. Douglas beat UK corner Paul Warford for a 42-yard gain, setting up a short touchdown run by Allen to give the Cards a 21-19 lead with 1:02 left in the first half.

"That was a huge change in momentum," Brooks said.

Kentucky came out strong to start the second half, driving 78 yards in 11 plays and taking a 26-21 advantage on a Woodson dump-off to fullback John Conner that resulted in a 7-yard score.

Guy then made up for his earlier fumble, as he burst down the right sideline untouched for a 100-yard kickoff return that quickly put the Cards back up 28-26 with 9:31 left in the third.

Little carried four times for 36 yards on UK's next possession, and Tamme outfought U of L corner Rod Council for a jump ball in the back of the end zone for a 5-yard TD to regain the lead at 33-28 with 13:47 left. Little finished with 151 yards on 27 carries.

"The running game was critical for us tonight," Brooks said.

The Wildcat defense then came up with a huge stop, bringing down U of L tight end Gary Barnidge 2 yards short of the end zone on a fourth-and-goal play from the 6 with 9:27.

Kentucky wasn't able to run much clock, however, giving Brohm the ball on his own 17 with 6:22 left. Brohm promptly drove the 'Ville 83 yards, with Allen taking it in from 2 yards out for a 34-33 lead at 1:45. The Cards missed the two-point conversion.

After Johnson's TD, Brohm got the Cards in position for a final Hail Mary attempt at his own 43. Lindley tipped the ball to right to Douglas at the UK 11-yard line on the final play, but safety Marcus McClinton and linebacker Wesley Woodyard immediately brought him down as the horn sounded.

"I can't wait to watch the film," Tamme said. "If you were in the stands, I don't know what more you could ask for."

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