Blue-Gray Game : It’s Another Winning Kick for Garcia

Teddy Garcia of Northeast Louisiana kicked his second 44-yard field goal of the game with 47 seconds left to give the Gray a 12-10 win in the Blue-Gray all-star football game Friday.

Pressure kicking has become routine for Garcia. Two weeks ago, he kicked a game-winning field goal in a victory over Eastern Kentucky in the NCAA Division I-AA semifinals, and last Saturday he booted the winning extra point in a 43-42 triumph over Marshall in the championship game.

“The whole team was supporting me,” Garcia said after his winning kick capped a comeback from a 10-0 deficit at halftime. “They kept saying we just need a field goal to win. . . . I never heard anybody say anything about (trying to score) a touchdown.”

Said Gray offensive Coach Steve Spurrier of Duke: “That Garcia is some kicker. We knew if we got over there (within field goal range) we would have a shot to win the game.”

Gordie Lockbaum, who played both offense and defense for Holy Cross and was third in balloting for the Heisman Trophy, did not see much action. He rushed two times for four yards and did not catch a pass.

Colgate’s Kenny Gamble, who beat out Lockbaum to win the Walter Payton Award as the nation’s top Division I-AA player and finished his collegiate career as the NCAA’s all-time all-purpose runner, also saw little action. He carried 4 times for 9 yards and returned a kickoff for 15 yards.

Blue quarterback Mike Perez of San Jose State, who threw for 3,213 yards during the regular season, completed only 11 of 26 passes for 116 yards with 3 interceptions. He did throw a 21-yard scoring pass to Spartan teammate Guy Liggins, who leaped over a shorter defender and made a one-handed catch to cap a 15-play drive.