Football notebook: Sankey tops the record books

Sankey’s record-breaking run With one seven-yard run in the third quarter of Friday’s Apple Cup, Bishop Sankey wrote his name in the Washington football record books. Sankey broke the UW’s career-rushing touchdown record and the single-season rushing yards record when he scored from seven yards out with 5:16 remaining in the third quarter of Friday’s 27-17 win against Washington State. Entering the game, Sankey was 120 yards shy of Corey Dillon’s UW record of 1,695 yards in a season, set in 1996. He broke that record with the touchdown run, which pushed his total to 121 yards for the game. “It’s a great honor,” Sankey said. “I’m really glad the coaches could trust in me to keep the ball this year, and also the linemen, I couldn’t have done it without them.” The touchdown was the 35th of Sankey’s career, which broke Napoleon Kaufman’s UW record. Sankey had tied the record with three scores last weekend against Oregon State. “He’s a stud,” head coach Steve Sarkisian said. “He deserves so much recognition nationally and in our conference. He comes to work every single day; he’s not about the flash. He’s never going to stand up in front of anybody and boast about himself, but somebody has to boast about him, so I will.” The junior from Spokane, Wash., finished the afternoon with 200 yards and a touchdown on 34 carries against a team he was once committed to. It was a fitting regular season finale for Sankey, who is deciding whether to return to the UW for his senior season. He said he had not made any decisions yet about his future, but he would sit down with his family in the coming weeks and make the choice whether to jump to the NFL. Third-quarter domination for Huskies At halftime of Friday’s Apple Cup, the tension in Husky Stadium was palpable. The UW trailed the archrival Cougars 10-3 and had mustered up just 144 yards of offense. But, as they have all season, the Huskies came out of the break firing on all cylinders. In the third quarter Friday, the UW turned a 10-3 deficit into a 20-10 lead in under nine minutes. They continued the same pattern of domination they’ve shown all season in the third quarter. With the regular season in the books, the Huskies have outscored opponents 177-65 in the third this year. “What’s been indicative of this team all year long is our ability to come out in the third quarter and make really good adjustments,” Sarkisian said. “The team remained focused, and we played an awesome third quarter.” WSU started the second half with the ball, but the Huskies shut down the Cougar offense to get the ball back. Senior quarterback Keith Price then led the team on an eight-play, 85-yard drive that culminated with an 18-yard touchdown pass to Austin Seferian-Jenkins that tied the game. “We just wanted to concentrate on finishing the game,” safety Sean Parker said. “We came out with a lot of energy. We wanted to keep doing what we had been doing, but with more energy.” The touchdown marked the 11th time in 12 games this season that the Huskies have found the end zone on their first drive of the second half. Only in the 56-0 win over Idaho State, when backup quarterback Cyler Miles was already in the game, did the UW fail to score on its first series after the break. The quarter continued to get better for the Huskies. A short punt gave the UW good field position at its own 40, and Sankey followed with a six-carry drive that ended with his record-setting touchdown. The Huskies also added a field goal with just more than a minute left in the quarter. Senior sendoff comes in a win Price milled around on the field for a while following the final whistle Friday. It was the last time he will get to do so. The Huskies said goodbye to 17 seniors Friday, celebrating Senior Day before the game with the players’ families meeting them on the field. It was a touching moment for a group that came into the UW at a time when the football program was at the bottom and helped raise the Huskies back into prominence. “They chose to come to the University of Washington when this might not have been the hottest school in our conference or in the nation to come to,” Sarkisian said. “These guys chose to come here, and they came here and put an investment into this program for the last four or five years. And their investment has paid off, they’re walking out of here knowing that this football program is in a better place today than it was when they got here.” It was a spectacular afternoon for the seniors, especially after last season’s debacle in Pullman, Wash. Parker said it was great for the Huskies to get some payback after their 31-28 defeat to WSU last season. “Awesome, awesome,” Parker said. “Awesome to see my guys happy, and that’s a big family we got to celebrate with.” Price said he became emotional before the game even started, when he was met on the field by family members during the pregame ceremony. “I try not to get too emotional,” Price said. “But it was my last one and it kind of hit me. I was holding back tears, and I think I shed a couple after the game.” Reach reporter Daniel Rubens at sports@dailyuw.com. Twitter: @drubens12

Football notebook: Sankey tops the record books

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