Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, October 22, 1995 TAG: 9510230056
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: AUSTIN, TEXAS LENGTH: Medium
A calm came over Texas place-kicker Phil Dawson after Virginia called a timeout designed to rattle him.
``I go out there the first time and get my spot and I'm [standing] there and saying, "I don't know if I can make this,' '' said Dawson, who had missed two earlier attempts Saturday.
``Of course, their guys are yelling at me because I'd looked horrible on the first two. It's almost a blessing when they called timeout because I don't think I was mentally ready the first time.''
It was only after tuning out his own teammates, as well as the Cavaliers, that Dawson kicked a 50-yard field goal that provided 16th-ranked Texas with a 17-16 victory over No.14 UVa.
Dawson had pulled field-goal attempts of 52 and 57 yards with the wind, but his game-winning kick came in the face of a wind estimated at 12 mph before game time.
``I think it lightened up a little before [the final kick],'' said Dawson, a 5-foot-11, 191-pound sophomore. ``It was as hard as I can kick a ball, but if it had been blowing the way it had been all game, it wouldn't have been good.''
Dawson said he opened his shoulder too early on his first field-goal try and never got set on his second kick, when holder Matt Davis was late in running onto the field.
``I was sitting there with about five minutes left in the game telling myself, "Wouldn't it be something if this came down to a field goal?'' said Dawson, who was 6-of-7 before Saturday.
``The way I had been playing, the way I had been kicking, for this to come down a long field goal into the wind, I said, "Don't do this to me.'
Dawson said the wind was so strong before the game that he didn't attempt a field goal of more than 40 yards at the south end of the stadium.
``I felt we'd have to get inside the [Virginia] 25 to have a chance,'' he said. ``When they sent me out there to the 33, I just said, "I hope I have the leg for this.' ''
Dawson was pleased to see quarterback James Brown run to the left sideline on the Longhorns' next-to-last play because it meant his field-goal attempt would come from the left hash-mark.
``I was just telling him to run,'' said Dawson, an All-Southwest Conference choice last year as a freshman, ``but I'd already missed two from the right. I was ready to try something different.''
Virginia coach George Welsh said there was no question that he would use one of his three remaining timeouts to ice Dawson.
``Everybody does that,'' he said.
If the situation arises next year, when the Cavaliers entertain Texas in the second week of the season, Welsh might want to spare himself the trouble.
``I was pretty rattled this game,'' said Dawson, whose 50-yarder matched his career-long field goal. ``I might hide it pretty good, but that timeout gave me a chance to get in there with the guys ... I knew I wasn't out there by myself.''
As the kick went through the uprights, Dawson took off running, although he eventually was caught by teammates who carried him off the field.
``That's the most moving experience ever in sports for me,'' Dawson said. `` I make such a big deal about wanting to be a football player, not just a kicker, and I want to be one of the guys.
``To have the guys who've been out there all day long beating their heads soft carry you off the the field, that's really something special.''
by CNB