cJ idlJn&l SPORTS .~ '.~ ~ . ~ A ~ Tuesday September 3, 2002 13A -------------------------------------- rain ri ts Questions remain after dramatic 'M'victory DANNY MOLOSHOK/Daily The Michigan faithful looked on Saturday afternoon as kicker Philip Brabbs nailedthe gamewinner to give the Wolverines a 31-29 victory. Brabbs had missed two field goals earlier in the game. Blue kicker Brabbs makes amends via last-second heroics Saturday's Michigan vs. Washing- ton game was one of the best football games I have ever expe- rienced. It ran the gamut of emotions for every fan and every player on both teams and ended in away so chaotic, it seemed fitting. Both teams at times played well enough to win and poor enough to lose. And as uplifting as the victory was forJEFF the Wolverines, it will only be as big as they Ramble make it. On Last season, it was the Huskies that were on the win- ning end of a spectacular game and brimming with confidence afterwards. Nevertheless, Washington still had a disappointing season after expecting to compete for a BCS berth, ending up 8-4 with losses in the Holiday Bowl to Texas and a blowout loss to eventual national champion Miami (Fla.). I'm not saying that Michigan will have the same season, I'm just pointing out that the college football season is long and this past Saturday is just the beginning. Michigan showed off its new offense and John Navarre exuded a coolness that he hasn't shown since early last sea- son. He played well by spreading the ball to several different receivers and knowing when to get rid of it. Without Marquise Walker, Navarre needed to have confidence in his receiving corps and they gave it to him. Chris Perry stepped up and exceeded his touchdown total from last season with three against Washington. Braylon Edwards and Tyrece Butler both proved that they could be consistent threats in the place of Walker. Michigan played an extremely clean game, penalty-wise, with no big penal- ties and no infractions before the snap - a very good sign for the first game. But there were still many question marks for the Wolverines. Will they get consistency from the kicking game? I'm sure I wasn't the only person watching that was surprised when the Wolverines lined up for a field goal on the final play. As incredible and as clutch as Phil Brabbs' final kick was - it's one that he will be remembered for even if he does nothing else in his career - he was still just 1-for-3 on the day for field goals and Michigan was 1- for-4 overall. The Wolverines will need a solid kicking game in order to win - just ask Washington, which had miscues all day on special teams and had an extra point blocked by Shantee Orr. Michigan's three missed field goals should have been made, both misses by Brabbs and the chip-shot by Troy See PHILLIPS, Page 15A By David Horn Daily Sports Editor "That's what I'm talking about Brabbs! That's what I'm talking about!" Michigan receiver Tyrece Butler's barks at the end of Saturday's win at Michigan Stadium were perhaps in reference to something the Wolverines have gained a keen appreciation of early in this 2002 campaign: Second chances. Saturday's rematch with Wash- 4, WASHINGTON 29 ington (0-1), in which the Wolver- MICHIGAN 31 ines looked to avenge last season's spectacular 23-18 loss in Seattle, was the first of three opportunities the team has to make up for the 2001 season's fail- ures. One Wolverine in particular - kicker Philip Brabbs - learned about second chances (third and fourth chances, actually) when he kicked the game-winning field goal with no time remaining to give Michigan (1-0) a 31-29 win in its first game of the season. Brabbs, a junior walk-on from Midland, had already missed twice in the game, from dis- tances of 36 and 42 yards. His friend and team- mate, Troy Nienberg, had missed from 27 yards away less than 90 seconds before in Nienberg's own game-winning attempt. But after the Nien- berg miss and subsequent Washington three- and-out, the Wolverines were back in position to win the game dramatically, trailing the Huskies by one. Preceding Brabbs' heroics, Michigan junior quarterback John Navarre completed a fourth-down pass to sophomore Braylon Edwards, who coughed up the ball while being tackled. Edwards believed the pass to be incom- plete, but Tyrece Butler heard no whistle, and fell on top of the ball to give the Wolverines a first down with 32 seconds left, and no time- outs. But the fumble recovery was actually the second fortunate turn for Michigan on that play After a third down draw to running