.png&width=24&type=webp)
Princeton University Athletics
Players Mentioned
Record-Breaking, First Place-Earning Kick Lands Javarone Player Of The Week Kick
November 01, 2005 | Football
Nov. 1, 2005
PRINCETON - When senior placekicker Derek Javarone broke the Ivy League record for career field goals, he was mobbed at midfield by his jubilant teammates. They weren't there to celebrate his record. Neither was he.
Javarone entered last weekend's game against Cornell with 40 career field goals, one shy of the record held by Penn's Jason Feinberg. His 41st kick came from 32 yards out, and it did a lot more than tie the league record. With Princeton trailing Cornell 17-14 and 2:18 remaining on the clock, his kick was potentially Princeton's final chance to force overtime. He drilled it to force overtime.
After Tim Strickland picked off a Ryan Kuhn pass in Cornell's first overtime possession, Javarone knew the game could come down to his foot. Three running plays later, Javarone was 32 yards away from the biggest kick in his career. Sure, it would give him the record, but with three games remaining, he was likely to get that anyway.
This kick was for first place, and once again he drilled it.
Javarone, who also holds the single-game record for field goals in a game with five (2003 at Dartmouth and 2005 vs. Columbia) and the single-game record for points by a kicker with 19 (2005 vs. Columbia), has made 19 of his last 20 attempts from inside 40 yards and 13 of 14 attempts overall this season. He ranks first in the league with a 93% success rate on field goals and he ranks third nationally in field goals per game with 1.86.
Saturday's effort was Javarone's first game-ending field goal and his second game-ending kick. In the 27-26 overtime win against Columbia, he forced overtime with a 21-yard field goal and won the game with an extra point.
Javarone and his senior classmates will travel to Franklin Field this Saturday for a noon showdown with Penn. The winning team will join the winner of the Brown-Yale game atop the Ivy League standings with two games remaining.