Ka‘imi Fairbairn glimpsed a “flinch” in his offensive line, and his hopes of retaining the longest field goal of his UCLA career hit the ground along with the officials’ flags.
A 55-yarder was one thing, but after the false-start penalty, what were the chances of being allowed to try a 60-yarder, something no major college kicker had converted in three seasons?
But Fairbairn’s funk was pierced by the shrill voice of his head coach, Jim Mora.
“Coach Mora was yelling at me, and when I looked over (to the sideline), he asked me if I could do it,” Fairbairn said.
After a reply punctuated with an energetic thumbs up, Fairbairn put himself in the school and Pac-12 record books with a kick that easily cleared the uprights.
For the 21-year-old Punahou School graduate who was named the Pac-12 special teams player of the week on Monday, it was about more than records and awards, however.
It was an affirmation of his teammates’ abiding confidence, a payoff on his dedication to surmounting a personal hurdle and a statement about Hawaii kickers all in one triumphant moment on national TV.
In his four seasons with the Bruins, Fairbairn had done a lot. He’d kicked a game-winning field goal, been honored as a bowl game standout and set a standard for consistency, including making good on 37 consecutive kicks from 35 yards on in.
Long-range success had often been, well, hit or miss from beyond 40 yards. The opportunities were few in number and often went unrequited, as he managed just 11 of 20 attempts from 40 yards or more entering this season.
He cleared his first 50-plus shot with a 53-yarder against Arizona State three weeks ago but wondered if he’d ever get to take on a kicker’s dream, one of 60 yards or more.
Mora said Fairbairn’s teammates, who had seen him clear 64 yards in practice, campaigned — from the sidelines and on the field — to give him the shot.
When the penalty wiped out the 55-yarder, Mora told reporters, “I was going to put the offense back out there and throw a Hail Mary. But Jerry (Neuheisel, the holder) said, ‘Nah, he’s got it, he’s got it. Let’s kick again.’ ”
At halftime, Mora said he asked Neuheisel, “‘How did you know?’ He said, ‘I heard the boom! of the ball on the 55-yarder and just knew he’d strike it.’”
Kicking for distance was an area where Fairbairn had painstakingly redoubled his efforts. “I always had the ability, like a lot of kickers in college, but it was about getting it right mentally,” Fairbairn said. “It is about keeping my eyes back and watching myself kick the ball and not letting other things, like the weather or situation, bother me.”
Former UH kicker Eric Hannum, who coaches kickers at Punahou, said, “We were at practice (Thursday) getting ready for Saint Louis when my phone started blowing up with texts from friends sharing that Ka‘imi just hit a 60-yard field goal.”
Hannum said, “I stopped practice with the guys and we watched the kick with the ESPN app on my phone. To see the reaction of the ninth- and 10th-grade kickers at practice, I knew that in that very moment Ka‘imi continued to pave the way in motivating the next generation of young kickers.”
One of Fairbairn’s understudies and Hannum’s proteges at Punahou, Jet Toner, already has orally committed to Pac-12 rival Stanford.
“He’s going to be the next guy (from Hawaii) making a name for himself,” Fairbairn said. And now he has something to shoot for when he gets here.
Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820.
