- October 20th, 2006, 1:15 pm
#36224
Bunch o' things here:
Ben is married. Sweet girl.
Anyone who was actually around for the "Kiovsky Era" knows that he was one of the worst kickers -- present company included -- in LU history. He was so bad that Karcher would not even send him out on the field unless we were on the 15-yard line or closer. He had a 30-yard range max. Anyone who saw Kiovsky attempt that 50-yarder v Hofstra at the end of regulation in '03 knows what I'm talking about. That thing dropped around the 10-yard line and bounced through the end zone. If Hofstra had had someone back there, they could have returned it. Kiovsky had a kicking demeanor that would make rabid squirrels look downright comatose, that is to say he was absolutely terrified when he went out on the field. Most of the players absolutely hated him b/c, while the other guys were beating each other up in practice, Kiovsky would stand on the sidelines and complain about everything, usually about some sort of nagging -- and usually shifting -- injury that he was battling through. Kiovsky put the 'me' in metrosexual and he didn't quit the team b/c he couldn't get along w/ Karcher. He was on a partial schollie and, after his one abysmal freshman season, he tried to hold the program hostage by threatening to quit if he didn't get a full ride. Karcher said, "Fine" and signed Kolegue.
As a program, we seem to have been snakebit in the kicker department ever since Jay Kelley's concussion vs Eastern Kentucky in '02. We've tried the QB/K thing before w/ Travis Johnson and he apparently forgot how to kick the moment he set foot on campus. We brought in Bryce Coffee as a transfer from UVa and he had plenty of leg -- he handled kickoffs during the Kiovsky Experiment -- but his FG attempts were as likely to hit the OL in the ankles as they were to get through the uprights. Kolegue's first year was an improvement on the unmitigated disaster that was Kiovsky but he was still inconsistent enough to warrant recruiting a stronger leg in Beasley.
I feel terrible for Beas right now -- and even more so for his wife -- b/c not only does he feel bad enough on his own but he's got to go to class w/ a bunch of internet yahoos calling for the return of "Pink Shirt".
As an aside, did anyone else notice on the final FG attempt that the W&M defenders came right over our center/long snapper and knocked him flying as soon as he snapped the ball? That's completely illegal. While it doesn't change the accuracy of our kickers, it happened right in front of the umpire and it should have been flagged for a personal foul which would have given us 1st & goal from the 10.
- By Dalegarz1