Jenkins Puts Troubles Behind in Debut for Northern Arizona

Ronney Jenkins is once again slipping and sliding through defenses with a football in his hands.

And he’s holding his head high.

Jenkins, famous for setting a national high school record by rushing for 619 yards in a game for Hueneme High in 1995, is infamous around Provo, Utah, for twice breaking the strict honor code at Brigham Young.

Both violations were for having sexual relations while unmarried. The first came on the heels of his being chosen the Western Athletic Conference freshman of the year in 1996 and resulted in a one-year suspension. He came back to rush for 1,307 yards last season, but with severe sanctions again awaiting him, he transferred.

Rather than enroll in another Division I program, which would have required him to lose a year of eligibility, Jenkins chose Northern Arizona, a Division I-AA school in the Big Sky Conference.

It’s a good fit so far. Jenkins rushed for 189 yards and two touchdowns in 19 carries during the Lumberjacks’ 55-21 victory over Cal Poly San Luis Obispo last week. Most of the yardage came in the first half.

“He is elusive, explosive, a tremendous effort player,” Coach Jerome Souers of Northern Arizona said. “I’d say 10 of those 19 carries were the kind of runs that were very impressive.”

Jenkins, a junior, has impressed Souers in other ways as well. He has married and fits in well in the less rigid community of Flagstaff, Ariz.

“Ronney Jenkins is a wonderful person,” Souers said. “He has great integrity and is a total team player. We are proud to call him a Lumberjack.

“He had a lot of opportunities when he left BYU. Sometimes you feel like things were meant to happen.”

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Leaford Hackett (Poly, Valley College) is doing his part for Washington State. The receiver had 10 catches for 103 yards Saturday night against Stanford and leads the team with 14 catches in two games.

But the Cougars have bumbled and fumbled their way to two losses by a combined score of 83-24.

Washington State, which led Division I teams with 90 turnovers last season, already has nine. Against Stanford, the Cougars outgained the Cardinal, 366-318, but as the mistakes mounted, so did the score: Stanford won, 56-17.

“We can move the ball, we are a good football team,” Hackett said. “We’re just not playing smart, fundamental football. We need to put points on the board and quit making turnovers and stupid mistakes.”

Hackett, a 5-foot-9, 174-pound senior, had 54 catches for 580 yards and four touchdowns last season, his first at Washington State after transferring from Valley.

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Ignacio Brache (Village Christian) has fought to become the full-time kicker at California for three years. The senior is getting the opportunity this season, but will need to miss the uprights to keep the job.

Brache twice hit the left upright on field-goal attempts in Cal’s 45-0 loss to No. 5 Nebraska.

Last season, Brache made five of nine attempts while splitting the duties with Tim Wolleck (Simi Valley), and in 1997 he made six of 10.

At Village Christian, Brache was an All-American who tied a state record with 16 field goals his senior year, including ones of 65, 60, 59, 55 and 54 yards.

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Short gains: Derrell Daniels (Sylmar), a starting linebacker at Washington, suffered a slight ankle sprain in Washington’s 35-28 loss to Brigham Young. . . .

Quarterback Keith Smith of Arizona (Newbury Park) sat out Arizona’s 34-19 victory over Middle Tennessee State because of an ankle injury sustained two weeks ago against Penn State. In two games, Smith, who will play this week, has completed 78.4% of his passes. . . .

David Neill (Hart) completed 35 of 52 passes for 429 yards and three touchdowns in Nevada’s 38-33 loss to No. 24 Colorado State.