Preseason Game #1
Saturday, Aug.11, at Qualcomm Stadium, 7:30pm PDT
vs
25
 
24

San Francisco 49ers' Cedrick Wilson (84) celebrates his 16-yard touchdown reception against the San Diego Chargers in the first quarter Saturday, Aug. 11, 2001, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi)
SAN DIEGO (AP) -- San Diego's quarterbacks finally gave Chargers fans something to cheer about.
Dave Dickenson threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to rookie DeRonnie Pitts with 39 seconds left, then hit Patrick Batteaux with the conversion pass to lift the Chargers to a 25-24 victory over San Francisco in a preseason opener Saturday night.
Dickenson, seeing his first NFL action after spending four seasons in the CFL, set up the TD pass with a 23-yarder to Batteaux on fourth-and-19.
The Chargers looked radically different from the beginning, when new starter Doug Flutie led the Chargers to touchdowns on their first two possessions, including a 7-yard pass to Curtis Conway.
The Chargers never scored on their opening two possessions in any game last year, when they had one of the NFL's weakest offenses and the league's worst record, 1-15, behind Ryan Leaf, Jim Harbaugh and Moses Moreno.
"I was hoping just to continue what Doug was doing because he did a great job early," said Dickenson, who got more playing time than he might have because Drew Brees missed the first two weeks of training camp in a contract holdout. Brees didn't play.
The 49ers welcomed back running back Garrison Hearst after a two-year injury layoff. He carried five times for nine yards and said he felt fine.
Flutie, signed by the Chargers after being released by Buffalo, blocked safety John Keith on a 27-yard reverse by Tim Dwight on the game's first drive.
Four plays later, Flutie looked right, pulled up and then looked left and threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Curtis Conway in the front corner of the end zone. Conway gave Flutie the ball after the play.
After Jeff Garcia answered with a 16-yard TD pass to rookie Cedrick Wilson, Flutie came right back and moved the Chargers 72 yards, with tailback Ronney Jenkins finishing it with a 29-yard touchdown run for a 14-7 lead.
Flutie said he was excited to be playing for his new team, and it showed.
"It was a lot of fun," he said. "Two series and we're out. I'd have loved to keep playing."
On the next series, Dwight dove to catch a 21-yarder from Flutie but the officials ruled that Dwight landed out of bounds. The Chargers challenged, and the call was overturned by instant replay, with the official ruling that Dwight got his left knee down.
Two plays later, Jenkins started right and cut back left for his 29-yard scoring run.
"We ran a reverse and I had an opportunity to throw a block in there and that was fun," Flutie said. "Tim Dwight made a great catch on a ball I had to put up early. Guys made plays. I was just trying to make my reads and throw the ball."
Flutie was 8-of-10 for 70 yards. Garcia was 3-of-7 for 41 yards.
Jenkins started in place of holdout LaDainian Tomlinson, the fifth pick overall in April's draft. Jenkins gained 58 yards on six carries.
The 49ers tied it at 14 on Terry Jackson's 12-yard run just before halftime, then went ahead on Dwight Carter's TD catch with 13:18 left in the game.
Hearst started for the 49ers, capping a remarkable comeback from a broken leg that sidelined him the last two years. He was stuffed for no gain by John Parrella on his first carry, and finished with 9 yards on 5 carries. He caught one pass for 15 yards.
"I ran the first play like I was nervous," Hearst said. "I rushed it instead of taking my time and being patient."
"We mixed it up with him," said coach Steve Mariucci. "He felt good, wanted to play a little more, but we just thought we'd leave well enough alone and we'll get him some more next week.
"I think he feels pretty good about his health and where he is right now. We just didn't want to overdo it."
Hearst, who said he wasn't worried about taking a hit, knocked over strong safety Rodney Harrison.
"He set up to make the tackle and I got low on him," Hearst said. "It just felt great."
Wade Richey, who replaced long-time Chargers kicker John Carney, missed left on a 39-yard field-goal attempt in the second quarter. San Diego's Cedric Oglesby kicked a 45-yarder with 9:05 left in the game, and San Francisco's Jose Cortez hit from 24-yards with 3:59 left.



 
FINAL
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
Total
San Francisco 
7
7
0
10
24
Denver
14
0
0
11
25
..... 
 
