Wildcats ground out victory over Lobos

Dan Hoffman Arizona Daily Wildcat UA senior free safety David Fipp (23) makes a tackle on the New Mexico offense during the Insight.com Bowl, Dec. 27. Fipp was credited with one of the three interceptions of the Lobos' quarterback during their 20-14 victory.

Players like Brady Batten and Kevin Schmidtke heard their names called early and often alongside senior stalwarts like Chester Burnett and Joe Salave'a.

Other senior starters included linebacker Jimmy Sprotte; center Rusty James; cornerbacks Rashee Johnson and Kelly Malveaux; tackle Jose Portilla; defensive linemen Mike Szlauko; safety David Fipp and wide receiver Rodney Williams.

Batten, starting his first game of the season, was unimpressive and ineffective through the air but did enough to get the Wildcats ahead on the scoreboard. He completed just seven of his 17 pass attempts for 89 yards as Arizona went to a mostly rushing attack, but he did lead UA on a touchdown-scoring drive in each of the first three quarters.

Batten started the game as a reward from the coaches for being a supportive player throughout his career - especially this season.

"Brady has stuck with us through everything this year but we also felt that he would do a great job for us in the game," said Arizona head coach Dick Tomey. "Brady is a class act and he deserved everything he got. He really earned it."

Fipp, Burnett and Malveaux each recorded an interception of Lobos quarterback Graham Leigh, who was ranked eighth in the nation in passing when the game began. The Wildcats limited Leigh to just 12-of-32 through the air for 150 yards, one touchdown and four interceptions.

The win was Arizona's fourth in a row and helped it to a 7-5 record to end the season. The Wildcats just missed breaking into the top 25 in both football polls finishing 31st in ESPN/USA Today's final poll and 26th in the AP poll, just five points behind 25th ranked Georgia Tech, who also finished at 7-5.

Defense comes up big in the clutch

The Arizona defense, which was picked apart by high-powered offenses all season, saved its best performance for last in holding New Mexico to a mere 290 yards of total offense.

The Lobos could manage only 140 yards on the ground and 150 through the air. They were also held far below their 32.5 points-per-game average, which ranked 23rd nationally coming into the game.

"We knew we had our work cut out for us so we had to bring our best stuff out to win," Burnett said.

Malveaux, who was burned for a second-quarter touchdown by New Mexico wideout Milton Thomas, redeemed himself in the final stanza by intercepting a pass with 4:34 to play. He returned the ball to the New Mexico 36-yard-line, sealing the victory for Arizona.

The interception was Malveaux's first of the year.

Cats' ground attack runs over Lobos, into record book

The previously pass-happy Wildcats had their air attack grounded, but thanks to the running of tailbacks Kelvin Eafon and Trung Canidate, the offense flourished in its final outing.

Eafon and Canidate combined for 172 yards on 43 carries and three touchdowns. As a team, the Wildcats rushed 59 times for 209 yards.

The 59 attempts set a record for rushing attempts in a bowl game by an Arizona team, eight more than the 1986 Wildcats rushed for in the Aloha Bowl.

Canidate's 24 attempts also set an individual record for rushes in a UA bowl game, eclipsing the old mark of 23 set by David Adams in the same Aloha Bowl.

Meanwhile, Eafon's two touchdowns on the ground tied the mark set by Ed Wolgast in the 1949 Salad Bowl loss to Drake.