UCLA INSIDE LOOK: HAVING A BALL ALONG THE WAY TWIN DEFENSIVE END DAVE TELLS JOKES EN ROUTE TO SINGLE-SEASON SACK MARK.

Byline: Brian Dohn Staff Writer

PULLMAN, Wash. - Defensive end Dave Ball isn't so much into practical jokes as he is the one-liners.

The moments of quick wit to break a tense situation are his specialty, and even after the most dire of losses - please see UCLA's 31-13 loss to No. 12 Washington State on Saturday at Martin Stadium - he is able to add levity.

Ball's sack of Cougars backup quarterback Josh Swogger late in the first half was momentous and historic. It made Ball UCLA's single-season and career record holder in sacks, and even afterward he found a way to make others chuckle.

``I'm proud of him,'' said Bruins defensive end Mat Ball, twin brother of Dave, who had a slight smile. ``He's a great boy. From a great gene pool.''

When Dave Ball went around the left side of the Cougars line, grabbed Swogger and pulled him down on Washington State's 8-yard line with 2:26 left in the second quarter, it gave him 13.5 sacks this season.

Ball surpassed Carnell Lake's single-season record of 13, set in 1987. He led the nation entering the game. The sack also gave him 27.5 in his career, breaking the tie he was in with Eric Smith.

But Ball also was bothered by numerous other chances he had to add to his sack list. He knocked starter Matt Kegel out in the first quarter with a vicious hit as the quarterback threw, and hit Swogger several times but couldn't drag him down.

``People congratulated me on the sidelines but then it was back to the game,'' said Ball, who had four tackles and recovered a fumble. ``I'm not really thinking about the record. I should have gotten more. I missed on a couple other ones, so I'm not thrilled about that.''

However, don't think Ball doesn't love the fact he is UCLA's all-time sack leader. He said after recording two sacks in the season opener at Colorado he wanted to set the school's all-time sack record.

It is quite the journey for the 6-foot-6, 275-pounder from Dixon High (near Sacramento). Ball didn't begin as a player who would overwhelm offensive linemen, terrorize quarterbacks and rewrite record books.

In fact, Ball had three sacks in his first two seasons before breaking lose with 11 last season, giving him 24.5 in his past 23 games. ``Maybe at some time I will (think about it),'' Ball said, ``but not right now.''

Yet, Dave Ball's game is more than just giggles, and somewhere inside he wants everyone to know it. At the season's outset, Ball said he wanted to be remembered at UCLA as more than a jokester.

His target was the sack record, but even in the glow of that, the comedy finds a way through.

``Good genes?'' Dave Ball said. ``Yeah, Levi's.''

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Dave Ball pulls down Washington State's Josh Swogger on Saturday to set UCLA's single-season sack record at 13.5.

Rajah Bose/Associated Press