Legend of Sixkiller: Sonny and the Huskies Were Quick on the Draw

Coming off a pair of tough losses and some extra-rough passing days, Sonny Sixkiller entered the huddle, looked at his Washington teammates and delivered some unexpected news.

"We're running it -- with you," he said, pointing at little Tommy Scott.

The Huskies were hosting Oregon State and decided to confuse the Beavers and entertain the large crowd of 57,900 gathered at Husky Stadium. They casually slid the 5-foot-9, 170-pound Scott, normally a flanker, into the backfield and started handing him the football.

He went 13 yards on a draw, then 19 yards on another one. He ran the ball four times and caught a screen pass. With Scott the offensive catalyst, the Huskies drove 83 yards in nine plays to score on their first possession, capped by Jerry Ingalls' 1-yard plunge.

"They didn't figure it out for a half," Sixkiller said. "We just kept running it."

The Huskies rolled to a crushing 38-14 victory, improving their season record to 5-2, but not without some momentary angst. For the third time in four games, Sixkiller served up a pick-six.

The quarterback's arm was hit by Oregon State's Tex Gschwandter as he threw a pass, and the ball popped up in the air. Beavers linebacker Butch Wicks snatched it and raced 58 yards for a score, tying the game at 7.

The Huskies responded by scoring 24 unanswered points and continuing to make Scott their primary running back rather than their leading pass-catcher.

"Did they not know you're in the backfield?" Sixkiller teased his new runner.

It was a smart ploy because Sixkiller had another subpar passing outing, completing just 13 of 32 attempts for 148 yards and no touchdowns. For three games, he was now 37 of 109, struggling with his accuracy, his arm showing some fatigue.

Sixkiller continued to take a physical pounding, too. In the third quarter, he took exception to Beavers defensive end Jim Sherbert hitting him well after a play was over and they got into a shoving match.

"Jim may have brushed him a little late," Oregon State coach Dee Andros scoffed. "It wasn't anything."

The Huskies' Scott finished with 89 yards rushing on 10 carries to lead all rusher. He also tossed in three receptions for 18 yards to keep himself fresh with his normal duties.

Sixkiller got into the act on the ground, as well. He scored on a 7-yard run in the second quarter -- his first rushing touchdown of the season -- to put the Huskies up 17-7.

Yet on this day, the UW quarterback preferred to shove the ball into Scott's midsection.

"Tommy could run," Sonny said. "It was unique having him in the backfield. Who did that in those days? Nobody did that in those days."