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SOUTH EUGENE, Oregon. (AP) – Trailing 28-7 at halftime, everybody thought Matt Ferrua and his feisty Oregon Ducks were out of it. Everyone but Matt Ferrua.
“Where there’s a will, there’s a way,” said Matt as his opponent Joe taunted him while flipping through the halftime stats, “and when it comes to me and Playstation 2, there’s always a way.”
Joe had challenged Matt to a game of NCAA Football 2002 on his Playstation 2 twenty minutes earlier to kill time before the 1:30 Fiesta Bowl kickoff. Matt would be Oregon and Joe would be Colorado in a battle to predict the winner of the anticipated showdown later that afternoon.The other residents of the house were sleeping off a hangover, but they were soon awakened by Joe’s hoots and hollers as he used a strong running game to pound down Matt’s defensive dime package.
“If he’s not putting guys in the box, he’s just going take a beating all night,” said Joe as he pounded in his second touchdown to put the score up to 14-0 with 3:50 left in the first quarter. One onside kick later, Joe’s swagger was starting to get on Matt’s nerves.
“How are you going to score without the ball?” asked Joe.
“How do you score with such a small dick?” replied Matt.
“Like this,” said Joe, as his running back dove into the endzone.
Matt was able to score once in the second quarter, but Joe widened the gap with a deep pass from the shotgun formation that upped the score to 28-7.
“The computer’s cheating, man,” said Matt as Joe got up to get a beer. “My coverage is perfect.”
Joe’s audacious halftime celebration included a keg stand and a dramatic backyard recreation of first-half highlights. The alcohol consumption combined with a blind collision with a hemlock bush may have affected his second half play.
Matt opened up with a dominating drive from his own 20 using a lethal combination of QB option and slant passes from the I-formation. Joe started off aggressively with a series of pass rushes, but Matt’s passing protection soon drew him back into a cover 2.
By the start of the fourth quarter, Joe’s 28-7 lead had diminished to 28-21.
“I’m coming back, I’m coming back,” said Matt, mere inches from Joe’s face. “You can’t stop what you can’t contain.”
“We’ll see,” said Joe and he stumbled to the garage for a stunning fifth cup of beer from the keg. “I’m going to beat your ass, and then finish this keg before any of you pansies even have a drink.”
In the fourth quarter, Matt’s offense went stale, but his defense was a steel curtain. Twice he held Joe on crucial third and longs, forcing him to punt.
With thirty seconds left in the first half, Matt found himself only 30 yards from six points. But with no timeouts. He decided to go deep on his first play, and it paid off with another patented Harrington to Howry connection.
But the game was far from over. As the special teams menu popped up, Matt decided to go for the gusto with a two-point conversion. For two quarters he’d been passing all over Joe, but now he decided to run it. HB Izzo from the I-formation. His bread and butter running play.
The room was silent, the whole house was awake and gathered around the television. This was it, a symbolic preview of the game to come. Matt dropped back, his half-back pushed through the line as Harrington handed off to Morris… three steps… four steps… he was in! Victory!
“In your face,” said Matt after Joe’s attempt at a kickoff return failed and the clock ran out.
1st 2nd 3rd 4th Half Total
Oregon 0 7 14 8 7 29
Colorado 21 7 0 0 28 21
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