UNLV ends another losing streak

Saturday, Oct. 7, 2000 | 11:01 a.m.

The Nevada-Reno Wolf Pack had a new nickname on Saturday night at Sam Boyd Stadium.

Cannon Fodder.

The UNLV Rebels (3-2), erasing the last of a handful of long losing streaks inherited by head coach John Robinson a year ago, made it look easy in ending a five-year drought in their annual Battle for the Fremont Cannon. UNLV cruised to a 38-7 victory before a crowd of 27,578, the largest to ever watch the Rebels and Wolf Pack play in Las Vegas.

It was only the second time in the last 12 meetings between the two in-state rivals that UNLV came out on top. And long-suffering Rebel fans rejoiced by tearing down the goal posts in the north end zone and taking a freshly red-painted cannon for a victory lap around Sam Boyd Stadium about 15 minutes afterward, breaking a piece off of it in the process.

"I was the first one to paint it, baby!" senior safety Randy Black shouted as he was surrounded by admirers. "The fans gave me a can and told me to do my thing. It's been a long time. I wanted to be the first one on the cannon and the first one to paint it. And the crowd let me do that.

"This is what Division I football is all about!" Black, a Clark High graduate, said. " They tore down the goal posts! They do that in bowl games! I love it. This is what it's all about."

"Finally, I think (the win) states that we are the best team in Nevada," Rebel quarterback Jason Thomas said. "I think we are the best team in Nevada. I think we have the best players in Nevada. And the best coach. You put it all together on Saturday and it's great.

"I think we should hold our heads high today because there's been a lot said about Reno and the streak and the cannon ... that we're sorry. One ex-Rebel (Matt Ray) said I wasn't a good quarterback. But we just wanted to make plays and we did that."

Thomas had another big game, rushing for 88 yards and one touchdown while also completing 8 of 12 passes for 152 yards and two touchdowns.

"Jason Thomas was the difference in the game," Nevada-Reno coach Chris Tormey said. "He made all the plays. We couldn't tackle him."

And tailbacks Kevin Brown (16 carries, 104 yards, one touchdown) and Jeremi Rudolph (13 carries, 103 yards) both passed the 100-yard barrier, the first time since 1995 that the Rebels had two backs rush for 100 yards or more in the same game.

Meanwhile, the Rebel defense would have had a shutout if not for a fluke Wolf Pack touchdown in the first quarter. Safety Sam Brandon deflected a David Neill pass but the ball went behind him to wide receiver Jermaine Brown who scooted into the end zone for a 30-yard touchdown.

Other than that, the highlights were few and far between for a rebuilding Nevada-Reno (1-4) squad that pulled out all the gimmicks early, including a rare triple-reverse that resulted in a 20-yard run by wide receiver Nate Burleson.

UNLV outgained the Wolf Pack (1-4), 473 to 245, and held a 351 to 132 edge in rushing yards. And Nevada-Reno quarterback David Neill completed just 9 of 29 passes for 119 yards.

"I think our team played hard," Robinson said. "Again our defense held the team to one touchdown and that was kind of a ricochet job. I was proud of the way our team played."

There was one negative to come out of the victory for the Rebels, however.

Junior middle linebacker James Sunia, the quarterback of the defense, suffered a torn ACL in his right knee and his season is likely done. He will undergo an MRI on Monday to confirm the early diagnosis.

"We have kind of mixed emotions right now," Thomas, who wore Sunia's jersey into the postgame interview room, said. "Suie got hurt today. We still don't know serious it is, but he was kind of down. It's kind of like we won but we lost. We pride ourselves on being a family. That's why I've got his jersey on to let everybody know that I'm thinking about him."

Sunia said he suffered the injury while running down on coverage at the end on a punt play.

"They need to figure out how bad its torn," Sunia said. "They may have a brace I can play in. If not, I'll have to have surgery and get ready for next year."

UNLV trainer Kyle Wilson said the normal rehab for ACL surgery is six to 12 months.