Oct. 4, 2004

Charleston, SC - Two weeks ago in Auburn, Alabama, the "Voice of the Bulldogs," Robby Robinson made the call inside Jordan-Hare Stadium.

"Here we are with a little over six minutes left in the fourth quarter and the ball will be placed down at the Tiger 11-yard line as The Citadel field goal unit lines up for the kick. Blake Vandiver, a redshirt sophomore place-kicker from Gainesville, Georgia, looks into the hold by senior tight end Ross Armstrong. Armstrong receives the snap from junior center Jay Thomas and places the ball down at the 18-yard line. Vandiver steps into the ball, kicking the ball high and towards the uprights. It has the distance and looks good from here. It is good and the Bulldogs have gotten on the board, but still trail Auburn 33-3 with time still remaining in regulation." If the field goal was made by any other normal college kicker a few high-fives would have been made, but for The Citadel's Vandiver, a business administration major, it was his first career collegiate field goal. "It was very exciting to finally get one under the belt. A lot of my family and friends were in the stands to see it."

His coach, Al Pellegrino, from East Hall High School in Gainesville influenced the kicker to try out for the team. "It was not until my junior year that he talked me into trying out for the team and actually pursuing my goals as a field goal kicker."

Vandiver handled the extra point responsibilities last year, connecting on 25-of-27 attempts for the Bulldogs. Travis Zobel, the heralded punter and place-kicker from last year, had the job of kicking field goals when the offense stalled inside the 30-yard line. Zobel, who left as one of the best kickers in the SOCON, left behind some big shoes to fill, but that does not seem to bother Vandiver or Coach Zernhelt. The coach exemplifies, "Blake has done a great job so far. He might need to get a little stronger leg like Travis, but we are very pleased with his progress right now."

"Travis was a good leader and role model," Blake said. "I will try to pick up where he left off. He taught me not to get down on myself from a mental aspect of the game. There is not any pressure to replace Zobel, but I know that I just have to go out there and kick whenever called up."

Blake, who is 2-of-2 on field goals with a long of 28 and 3-of-3 on PAT attempts so far this year for The Citadel, has set some goals to accomplish through the end of the season. "I would like to make 80-90% of my field goal attempts inside 40 yards. Also, I would like to make all my extra point attempts this season."

Fortunately, for the Bulldogs sake, Coach Pellegrino was smart enough to talk to Blake about kicking.

Covy's Cove is written by junior outfielder Matt Covington, an English major at The Citadel.