Aguayo comes through in the clutch

Steve Guiremand

Monday, Sept. 12, 2005 | 8:59 a.m.

It's kind of an unwritten rule in football to not talk to a placekicker before he attempts a game-winning kick.

The idea is to not break the kicker's concentration or put any extra pressure on him. Usually the kicker will stand by himself, line himself up and picture how he wants the upcoming kick to unfold.

But first-year UNLV head coach Mike Sanford chose to ignore that tradition Saturday night at Sam Boyd Stadium.

As his sophomore placekicker, Sergio Aguayo, waited through three timeouts before attempting a 41-yard field goal with just four seconds left in regulation, Sanford decided to have a chat with Aguayo.

"He came up to me and said, 'This is what football is all about, so enjoy it,' " Aguayo recalled.

A few moments later, Aguayo did just that.

His 41-yarder into a stiff breeze went straight through the uprights to give UNLV (1-1) an emotional 34-31 victory against Idaho (0-2) and started a wild victory celebration on the field.

"I had no doubt that we were going to make that field goal," Sanford said after picking up his first Division I head coaching win. "I smiled at Sergio and said, 'This is what you play football for. Enjoy the moment. This is going to be a great moment in your life.' "

It was.

"I've never experienced something like that in the past," Aguayo said. "I've never kicked a game-winning field goal like that before. And then to have my friends carry me off the field on their shoulders like that was really, really awesome.

"It was kind of overwhelming, really."

The timing couldn't have been better for the sophomore from San Jacinto (Calif.) High School.

Aguayo, who was a perfect 27 of 27 on PATs as a freshman, missed his first attempt of 2005 last Monday at New Mexico. And as bad luck would have it, that missed extra-point came back to haunt the Rebels in an eventual 24-22 loss to the Lobos.

Aguayo more than made up for that miss on Saturday night, however. He also connected on a 26-yard field goal earlier in the game and now has made 11 of his last 12 field goals dating back to last year.

None, however, had the drama surrounding them that this one did.

"It definitely makes up for last week," Aguayo said with a smile. 'Ohmigosh, my life just passed after that one. This made up for it a lot."

"That's the thing with Sergio," said holder Casey Flair, who had kept the winning drive alive with a key fourth-and-8 reception. "He'll man-up to it and say, 'I messed up.' But he came right back and worked hard all week and wins this game like that. There was no doubt, too. Sergio put it right down the middle."

So a week that started with bitter disappointment ended with happy redemption.

"The thing that is great about it is that last week, after Sergio missed that extra point, he could have very easily gone into the tank," Sanford said. "But he didn't. We all believe in him. He's a great kicker. And he's going to win a lot of other games for us this year."

The senior from Rancho High School finished the game with a personal-best three sacks. He was credited with five tackles on the night, four of them behind the line of scrimmage.

Moore's biggest sack came with approximately five minutes to go in the game. Idaho had a third-and-goal at the Rebels 4-yard line when Moore tackled Vandals quarterback Steven Wickman for a 10-yard loss.

On the next play, Idaho placekicker Mike Barrow hooked a 31-yard field goal that would have given the Vandals a 34-31 lead. It's possible he would have made it if he was 10 yards closer.

"It's probably my best game ever," Moore said.

Steichen, who twice came up limping after hard hits in the contest but remained in the game, completed 22 of 34 passes for 250 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. He also rushed for another 104 yards on 17 carries, including a 51-yard touchdown run on the third play from scrimmage.

Steichen became the first Rebels quarterback since Jason Thomas in 2001 at Arkansas to rush for 100 yards in a game.

"This guy is a warrior," Sanford said, looking at his battered and bloodied quarterback. "He played his heart out."

Safety Nate Kenion left the game with a sprained ankle while starting right tackle Jesse Knight suffered a stinger but returned to finish the contest.