back Chris Perry on third and two, Washington safety Greg Carothers cramped up, causing an injury time- out and an opportunity for Navarre and Co. to regroup for that fourth down attempt. Between the Carothers injury and the Butler recovery, Michigan could sense that things were some- how going to work out. "The hustle that Tyrece Butler made won the game for us," Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said matter-of-factly after the game. After Butler's heroics and two incomplete passes, Navarre threw a third - this one on third and 10 from the Washington 42. But before Carr had to give too much thought as to whether he would take one last shot at the end- zone from 42 yards out or ask one of his under- achieving kickers to attempt what would be nearly a 60 yard field goal, the referee penal- ized Washington for having 12 men on the field. That set up the Brabbs 44-yarder from the left hash. Brabbs received words of encouragement from Carr and special teams coach Jim Boccher (both of whom have faith in the claim that It begins ... For more coverage of the opening week- end of the 2002 Michigan football cam- paign, look inside .'. Page 15: Phil Brabbs' roller-coaster day culminated in a kick that will never be forgotten. Page 16: Michigan wasn't the only team in action; check out extended coverage of the weekend's best on the national stage Page 17: New offensive coordina- tor Terry Malone unveiled his revamped offense against the Huskies on Saturday afternoon. Brabbs could have knocked it in from 60, had that been needed), but none from holder Navarre (who claimed that he "looked in Brabbs' eyes and saw he was ready") and marched out on the field for his shot at redemp- tion. "It was all really just a blur," Brabbs said after the kick. "I think I got tackled right away. There were like 50 guys on top of me." The field goal ended an intense day at Michi- gan Stadium, which saw seven lead changes and more than 800 yards of offense. Late-game dramatics overshadowed an important day for a See HUSKIES, Page 16A DAVID KATZ/Daily Michigan receiver Braylon Edwards made his first ever collegiate touchdown catch (45 yards) in the second quarter. Crompton, Chavez lead Blue over Cougars By Matt Kramer Daily Spors Writer It may only be early September, but don't tell that to the No. 18 Michigan women's soccer team. The Wolverines, displaying the type of team chemistry that usually takes months to forge, used a combination of physical defense and a heads-up play to get past Brigham Young, 2-1 yesterday at the Michigan Soccer Field. "This win was huge," Michigan coach Debbie Rademacher said. "We are so com- mitted right now to getting a good start, and that is exactly what's going on." on a goal by All-American Aleisha Cramer-Rose, Michigan (2-0) fought back four minutes into the second half, when junior Stephanie Chavez knocked in a header off a Carly Williamson free kick to knot the score. With the score still tied in the middle of the second half, a smart play by senior for- ward Abby Crumpton made the difference for Michigan. Going after a long ball down the right side of the field 10 yards outside of the box, Brigham Young goaltender Amanda Gott couldn't keep the ball inbounds as she tried to clear it out of the Cougar's zone. As Gott tried to race back to her goal, wouldn't relinquish. "I'm just glad I was able to put it in," Crumpton said of her third goal this season. "It was a real smart play because the team was able to capitalize on the throw-in." Crumpton almost added a second goal on the day, but her shot with six minutes left in the game hit the post and was cleared by a Brigham Young defender. To many of the Wolverines, the victory over Brigham Young was a major step for the team so early in the season. "I'm so excited about this win," defender Andre Kayal said. "When you know you can beat a team like this, that is a big boost of confidence. The last few years we the team's oyerall effort. "We have had some really strong sec- ond-half efforts this year and that is encouraging," said Rademacher. "I thought last week against Florida we came out stronger in the second half and that was the same today. We let up a bad goal early on but we got it back." The Wolverines will look to carry over their enthusiasm next week as they take on Western Michigan on Friday and Eastern Michigan on Sunday. Both games are at the Michigan Soccer Field. "We know Western Michigan has a lot of speed and we know that Eastern is a very physical team," Rademacher said. i r t. i., t .: