UH’s place-kicking troubles subside as Warriors put the ‘foot’ in football

MOSCOW, Idaho » A week ago it might not have been something they would have acknowledged in public, let alone offered up to a reporter for print.

But this time the members of the University of Hawaii’s place-kicking unit could say it with chest-swelling pride and a smile.

"We call ourselves ‘automatic’ because that’s what our kicks are supposed to be," said holder Shane Austin.

And, just in time, they finally were.

A week after they were booed off the field for an uneven performance, one of their number, place-kicker Kenton Chun, was triumphantly carried off the field Saturday after kicking a 35-yard field goal with 32 seconds remaining that held up as the difference in a sometimes stranger-than-fiction 16-14 victory over Idaho.

Chun, the smallest Warrior at 5-foot-6, stood tall even before being hoisted atop the shoulders of teammates, a fist-pumping symbol of a kicking unit that came looking for redemption and found it in a big way in a game UH had to have.

It was a Rudy-esque sight for the senior walk-on who was cut from the squad once (in 2010), barely made it in a second attempt this spring and had to kick well Wednesday to be assured a berth on the traveling roster.

On an occasion when the offense could only muster one touchdown, the kicking game of all things saved the day — and a whole lot more. With the Warriors’ season on the line, a unit that had suffered six blocks and at least one deflection this season delivered on all three field-goal attempts (27 and 35 yards by Chun and 47 by Tyler Hadden) and an extra point to raise UH to 5-3 (3-1 conference) and move within two victories of a Sheraton Hawaii Bowl berth while keeping alive hopes of a second consecutive WAC championship.

Had the Warriors not pulled this one out before a stunned, frustrated gathering of 10,461 in a Kibbie Dome left silent except for the celebrations of the Warriors and their handful of faithful, the bowl bid would have been in jeopardy and a shot at a WAC title repeat dashed.

And we all know who would have been the goats — again.

Victory wasn’t preserved until Trey Farquhar’s 53-yard attempt at a game-winning field goal bent wide left as time expired. The effort was plenty long enough but was apparently tipped at the line by a leaping Tavita Woodard, head coach Greg McMackin said.

It prompted the last sigh of relief on a day given to them as the Warriors, one by one, found reward in their patience, persistence and dogged pursuit of success over the past few weeks.

"Everything was the way it was supposed to be for our kicks," said Hadden, whose 47-yard field goal in the second quarter is the Warriors’ longest of the season. With that kick it seemed a weight had been lifted from Hadden, who had suffered more blocks (three) than field-goal successes (two) entering the game; and the Warriors, who had struggled in every way imaginable trying to get the ball over the crossbar this season.

"The snap, the hold, the blocking, the kicks, everything was perfect," Hadden said before declaring, "This is the new normal for us."

"The ‘new normal,’ huh," McMackin said. "I like that."

Indeed, there was a lot finally to like about the kicking game, especially the way they went about proving their worth. Truth be told, those in the kicking game not only needed an afternoon like this, they wanted one to show what they could do.

"This win, coming at the end like this, got our confidence back," Austin said. "This was a good game to get back on track with. Now that we have the problems eliminated, we should be able to just go through the rest of the season the way it should be … automatic."

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820.