UNLV gets its kicks with Pieffer

Steve Guiremand

Monday, Aug. 13, 2001 | 10:17 a.m.

Anybody who questions just how valuable a placekicker is to a football team need only look back at UNLV's 20-19 loss at Colorado State last October.

Rebel kicker Ray Cheetany, who missed an earlier PAT try, had another blocked with 34 seconds left in regulation which would have tied it. Had UNLV been able to convert on those two simple conversions, the Rebels would have beaten the Rams and finished in a three-way tie for first place in the Mountain West Conference. Instead, they finished third.

Following the Colorado State loss, UNLV head coach John Robinson gambled, switching to an unknown freshman walk-on from Colorado Springs named Dillon Pieffer. And the Rebels, who had missed five PATs in their first 18 attempts before the move, missed just one of their final 20 after that.

Pieffer also connected on six of his field goal tries, including a 33-yarder in overtime at Ole Miss, his first ever college field goal attempt.

The 5-11, 175-pound right-footer could play a key role for UNLV in what figures to be a very competitive MWC race that may have more than its share of nail-biters this fall.

"(Placekickers) are always key," Robinson said.

And Robinson is confident that Pieffer is more than capable of handling the role again in 2001.

"He is a highly-skilled kicker," Robinson said. "His fundamentals are good. He's very calm and very confident. He's done a really good job for us. I feel he's well on his way to becoming a very good kicker."

Pieffer said he is looking forward to his assignment.

"I'm not worried about it too much," he said. "We all miss some. ... I'm not nervous."

In fact, the former prep soccer star he's never been more excited before the start of a football season.

"This is about the first time in my life where I was excited about the start of a football season," Pieffer said. "In high school soccer was more of my life. Now it's kind of hit me that I'm going to be playing football this year, and who I'm playing for, and it's really exciting."

Pieffer, who said he has kicked field goals in the 55-yard range in practice, is also a candidate to kick off this season although Robinson said he was note sure who would handle those duties. Sophomore Ryan McDonald and freshman Gary Cook are battling for the starting punting job.

Robinson will read questions to contestants. He taped the half-hour episode, which will air from 4 to 5 p.m., earlier this summer in New York.