UNLV catch mark ready to fall

Steve Guiremand

Thursday, Sept. 3, 1998 | 10:57 a.m.

Open up this year's UNLV football media guide and you'll find a large section under Damon Williams' bio devoted to "The Streak."

The 6-4, 230-pound senior from Culver City, Calif., has caught a pass in a school-record 34 consecutive games. The NCAA record is 46 set by New Mexico's Carl Winston from 1990-93.

That means Williams could tie the mark if UNLV were to make a bowl game this year. He could break it if the Rebels played in both the Western Athletic Conference title game and a bowl game.

But one record that Williams is sure to break is UNLV's career reception mark of 156 set by current Pittsburgh Steeler Henry Bailey. Williams enters Saturday's season-opener at Northwestern needing just one catch to break a tie with Bailey in that department.

Ask the soft-spoken former prep quarterback star what stands out most about his first three seasons with the Rebels and you might be surprised.

No, it's not "The Streak."

No, it's not tying Bailey's record.

The answer is "The Drop."

"The play I'll always remember is not even a catch," Williams said. "It was the drop against USC last year."

To refresh a few painful memories ...

UNLV was tied with the Trojans, 21-21, midway through the fourth quarter and appeared poised to take the lead again. Quarterback Jon Denton lofted a perfect 38-yard pass to the end zone for a wide-open Williams, who simply dropped the ball.

Until then, Williams had been enjoying the best game of his career, catching 11 passes for 165 yards in front of his friends and family. But "The Drop" proved to be the turning point of the game.

Four plays later, the Trojans took the lead for good, 28-21, on a 78-yard pass from John Fox to R. Jay Soward en route to a much tougher-than-expected 35-21 victory.

"If I could have caught that football, we would have won that game," Williams says matter-of-factly.

"That play stands out more than any catch I've made during my three years here. I lost my focus. I wasn't concentrating. I figured it was just a routine easy catch. I mean, I was wide open. The ball hit my hands. I just plain dropped it.

"That play still sticks with me. It will always be there. It was at home in front of my home crowd and family. They were sitting right there in the corner of the end zone where I dropped the ball. It was tough."

It could have been a benchmark victory for UNLV's football program. Instead, USC coach John Robinson left the field with his 100th coaching win at Troy.

"We wouldn't have been in that game if Damon hadn't caught those other 11 passes," UNLV coach Jeff Horton said.

"He made a lot of catches he probably shouldn't have made. Nobody feels worse about it than he does. But somewhere down the line this year he's going to get another opportunity. I can guarantee you that this time that ball will be pulled in for a big win."

Williams agrees.

"It won't happen again," he said. "Not like that. I've had dropped passes before, but not big catches like that. I've always been pretty consistent when it came to making the big play. But that's the one time that I didn't come through."

Ironically, Williams' new wide receivers coach at UNLV this year, DelVaughn Alexander, was one of the many wearing the Cardinal and Gold that night who let out a huge sigh of relief after Williams' drop. Alexander was a graduate assistant for the Trojans.

"I've never mentioned it to him and I never will," Alexander said. "It's a thing of the past and I'll leave it at that. I'd never joke or tease about it. It's a sensitive thing."

Besides, Alexander would much rather stress all the positives that Williams brings to the Rebels' table.

"He's the leader (of UNLV's wide receiver corps)," Alexander said. "He's bigger and the most experienced. I think the others kind of look up to him as a big brother type. When he gets matched up against the smaller defensive backs, Damon punishes them for our smaller wide receivers."

Because of his size, Williams might find himself playing H-back or tight end in the NFL.

"If he can get a little heavier, I think he'd be a great H-back in the NFL," Horton said. "The NFL people I talk to like him. He has big hands and runs well. And he's not afraid to go over the middle. He's also very smart."

And unselfish. When asked about breaking Bailey's record, Williams didn't seem too concerned.

"That really hasn't crossed my mind too much," he said. "I'm more focused on winning the game this week. We haven't won a road game since I've been here.

"Number one, I want to start the season off with a win. The personal records, they'll come. I'm not too worried about them."

REBEL NOTES: Horton said the team had elected six team captains for the season, three on offense and three on defense. Offensively, quarterback Kevin Crook, Williams and center Bubba Gonzalez were picked. Defensively, all-WAC defensive end Talance Sawyer, linebacker Greg Gayles and a surprise, redshirt freshman middle linebacker James Sunia, were selected. "I've never had a redshirt freshman get picked as a captain before," Horton said. "I've had juniors, but never a freshman or a sophomore. I think the players respected his hard work ethic." ... The Rebels will work out for 90 minutes this afternoon at Rebel Park before taking a 6 p.m. flight to Chicago. UNLV opens its season Saturday morning at Northwestern.