DATE: Monday, September 15, 1997            TAG: 9709150155

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY JIM DUCIBELLA, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: LANDOVER, MD.                     LENGTH:  102 lines

COOKE WOULD HAVE LOVED IT WESTBROOK'S OVERTIME TD LIFTS SKINS IN STADIUM DEBUT

For 60 minutes, it had been a lackluster affair, this much-awaited first game at sparkling Jack Kent Cooke Stadium. Had the Squire, the man for whom this caverenous red-and-gold edifice was named, been alive, he would have followed his usual script and angrily wondered aloud what was wrong with his Washington Redskins.

Then quarterback Gus Frerotte side-stepped linebacker Terry Irving, found Michael Westbrook streaking down the sideline and unloaded a 40-yard pass that Westbrook leaped and caught as he landed on his back in the end zone for his second touchdown of the game.

Suddenly, everything worked out just the way the Redskins' late owner would have desired, with an emotional, heart-stopping overtime victory that sent a party-primed crowd of 78,270 home happy.

That was part of what John Kent Cooke, the new proprietor of the franchise, told the Redskins in a joyful locker room following their 19-13 triumph over a Cardinals team that had beaten them in seven of the last eight meetings.

``He was very emotional, very happy,'' Frerotte said. ``He told us, `Thank you,' that he was with us all the way and that he had the feeling his father was with us every step of the way. Personally, I thought Mr. Cooke was in every single seat out there today.''

It was a perfect ending to an emotionally wrenching week for the franchise. Winning the first game in the new stadium Cooke had spent the last 10 years of his life bringing to life had become so paramount that several players said the pressure had become almost tangible.

``I don't know how this could have been any more emotional,'' coach Norv Turner said. ``This is a very special place. I know what Jack Kent Cooke went through to get this place built. He put all his energies into it. Every time I talked to him, he talked about our team, our players and this stadium. It was very important to win this.''

And it looked like it wouldn't happen. Arizona quarterback Kent Graham, horrible and harried for most of the afternoon, led the Cardinals 37 yards to Kevin Butler's 47-yard field goal with two seconds to play to force overtime.

The Cardinals won the toss and started the first extra possession at their 34. Leeland McElroy ran for 6 yards, then started left on a second-down sweep. Marvcus Patton hit the fleet back first, then end Kenard Lang closed and spotted the ball sitting loosely in McElroy's hand. Lang grabbed the back high and raked the ball from his possession an instant, officials ruled, before McElroy hit the ground. Rookie linebacker Derek Smith was there to pounce on it and Washington had the break it needed.

``I thought I was down, but it doesn't matter,'' McElroy said. ``It was overtime. I should have had two hands on the ball.''

On second-and-15 from the Cardinals' 40, Frerotte dropped to throw and the Cardinals played right into Washington's hands by blitzing. That left Westbrook one-on-one with rookie first-round pick Tom Knight. The Redskins had run the play earlier in the game and Westbrook had blown by Knight. The ball was thrown his way and Westbrook told receivers coach Terry Robiskie to call it again later, that he'd get open.

But Irving broke through the center of the line and grabbed at Frerotte's ankles as he set to pass. Frerotte stepped out of Irving's grasp, moved a few steps to his left while shifting the ball from his right hand to his left then back to his right, re-cocked his arm and fired into the end zone.

``I don't know how I got away,'' Frerotte admitted. ``I thought I was going down.''

At the 7, Westbrook appeared to give Knight a shove, then turned to face the ball as it floated above his head. Next thing he knew, he was at the bottom of a pile of overheated, celebrating teammates as several Cardinals fell to their knees in disbelief.

``This was for Jack Kent Cooke, my teammates and Redskins fans,'' Westbrook said in his first public statement since issuing a 23-second apology for punching out teammate Stephen Davis a month ago. ``This is what I was drafted to do, this is what I can do when given the chance. The last time I stood in front of you, it was not a pleasant thing. Today, however, was one of the big games of the year for me, maybe the biggest until we go to a Super Bowl and win that.''

Westbrook almost didn't play Sunday. He awakened at 4 a.m. feeling sick. Team doctors gave him antibiotics and Turner watched his pregame workout before deciding he could go.

``Believe it or not, I'm going to do everything I can to play,'' said Westbrook, acutely aware he has been branded as injury-prone during his young career. ``The fans have been waiting for this since I was drafted.''

Earlier, Westbrook beat Arizona's best cornerback, Pro Bowler Aeneas Williams, on a 5-yard scoring route. That allowed the Redskins to overcome a 7-3 deficit created when J.J. McCleskey blocked Matt Turk's punt in the end zone and Arizona's Tommy Bennett fell on it for a touchdown.

Both defenses were dominant from that point, forcing 17 punts. Arizona staged a goal-line stand late in the fourth quarter that kept alive its chances of victory. Washington had three cracks at the Cardinals' end zone from the 1 before finally settling for Scott Blanton's 19-yard field goal with 1:13 to play in regulation.

``Two pretty good defenses and two pretty good football teams went at it,'' Arizona coach Vince Tobin said. ``It's a bitter pill to swallow, because our players aren't rewarded for a great effort. I feel for them.'' ILLUSTRATION: ASSOCIATED PRESS

``This was for Jack Kent Cooke, my teammates and Redskins fans,''

Michael Westbrook said after hauling in the winning score.

Color Photo

HUY NGUYEN/The Virginian-Pilot

QB Gus Frerotte celebrates after his 40-yard TD pass to Michael

Westbrook in OT won the game. ``Personally, I thought Mr. Cooke was

in every single seat out there today,'' Frerotte said.

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