Chargers Get a Big Kick Out of Second Win : Pro football: Kicker John Carney helps team get some revenge against the Seattle Seahawks with a 54-yard field goal in a 17-14 victory.

Linebacker Billy Ray Smith sat alone at midfield, his hands to either side of his helmet, and he laughed. He just sat there rocking back and forth, and while his teammates jumped upon each other, he laughed.

Teammate John Carney had just whacked a 54-yard field-goal attempt through the uprights to give the Chargers a 17-14 lead with 18 seconds to play, and for a change, misfortune had it in for the other guys.

“It was hilarious,” Smith said, and he began to chuckle again. “I’m looking at all the Seahawks, and I’m looking at their faces, and I’m just going, ‘Yeah, that’s how I felt two weeks ago. This is great.’ ”

Two weeks ago the Chargers lost 20-9 to the Seahawks, and three weeks ago they fell to Cleveland in overtime, and a month ago they lost another close one to the Rams, and so it has gone.

But on this Sunday in San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium in front of 43,597, the Chargers (2-8) failed to give the game away. They tried, all right, but the longest field goal in Carney’s career--as well as in team history--made good all that had gone badly after the Chargers’ 14-0 halftime lead.

The Seahawks (5-5) rallied for a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns and forced the Chargers to punt five times in the second half. Another close defeat for the Chargers was waiting for just the right mistake.

Kitrick Taylor’s 29-yard punt return, however, gave the Chargers prime field position at the Seattle 33 with 1:35 to play. If the Chargers did nothing but fall on the ball, Carney would have a 50-yard field-goal attempt for victory.

But on first down the Chargers ran Marion Butts to the left, exactly as they had done weeks earlier in the closing seconds against Cleveland, and a penalty flag hit the ground.

“We get that holding call and I’m sure everyone was going, ‘Geez, no way,’ ” Smith said. “I thought we had let Arthur (Cox) go.”

The officials penalized tight end Cox for holding a Cleveland defender on Oct. 20, and the loss of yardage had contributed to Carney’s wide-left attempt from 48 yards. Cox was released a week ago, but Steve Hendrickson made like Cox and was penalized for holding.

“I can’t believe we didn’t learn a lesson from just a few weeks ago,” quarterback John Friesz said.

After being pushed back to the 42, Friesz threw a pass to Nate Lewis, and for old-time’s sake, he dropped it. A false start on tackle Broderick Thompson added to the farce.

On second and 25, Friesz dumped a short pass to Ronnie Harmon, and Harmon was surrounded for a three-yard gain. The Chargers had the ball at the Seattle 45-yard line, and Carney was staring at a 62-yard field-goal attempt.

“We were going to hit Anthony Miller on a 15-yard end route, but there were two defenders there,” Friesz said. “We had one-on-one with Ronnie, so it’s not a bad way to go.”

Harmon wiggled forward for a nine-yard gain, and fumbled the ball out of bounds. Harmon’s gain parked the Chargers at the Seattle 36-yard line with fourth and 14 and 23 seconds to play.

“We discussed how long the kick would be and we were all agreed that it would be 54 yards,” Carney said. “Coach (Larry) Pasquale, who was with me in pregame warmups, knew I had hit a 56-yarder in that direction.”

Carney had attempted a 56-yard field goal in Seattle, although Coach Dan Henning and Pasquale admitted later they had mismeasured the distance, and had fallen horribly short and wide right.

Carney’s longest successful field goal in the pros came from 48 yards in Pittsburgh earlier this season, and the longest kick of his career was a 52-yarder for Notre Dame in the Aloah Bowl. Rolf Benirschke (1980) and Chris Bahr (1989) had the Chargers’ team record at 53 yards, but as Carney lined up to attempt a 54-yarder, he was 0-for-3 from beyond 50 yards in his NFL career.

“He thumped it pretty good; it looked like it would be good from 65 yards,” said punter John Kidd, who held the ball for Carney. “It’s a great lift for this team. You’d like to have him make it for us to go to 9-1 instead of to 2-8, but we’ll definitely take it.

“We’ve found every way to lose this year, and today we found a way to win.”

The Chargers had a ready-made excuse for yet a new way to lose after deep snapper Mark Rodenhauser left the game with a knee injury in the first half. Frank Cornish, however, provided solid relief.

“It was so great to see that for John,” Smith said. “As far as kickers go, the whole lot of them are flakey, but John is down to earth and a great guy. Let me tell you, the games before (when he missed) had really hit him hard.

“I’ve been with kickers before that have missed kicks like that, and they’re blow drying their hair, while I’m still sitting in my locker with my pads on. John’s just not that way. So it’s nice to see good things happen to him because he’s such a class guy.”

When Carney attempted his 48-yarder against Cleveland earlier this season, Friesz turned his back on the field. However, he was ready to celebrate this time.

“I was very confident,” Friesz said. “I didn’t watch in the Cleveland game because it just didn’t feel right. But I had told him with two minutes to go that he was going to get the chance. I could see it in his eyes that he was going to make it.”

It didn’t appear, however, as if the Chargers were going to need Carney’s long-range services. Butts’ 17-yard run in the first quarter staked the Chargers to a 7-0 lead, and his one-yard plunge in the second quarter doubled the advantage.

The Seahawks had a chance to score just before the half, as many teams have against the Chargers this season, but this game was going to be different to the very end.

Billy Ray Smith’s hog-tying tackle on running back John L. Williams forced Williams to fumble the ball at the Chargers’ one-yard line, and preserved a 14-0 half-time lead. The last time the Chargers had shut out an opponent through the first half was Dec. 11, 1988 against Pittsburgh.

“I think somewhere along the line if you have a choice to win one like this with what’s been going on with our team, to win 14-0 or 17-3, it wouldn’t have been as good for this team to win as it did,” Coach Dan Henning said. “I think it’s just great.”

The Seahawks came roaring back in the second half to make it close behind the passing of Dave Krieg. Krieg hit Williams for a 13-yard touchdown, and then went to Jeff Chadwick for a 20-yard score to tie the game.

“I thought the key thing was our guys hung in there,” defensive coordinator Ron Lynn said. “If I was to say they weren’t shellshocked or startled by the way things were going in the second half, I probably wouldn’t be telling the complete truth. But I still think they felt they could do something to help win this thing.”

And they did. The Seahawks had the ball at the Chargers’ 16-yard line with 2:10 to play, but were moved backward by a ferocious pass rush. After being pushed back to the Chargers’ five-yard line, the Seahawks punted and gave Carney his opportunity to win the game.

“Wins are precious,” Lynn said. “We love them. You don’t get enough of them. You don’t care if you have won them all; you still can’t get enough.”

* CARNEY-VAL: Chargers reap benefits of a pass rush, which produced two sacks to set up John Carney’s winning field goal. C15A

Charger Report Card C15A