SCORING SUMMARY
1st Quarter
SDG TD  CURTIS CONWAY 7 YD PASS FROM DOUG FLUTIE (WADE RICHEY KICK)
5:51 SAN DIEGO 7-0.
SFO TD CEDRICK WILSON 16 YD PASS FROM JEFF GARCIA (JOSE CORTEZ KICK)
9:51 SAN FRANCISCO 7, SAN DIEGO 7.
SDG TD RONNEY JENKINS 29 YD RUN (WADE RICHEY KICK)
13:16 SAN DIEGO 14-7.
2nd Quarter
SFO TD TERRY JACKSON 12 YD RUN (JOSE CORTEZ KICK)
14:44 SAN FRANCISCO 14, SAN DIEGO 14.
3rd Quarter
    None.
4th Quarter
SFO TD DWIGHT CARTER 18 YD PASS FROM TIM RATTAY (JOSE CORTEZ KICK)
1:42 SAN FRANCISCO 21-14.
SDG FG CEDRIC OGELSBY 45 YD
5:55 SAN FRANCISCO 21-17.
SFO FG JOSE CORTEZ 25 YD
11:01 SAN FRANCISCO 24-17.
SDG TD DERONNIE PETTIS 3 YD PASS FROM DAVE DICKENSON (DAVE DICKENSON PASS TO PATRICK BATTEAUX FOR TWO-POINT CONVERISON)
14:21 SAN DIEGO 25-24.

 
  SFO SDG
First Downs 19 23
Third Down Efficiency 5-12 5-13
TOTAL NET YARDS 320 362
Total Plays 59 68
Average Gain Per Play 5.4 5.3
NET YARDS RUSHING 108 122
Rushes 24 28
Average Per Rush 4.5 4.4
NET YARDS PASSING 212 240
Pass Completion 17-31 25-37
Yards Per Pass 6.1 6.0
Times Sacked 4 3
Yards Lost To Sacks 20 22
Had Intercepted 2 0
PUNTS 5 4
Average Punt 42.2 40.8
PENALTIES 8 9
Penalty Yards 64 84
FUMBLES 0 1
Fumbles Lost 0 0
Time Of Possesion 26:57 33:03

 
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Missed field goals
San Diego Wade Richey: (39). 
San Francisco rushing
Jeff Garcia: 3 rushes for 40 yards.
Jonas Lewis: 6 rushes for 31 yards.
Terry Jackson: 3 rushes for 12 yards.
Saladin Mccullough: 5 rushes for 11 yards.
Garrison Hearst: 5 rushes for 9 yards.
Rick Mirer: 2 rushes for 5 yards. 
San Diego rushing
Ronney Jenkins: 6 rushes for 58 yards.
Tim Dwight: 1 rushes for 27 yards.
Mukala Sikyala: 9 rushes for 22 yards.
Eric Hill: 6 rushes for 10 yards.
Dave Dickenson: 6 rushes for 5 yards. 
San Francisco passing
Tim Rattay: 9-14 passes for 141 yards, with 1 interceptions.
Rick Mirer: 5-10 passes for 50 yards, with 1 interceptions.
Jeff Garcia: 3-7 passes for 41 yards, with 0 interceptions. 
San Diego passing
Dave Dickenson: 17-27 passes for 192 yards, with 0 interceptions.
Doug Flutie: 8-10 passes for 70 yards, with 0 interceptions. 
San Francisco receiving
Grant Heard: 5 receptions for 84 yards.
Dwight Carter: 3 receptions for 48 yards.
James Farris: 1 receptions for 19 yards.
Cedrick Wilson: 1 receptions for 16 yards.
Garrison Hearst: 1 receptions for 15 yards.
James Jordan: 1 receptions for 15 yards.
Josh White: 1 receptions for 12 yards.
Terrell Owens: 1 receptions for 10 yards.
Jonas Lewis: 1 receptions for 6 yards.
Terry Jackson: 1 receptions for 4 yards.
Eric Johnson: 1 receptions for 3 yards. 
San Diego receiving
Rodney Williams: 5 receptions for 63 yards.
Patrick Batteaux: 4 receptions for 78 yards.
Scott Turner: 2 receptions for 30 yards.
Tim Dwight: 2 receptions for 25 yards.
Curtis Conway: 2 receptions for 13 yards.
Fred Mccrary: 2 receptions for 10 yards.
Eric Hill: 2 receptions for 2 yards.
Ronney Jenkins: 1 receptions for 16 yards.
Trevor Gaylor: 1 receptions for 6 yards.
Steve Heiden: 1 receptions for 6 yards.
Robert Ellis: 1 receptions for 5 yards.
Marty Maurer: 1 receptions for 5 yards.
Deronnie Pettis: 1 receptions for 3 yards. 
....