Where's Sixkiller? Stanford Goes For the Knees, Hurts the Huskies

On third down and seven, Sonny Sixkiller dropped back to dump off a screen pass. He had done this so many times before without a problem. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Stanford safety Dennis Bragonier coming hard at him on a blitz.

Halfway through the first quarter of a scoreless game -- with everything on the line for a 10th-ranked and unbeaten University of Washington football team -- one of the most fateful plays in Husky history unfolded.

Sixkiller got rid of the ball, which was dropped, but he couldn't get out of the way. At Stanford Stadium in Palo Alto, California, the aggressive defensive back caught up and violently yanked down Sonny from behind and the quarterback felt the ligaments in his left knee give way.

As Sixkiller limped off the field, his departure sent a shudder through the devoted UW fan base watching on TV at home.

While the trainers made the franchise player lay on a table and packed his knee with ice, the game quickly got out of hand, and Sixkiller was left with a tough decision to make.

"If I had said, 'Bleep it, I'm not going to go,' I could have played the next week," he said. "I went back in in the second quarter."

Down two touchdowns now, Sixkiller lasted four plays before the Indians got to him again. He dropped back once more and this time Stanford's Roger Stillwell, a 6-foot-6, 245-pound defensive end, went for his knee.

Stillwell jumped over the top of Huskies left guard Steve Wallin and speared Sixkiller's vulnerable left hinge as the signal caller planted and threw the football. Pain shot through his leg. Sonny called it a cheap shot.

"He could have gone for my upper body and instead he went for my knee, and then he twisted my ankle," Sixkiller replayed. "Yes, I definitely feel he was going for my knee."

The quarterback was done this time, as was the Huskies' unbeaten season, as were their Roses Bowl hopes and any other glorified ambitions they might have held.

Sixkiller and his UW teammates entered this game as the higher-ranked and favored team. They were down a couple of offensive weapons -- top wide receiver Tommy Scott and starting tailback Darrell Downey both suffered knee injuries the week before against Oregon and didn't make the trip -- but the Huskies felt they could get by with their quarterback and their defense.

There was no hope without Sixkiller.

He threw just 10 passes, completing five. He gave way to backup Greg Collins, who wasn't up to the moment and threw four interceptions.

The Huskies lost 24-0. It marked the only shutout of the high-scoring, pass-happy Sixkiller era. It was a huge letdown for everyone.

At halftime, the Huskies left the field trailing 21-0 to the nation's No. 17 team. Their vaunted secondary, considered the best in the Pac-8, had been burned for three Stanford touchdown passes, one coming off a fake field goal.

A wounded Sixkiller knee affected everyone. Everything that happened thereafter seemed like piling on.

On crutches, Sixkiller made his way in a labored manner to a shack just outside the stadium. Visiting teams used this obscure little building at intermission because the regular locker room was too far away. Yet this holding station wasn't all that close either. Especially for someone now struggling with his mobility.

"After getting hurt, it was just disappointing," Sixkiller said. "That stadium was so weird. It was just an odd deal. I had to walk so far and it took forever to get there on crutches. It was so hard."

Hard didn't begin to describe Sonny's existence now. He wouldn't play again for a month. He would be greatly missed. He was the ringleader of this high-flying circus.

Not publicly shared right away was something else that was disturbing: Sixkiller wasn't the only Husky quarterback hurt against Stanford.