Huskies Find The Fun In Football On Senior Night
By Mason Kelley
GoHuskies.com
Danny Shelton notched an arrow, pulled back and fired. About five yards away, John Timu tumbled out of the way before shooting an arrow back at his senior teammate, which caused the defensive tackle to dive and dodge the shot.
Then they fired at Hau’oli Kikaha, but he snatched it out of the air and broke it in half because, “That doesn’t happen,” the senior outside linebacker said with a laugh.
This was the scene on the field during a break in the action of Washington’s 37-13 win over Oregon State at Husky Stadium.
The Huskies, who have been spending their free time watching the TV series “Arrow,” recently started playfully shooting imaginary arrows at each other in practice. It carried over to the game.
“I don’t have time to watch it,” Kikaha said. “I watch film, but it’s a fun little deal they brought to practice. Danny and I started shooting them at each other during practice one day. It’s just good fun.”
In warmups and between plays, the Huskies laughed and fired. They turned the turf into a playground, performing their personal play in front of the 65,036 fans in attendance.
“I guess it turned into a little shooting match out there,” Kikaha said. “Danny and John were getting after it.”
In the season's final home game, Washington sent 19 seniors out in style. The difference? The Huskies had fun.
“That’s actually what we’ve been missing, honestly, the fun,” Timu said. “We needed to bring it back in whatever way we could. Arrow is one of those ways.”
Before the game, coach Chris Petersen hugged each senior before taking the field. And, in their final game on their home field, the seniors were treated to night they won’t soon forget.
Timu tallied 10 tackles. Andrew Hudson added a pair of sacks.
“My last play here was a sack, so that’s pretty cool,” Hudson said. “We were just going nuts with it. It was fun.”
Jaydon Mickens scored a pair of touchdowns for the Huskies, who finished with four scores of more than 36 yards.
“It was a blast to go out there and play like we did,” senior defensive lineman Evan Hudson said. “There’s nothing better.”
At one point in the second half, fans started a “Ka-sen Will-iams” chant. They wanted to show some appreciation for the senior. He responded by saluting the group.
From start to finish the Huskies had fun, firing a few imaginary arrows along the way.
“Everybody wants to go out on Senior Night with a win,” Kikaha said, “so hallelujah.”