Sept. 23 (UPI) — Wake Forest was missing one essential ingredient when it went for a field goal against Notre Dame: the kicker.
The Demon Deacons were lining up for a 37-yard attempt with 7:01 remaining in the first quarter during the sequence on Saturday at BB&T Field in Winston-Salem, N.C. They were attempting to earn a 3-0 lead in the game, which Wake Forest eventually lost 56-27.
The team lined up for the attempt on 4th and 6 and the holder knelt down to receive the snap. But he looked back and realized there was no kicker behind him. He then looked toward the sideline, where Nick Sciba was still practicing his kicks.
Sciba sprinted onto the field for a rushed attempt and banged the kick off of the left upright. The kicker redeemed himself with a 30-yard field goal and another 39-yard field goal at the end of the first quarter to go 2-for-3 on the day for the Demon Deacons.
“We had a unique opportunity to do something special, unfortunately we didn’t play well,” Wake Forest coach Dave Clawson told reporters. “A lot of the problems we talked about a week ago came back to get us again. As the head coach, I got to do a better job. We’ve got a lot of football left to play, but Notre Dame outplayed us.”
“We’re only a third of the way through the season, we’ve got eight games left. I think we have a good football team, I think we’ve got good players, we’ve got to find a way to get more from them, and that starts with me and the coaching staff, and we’re going to look at everything going forward.”
Wake Forest battles Rice at 3:30 p.m. on Sept. 29 in Winston-Salem.
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