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Sports TwitterRare on-side kick spree gave RedHawks hope at Temple
Friday, October 26, 2007
Just about all of the Miami RedHawks had sub-par performances in their 24-17 loss at Temple Oct. 20.
One exception was sophomore Trevor Cook, who had lost his role as the place-kicker for field goals and extra points to Nathan Parseghian.
Extras
Cook didn't see much action against the Owls until the final 79 seconds, but then Cook did something that possibly nobody in college football has ever done before.
He successfully kicked three onside kicks — all three were recovered by the RedHawks — in a span of 1 minute, 15 seconds. Only two of them were official since one was negated by a penalty, but that makes it even more amazing.
"You've got a guy, Trevor Cook, who's seen his role diminish over recent weeks," Miami head coach Shane Montgomery said. "To come in cold and make three kicks in a row, and especially having to do it back-to-back after a penalty, is outstanding."
The first recovery took place after quarterback Daniel Raudabaugh had thrown a 1-yard touchdown pass to tight end Tom Crabtree with 1:19 on the clock, after Parseghian's extra-point kick cut Temple's lead to 24-14.
Parseghian booted a 33-yard field goal after the recovery, making it 24-17 with nine seconds remaining.
Then Cook lined up again for another onside kick. The RedHawks recovered again, but were flagged for an illegal block. Cook and company had to do it again, and they did.
"He's practiced that all year," Montgomery said. "He's got that little kick down right on, which makes it hard to defend."
That left 70 yards to cross in 4 seconds. Raudabaugh's long pass was intercepted and the game was over.
"To our kids' credit, we fought until the end and gave ourselves a chance with a Hail Mary," Montgomery said.
Still, it was a loss that did not sit well with the Miami coach.
"When we look back, we did not play well enough to win, we did not play smart enough to win," Montgomery said. "We made more physical and mental errors than we'd made in previous weeks. We just did not play a very good football game."
The RedHawks hope to improve on third-down performance Saturday when they make an excursion into Southeastern Conference country at Vanderbilt. Miami was just 3-of-19 on third down conversions at Temple.
Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2197, or pconrad@coxohio.com.
