And it just may have helped his Ducks team to a hard-fought win vs. the Golden Bears.
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Late in the third quarter with Oregon down 7-3 to visiting Cal, a fan snuck onto the field and managed to evade security for several moments, halting the Ducks’ drive downfield. Finally, as said fan headed toward the West end zone, the 6-1, 222-pound back broke from the huddle and streaked 20 yards downfield to tackle the fan at the 15-yard line.
Here’s another angle of the hit:
After the game, Habibi-Likio said he tackled the fan to help get the game back on track.
“We were down and he was kind of taking a while — prayers out to him, I hope he’s not hurt,” Habibi-Likio said after the game (via ESPN). “I had no intention of hurting him, we just need to get the game going.
“This is the Pac-12 North, and this is a Pac-12 game, we gotta get going or the result would have been different.”
The tackle must have had the intended effect; shortly thereafter, he dove in for a 1-yard, go-ahead touchdown later in the third quarter that ultimately proved to be the difference in a tough Ducks win. That said, Habibi-Likio said he does feel bad for tackling the fan, even if the Pac-12 doesn’t have a policy to reprimand student-athletes who tackle fans on the field of play.
“If (the fan) has Instagram or Twitter, you can follow me and message me, Habibi-Liko said, “and we can go get ice cream.”
