October 17, 1998

Final Stats

PULLMAN, Wash. (AP) - R. Jay Soward scored two touchdowns and Chris Claiborne had two interceptions as Southern California routed Washington State 42-14 on Saturday night.

Southern Cal (5-2 overall, 3-1 Pac-10) avenged last year's loss to the Cougars, and has not lost in Pullman since 1986.

Washington State (3-4, 0-4) lost its fourth consecutive game, and has never had back-to-back wins against Southern Cal in the 59-game series. The Trojans are 49-6-4 against the Cougars.

Claiborne returned one interception for a touchdown. His second pick killed a scoring threat that would have given the Cougars a second-quarter lead.

Washington State scored on its first possession, when DeJuan Gilmore sliced through the middle on a 35-yard touchdown run.

The Trojans tied it when Mike Van Raaphorst floated a pass over two Cougars defenders to a streaking Soward alone in a corner of the end zone.

Sophomore Paul Mencke, making his first start at quarterback for Washington State, threw his first pass of the second quarter directly to Claiborne, who scooted 25 yards for his second interception return for a touchdown of the season. Mencke threw six interceptions in the game, tying the school record.

Mencke completed 16 of 41 for 174 yards and one touchdown.

Dee Moronkola returned the ensuing kickoff 49 yards to the USC 45. After Mencke kept the drive alive with a 6-yard run on fourth-and-2, he fired a 29-yard touchdown pass to Nian Taylor to tie it at 14.

The Cougars' Leaford Hackett then recovered an onside kick at WSU's 48. The drive ended when Mencke, under heavy pressure, threw a shovel pass that was intercepted by Claiborne.

The Trojans failed to score, but Washington State's offense was largely ineffective after the turnover. The Cougars did not make a third-down conversion until late in the fourth quarter, failing on their first 13 tries.

The Trojans scored four unanswered touchdowns, beginning with Petros Papadakis' 53-yard sprint up the middle that gave USC a 21-14 halftime lead. Papadakis finished with 84 yards on six carries.

Van Raaphorst became ill and was throwing up in the second quarter. He was replaced by freshman Carson Palmer, who was 8-for-16 for 143 yards.

Palmer threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Lonnie Ford on the Trojans' first possession of the second half.

Soward took a reverse on USC's next possession and scampered 26 yards for a touchdown that gave the Trojans a 35-14 lead.

By NICHOLAS K. GERANIOS
Associated Press Writer