Remembering "The Block"

This week I asked a few people in the BYU football program about their memories of the last play of last year’s Las Vegas Bowl. Freshman Eathyn Manumaleuna, who is now serving a mission in Oklahoma City, blocked Kai Forbath’s potential 28-yard, game-winning field goal as time expired. The Cougars won, 17-16.
It looked like a chip-shot attempt for Forbath, who had already made field goals from 22, 52 and 50 yards. BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall sent all 11 players for a desperation block. The ball was partially blocked, actually, as Manumaleuna altered the ball’s trajectory; it continued spiralling toward the crossbar before falling just short.
Brett Denney, who was lined up next to Manumaleuna, nearly got his outstretched hands on the ball. He shared some of his memories of that play.
“I remember the UCLA guy across from me was really low. I thought maybe I could jump over him. I tried that initially, then I fell. I got up and jumped again. I remember the ball right over my fingertips. I was like, ‘Oh, man!’ I didn’t know what happened because I was on the ground. The refs (were signaling a ‘no good’ sign). I didn’t hear (the ball get blocked). I know Eathyn got his hand on it. He didn’t get much. The ball didn’t lose a lot of speed, it just died. Just before that, I remember being really psyched up, knowing this was our last chance and going all out. Everyone went all out. It’s funny because you look at the pictures and video of it, we just ran all over them, on both sides. You see that picture that they have and you’ve got Jan (Jorgensen) and I, the two ends, in similar positions on either side. Eathyn’s up the middle. It’s almost a mirror image, side-by-side. Both sides were doing what they had to do, getting enough hands up there and luckily someone got a finger on it, thanks to Eathyn.”
Mendenhall said the play he remembers most from that night at Sam Boyd Stadium was the play before the blocked field goal, a long pass-and-run to the Bruins’ tight end.
“I actually don’t remember (the block) as much as I called an all-out blitz the play before when they threw an out to the tight end. We tried to knock it down. At that point, I was kicking myself for taking that much of a risk in order to stop (UCLA). So my thoughts were how bad I felt for the team because of what I thought was a poor defensive call. But when they came over to the sideline, there were smiles and there was kind of a resolve that surprised me. At that point, I thought we’d block it. I didn’t know who would block it, but I thought we had a chance. I was expecting to see their heads down and (players saying) ‘Man, we let this slip away.’ But that’s not what I saw. That made me feel good since I had made the mistake on the call. They thought they’d still win the game and that made me think they’d win the game. That’s the way it played out.”
As Forbath trotted out onto the field, offensive lineman Dallas Reynolds figured the game was over.
“To tell you the truth, I had thoughts that he was going to make it. But when they came out of that timeout, you could see the defense was hyped and they had that look in their eye. I thought maybe we had a chance. I heard the kick and I heard the thud. It still looked like it was going in until it spiraled down. That was crazy. I’d rather win the game by a (large margin).”
Will Reynolds get his wish, or are we in for another unforgettable finish tonight?