By By James J. Parziale
Two yards stood between the Pride football team and a colossal victory-one which could have occurred despite an offense that couldn’t get out of its own way and a quarterback who tried to do too much.
A win that would have galvanized a tormented defense, exhausted from all its efforts. And most importantly, it would have been a win that would have kept the Pride’s playoff chances from flat-lining.
Sophomore running back Kareem Huggins appeared to get those two yards when he broke the plane of the goal line with just under three minutes to play against No. 2 University of New Hampshire. The ball, however, was jarred loose and when Wildcats CB Etienne Boulay recovered in the end zone, referees ruled it a touchback. The Atlantic 10-leading Wildcats held on for a 29-26 victory. The Houdini-like win kept the Wildcats (8-1 overall, 6-1 A-10) tied atop the conference with Massachusetts and eliminated the Pride (5-4, 3-3) from contention for the A-10 title.
Huggins seemingly scored to put the Pride up, 32-29, but the referees saw things differently.
“I put the ball over the line and was waiting for [the referees] to signal touchdown,” said Huggins, who felt UNH players ripped the ball away after he broke the plane.
With no replays available at Shuart Stadium, the only way to know definitively if Huggins fumbled was from still pictures. A photo by The Chronicle revealed after the game that Huggins lost the ball before he scored.
Head coach Joe Gardi said he didn’t have a clear vantage, but cast some of the shadow on Huggins, saying, “It’s not very smart to reach over-thinking you scored. You better make sure you have ball security.”
Sophomore center Jason Goodman, who was in the midst of fracas, began to celebrate what he thought was the go-ahead touchdown. When the referees failed to signify a touchdown, Goodman was dumbfounded.
“I thought he was definitely in the end zone,” Goodman said. “The two line judges both put their hands up. It’s ridiculous that we don’t get a call like that. It’s ridiculous. I just can’t explain it.”
The referees told Gardi they were “absolutely sure” Huggins fumbled, and it was the Pride’s seventh turnover of the game. QB Anton Clarkson’s Hail Mary pass on the last play of the game was also intercepted, capping his miserable day. Clarkson (32 of 48 for 322 yards) was intercepted four times, once in the end zone and twice in the red zone.
“The offense kept fizzling in the second half. Our defense rose to the occasion, but you can only do that so many times,” Gardi said of a unit which had four sacks and three consecutive three-and-out series in the first half. “I guess we just aren’t good enough to make a big play to win a game.”
Before the fumble, Huggins broke a 44-yard run in the first half, but that possession ended with Clarkson being intercepted at the Wildcat 2-yard line. Huggins’s 49-yard kickoff return set up a Pride touchdown that narrowed the gap to 21-19 in the third quarter. However, Huggins couldn’t make the play when the Pride needed it most.
“We had them on the run the way we were playing in the second half,” Gardi said. “Our offense just…I don’t know how to coach that.”
Said Huggins: “It was so frustrating because I worked extra hard to get into the end zone.”