Block party: Blocked field goal helps preserve Cougars' victory

LAS VEGAS — Senior cornerback Ben Criddle stood on the field at Sam Boyd Stadium Saturday night, surrounded by delirious fans, trying to put into words his final game in a BYU uniform, particularly the final play of his collegiate career.

Moments earlier, with three seconds remaining in the Las Vegas Bowl and the Cougars nursing a tenuous one-point lead, UCLA lined up for what appeared to be a chip-shot 28-yard field goal. The potential game-winner.

It appeared BYU was about to go 0-2 in 2007 to UCLA, 10-1 against everybody else.

Instead, true freshman Eathyn Manumaleuna and sophomore Brett Denney partially blocked Kai Forbath's field goal attempt, which fell just short of the crossbar as time expired. And with that, the No. 17 Cougars claimed a dramatic 17-16 victory over the Bruins.

"It's a surreal feeling. We had to block a field goal to win the game," Criddle said. "I was just thinking, 'We have to make a play.' Eathyn and Denney got a hand on it. And that's the story of our team — everyone makes plays."

"It was ugly, but I'll take it," said senior Bryan Kehl. "That was close. Too close for comfort. We needed to make one more play and our will, our heart, our desire won the game."

That last play was emblematic of the team philosophy instilled by coach Bronco Mendenhall. "What I saw was an incredible surge. We sent all 11 (players), which is a desperation block," Mendenhall said. "They looked at each other before they went back out and a couple of them thought they would be the one to get it.

"I saw enough of the tip to see it start spiraling," Mendenhall continued. "But I wasn't sure then if that would be enough. It was close to the crossbar and I didn't know if it went through or not at that point. It will be a great play to use as an example for our program for a long time, because it was a play of will."

Prior to the snap, Denney was shouting encouragement to Manumaleuna, who had been planning on redshirting prior to the season and is scheduled to depart

for an LDS mission next month. "He was giving me inspirational advice," Manumaleuna said. "He told me to go all out. He pumped me up and I was able to get a good push. I don't know how I jumped, I don't have a high (vertical) ... (Forbath) is a great kicker. I'm just surprised."

"Eathyn got a good amount of (the block)," Denney said. "I think they'll split the credit but I don't care. I turned around and saw a dead duck going to the ground. That was good enough for me."