Pettis: ‘Growing up, you live for these moments’
September 24, 2016 | Football, General
By Mason Kelley
GoHuskies.com
It was a play Dante Pettis runs often. It was a play Washington spends a lot of time working on. It was a play the Huskies counted on to claim a 35-28 overtime win at Arizona on Saturday night.
But, in the days leading up to the game, Pettis hadn't been as crisp on his route.
"In practice I had been running that route a little subpar," Pettis said. "Coach (Bush) Hamdan has been on me."
So, with the Huskies facing third-and-goal from the 4, Pettis knew he needed to put Hamdan's advice into practice.
"I've got to get this done right now," Pettis said when the play was signaled in from the sideline. "That's all it came down to."
When the Huskies needed it most, Jake Browning put a pass where only Pettis could get it. The quarterback split a pair of defenders, Pettis made the catch and the defense preserved the win, Washington's first road win in the state of Arizona since 2006.
"I saw the opening right away before we ran the play," Pettis said. "I just honed in on what coach has been telling me and that's what happened."
After securing the football, Pettis turned toward the crowd, crossed his arms and waited to be mobbed by his teammates.
"It felt amazing," Pettis said. "Unbelievable. Growing up, you live for things like this. We work hard for those moments and it shows."
Browing, who completed 14 of 21 passes for 160 yards and two touchdowns, credited his receiver for coming through in the clutch when the Huskies needed a big play.
"Dante found a good open spot," Browning said. "We've run that play a lot before and he made a big-time catch."
Pettis, who finished with three catches for 39 yards, returned the favor by praising his quarterback.
"Great ball," Pettis said simply. "I honestly didn't know the two guys were right there until they crossed in front of me and, whatever happened, I was looking at the ball the whole time."
Precise throw, clutch catch and the Huskies improve to 4-0 heading into next week's Friday night matchup with Stanford at Husky Stadium.
Chris Petersen didn't have a great vantage point from his spot on the sideline, but when asked about the end result, Washington's coach smiled.
"Somebody needed to make a play," Petersen said. "We made some big runs and all that, but it didn't seem like we were making something spectacular or maybe make something that shouldn't have happened happen, until then."
The game didn't play out the way many expected, but as far as the Huskies are concerned, that's life in the Pac-12.
"Every team in the Pac-12 is good," Pettis said. "This is one of the toughest conferences in the nation. You have to show up to play every day. Anyone can beat anyone on any given day."
Browning added, "We knew it was going to be a battle. That's what we've been saying all week – it's a fourth-quarter fight. How are you going to respond?"
With the game on the line, the Huskies responded by finding a way to win.
