Debut leaves Thomas battered but resolute

Steve Guiremand

Monday, Sept. 11, 2000 | 10:25 a.m.

For the first time in almost three years, Jason Thomas was sore and bruised when he woke up Sunday morning.

Make that very sore and bruised.

And he can thank a very physical Iowa State defense for helping make his first Division I start -- a 37-22 loss to the Cyclones on Saturday in Ames, Iowa -- one that had Thomas yearning for the whirlpool on Sunday morning.

"Man, I can't remember if I've ever felt this sore before," Thomas said before the team's Sunday night workout at Rebel Park. "Everything hurt. My neck. My back. Everything."

That's what happens when you handle the ball on 46 plays, rushing 21 times for a team-high 107 yards against what is regarded as one of the better defenses in the Big 12 Conference this year.

"Hey, this is just a part of it," Thomas said. "I know my O-linemen are sorer than me. It's just a part of the game. So I've got to get out here and show them I'm a tough guy."

"He's on full scholarship," UNLV coach John Robinson said with a smile. "We're going to make him work a little. He took a beating like a running back normally would with all those carries."

Thomas, who hadn't started a game at quarterback since 1997, his senior year at Dominguez High School in Compton, Calif., was noticeably tired near the end of the third quarter, bending over and grabbing his knees between plays.

"It was a big surprise to me, just the length of the game," Thomas said. "With TV timeouts and all that, you've got to be in a good shape. It's almost like playing two high school games. But in time I'll get better at it."

Still, fatigue and all, Thomas twice rallied UNLV, which trailed 27-6 at halftime, within 12 points of the Cyclones in the second half. Besides a nifty 45-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, he hooked up twice with wide receiver Nate Turner for touchdown passes of 56 and 31 yards.

"Jason Thomas is a major league player," Iowa State coach Dan McCarney said. "Seeing him in person is about what we expected based on what everybody's said about him."

The 6-4, 230-pound Thomas said it took him about a half to adjust to the college game.

"It's a different level," he said. "They play fast and they play hard and they keep coming and coming and coming. (Iowa State) was a good team. I have nothing but positive things to say about them.

"Going into the game, I really didn't know what to expect. At the start, I was seeing the back of my offensive linemen instead of looking downfield. And my feet weren't set, and I wasn't comfortable in the pocket."

That changed after intermission.

"Once the second half came, I felt like a different player," Thomas said. "I was managing the team better and we played better. It all starts with the quarterback. Once I got into my groove, we started going. But it was a little too late.

"Hey, it was my first college football game. Whoever expected me to throw for 300 yards and run for 300 yards was full of crap."

Senior Ray Cheetany, who had a rooting section of 96 friends and family at Jack Trice Stadium, had a punt, field goal and PAT blocked.

Cheetany, who added placekicking duties to his resume this year, did a poor job of getting his placekicks up off the ground.

Blocking also appeared shabby at best.

"Those are the kinds of things that happen sometimes in the first game on special teams," Robinson said. "Those are mistakes that can be corrected, though."

Although he averaged just 33.5 on his four punts, several of which were into the teeth of a strong wind, Cheetany did nail three inside the 20. And his 32-yard field goal in the third quarter brings him within one of UNLV's total of two field goals made in the entire 1999 season.

The Eagles appeared to be on the verge of the go-ahead touchdown in the waning moments of the game. Starting on their own 38, true freshman quarterback Scott Hall, taking advantage of a mixup in Tech's coverage, connected with wide-open wide receiver LaDarrin McLane, who began charging down the right sideline toward the end zone.

But McLane was finally caught from behind by Tech safety Kevin Curtis at the Red Raider 12. Curtis alertly punched the ball out of McLane's grasp and into the middle of the field where cornerback Derrick Briggs picked it up at the 2 and ran 54 yards the other way to seal Tech's victory.

"It was an unfortunate thing that happened, but it should never have come down to that," North Texas coach Darrell Dickey said.

"We played our rear ends off, and we were just a play or two away from having it go in our favor."