Legend of Sixkiller: UW Knocked Out Trojans But Couldn't Beat Them

The Huskies and their vaunted quarterback had their chances to beat USC in 1971 but they did everything except win the game. It was brutal at times.

With just under four minutes left to play, Sonny Sixkiller and his University of Washington football team had a 12-10 lead and the ball.

As the game clock ticked down, Husky fans were giddy over the prospects of doing something Jim Owens-coached teams hadn't done for five years -- upend mighty USC.

On a dark and blustery day in Seattle, this 1971 game was brutal. Bodies were strewn around the field at times. Husky free safety Bill Cahill knocked USC tailback Lou Harris unconscious with a violent third-quarter collision.

"We hit full speed," Cahill said. "He was coming up. I was coming up. I saw him first. It was ka-boom. I went, "Whoa, that was a good hit. I was spinning around on the Astroturf, and it was, 'How did I get here?' "

Said Sixkiller, "We had to drag Harris off to our sideline. The guy was out."

The rest of the Trojans, however, kept their feet and senses about them. Coming down the stretch, their hands worked just fine, too. 

Trying to keep possession of the ball and run out the clock, Sixkiller threw for an apparent first down at the Husky 40. A holding penalty nullified the play.

These weren't the greatest conditions for flinging the football around Husky Stadium. Fighting the elements all afternoon, Sixkiller completed 15 of 37 passes for 201 yards and a touchdown.

"Once I threw it as hard as I could and the ball wobbled out there about 35 yards, and I knew something was wrong," Sixkiller said. "I didn't think it was my arm."

On second-and-24 from the UW 22, the UW sideline called for another pass. Conventional wisdom suggested the Huskies should run the ball a few times and punt.

The Sixkiller teams, however, never did things in a risk-free manner. They had to gamble to win. Even if the quarterback sometimes felt otherwise.

"I was thinking lets just run a draw, punt and let the defense hold them," Sonny said.

Encouraged to do otherwise, Sixkiller instead dropped back and zipped the ball toward flanker Jim Krieg, who ran a hook pattern with USC cornerback Alonzo Thomas trailing him.

"Jimmy liked to catch the ball shoulder-pad high instead of arms extended," the quarterback said. "Thomas took it off his shoulder pad."

Krieg had temporarily had his hands on it, but Thomas shockingly wrestled the football away from him at the UW 40. The clock showed 3:45 left to play.

A minute and a half later, USC had moved into close field-goal range and sent Mike Rae, who doubled as a backup quarterback, onto the field for a 28-yard kick. 

With wind gusts swirling through Husky Stadium, Rae sent the ball just inside the left upright for a 13-12 victory.

It was far from automatic. The immediate sights and sounds on the play made the Trojans kicker think the worst had happened.

"I heard a thud and saw (holder) Jimmy Jones down with a couple of Huskies on him," he said. "Then I looked up and saw the ball coming down on the other side of the crossbar. Oh, man."

One of the UW players who courageously laid himself out for the block was cornerback Calvin Jones. He exited the field with a dislocated shoulder. 

The Huskies outhit and outplayed USC all day, but they couldn't put away the other guys when they needed to the most.

The earlier Stanford loss proved hugely disappointing because the Rose Bowl was at stake. This UW setback cornered the market on anger and frustration because it came against the Trojans.

Husky coach Jim Owens suggested it would take a year to get over the missed opportunity, which dropped his team to 7-3 and ended a three-game win streak.

"That was a tough one," Sixkiller said. "Emotions after the game were extremely raw."