CHRIS CODUTO/Arizona Daily Wildcat Quarterback Nic Costa breaks away from the UCLA defense during the fourth quarter of Saturday's 24-21 loss.

Cats fall again after late-game miscues

Arizona outplayed, out-gained and overpowered UCLA Saturday at Arizona Stadium in front of a family weekend crowd of 44,481.

The Wildcats also outscored the Bruins in another category ÷ costly mistakes.

The Wildcats (1-6, 0-2 Pacific 10 Conference) dropped their sixth straight game and 13th consecutive Pac-10 home contest, falling to UCLA, 24-21.

More than being beaten by the Bruins, the Wildcats beat themselves.

"We found a way to lose this game," said sophomore safety Darrell Brooks.

Arizona missed two field goals, threw four interceptions, committed two crucial penalties ÷ and could not overcome the errors.

Possibly the most glaring of all the mistakes came in the game's final six minutes, when freshman kicker Nicholas Folk missed a 28-yard field goal that would have pulled the Wildcats even with the Bruins at 24. Senior Bobby Gill also missed a short field goal attempt when his 32-yarder sailed wide left midway through the second quarter.

The Wildcats had four chances to score within the 30-yard line, ultimately leaving UCLA territory with nothing to show for it.

"We got down in the scoring zone a couple times, had a chance to make some plays and just didn't," said sophomore quarterback Nic Costa, who had a pair of touchdown passes on his first two attempts of the game in relief of starter Kris Heavner.

Folk's miss in the game's closing minutes wasn't the only reason Arizona lost ÷ it was just the final mistake that closed the door on the Wildcats' chance to pull off the upset.

"It's pretty disheartening right now," Costa said. "There were a couple plays we could have made here or there and the game might have been different, but the thing is we didn't make those plays."

Two second-half penalties contributed to the Wildcats' collapse.

Three minutes into the third quarter, the UA defense held the Bruins to a short field goal that would have made the score 21-13 in favor of the Wildcats.

Arizona was called for being offsides, with the ensuing five-yard penalty giving the Bruins a first down. UCLA elected to take the three points off the board, and went on to score a touchdown two plays later, cutting the Wildcats' lead to four points at 21-17.

Another costly penalty came late in the fourth quarter with Arizona trailing by three. The Wildcats held the Bruins to what would have been a three-play-and-out drive, but UCLA was awarded a first down and was able to run four more minutes off the clock due to a 15-yard facemask penalty.

Arizona got the ball back at its own one-yard line with just 1:12 remaining.

"You can't fault their effort, but you have to learn that you have to have a little poise and channel that effort into the proper area," interim head coach Mike Hankwitz said.

Turnovers also proved crucial in the Wildcats' heartbreaker.

With Arizona clinging to a 21-17 lead going into the fourth quarter, Heavner's shovel pass attempt was intercepted by UCLA lineman Rodney Leisle, who took it 55 yards to the end zone for the go-ahead score.

The pick was Heavner's third of the night; the other two were both in UCLA territory, thwarting Wildcat drives.

Costa added an interception with less than 30 seconds to play, sealing the Bruins' victory.

"Our turnovers were critical because they denied us some scoring opportunities," Hankwitz said.

Although Arizona made too many mistakes to pull out the win, costing the Wildcats their first home Pac-10 win in almost three years, the team played arguably its best all-around game of the season. The Wildcats out-gained UCLA 519-333 and saw a rebirth in their once-effective running game. The rushing game was no longer missing in action, gaining 288 yards on the ground ÷ 132 by senior quarterback Clarence Farmer, with another 94 from sophomore Mike Bell.

"This is probably as disappointing a loss as I have experienced in 33 years," Hankwitz said. "On the other side, I was extremely proud of the way our players played."