By Bob Sutton
Special to The Alamance News
Joshua Karty of Stanford and Jsi Hatfield of East Carolina had memorable moments in their final football games of 2023 despite dismal seasons for their teams.
Karty, a kicker, is a Western Alamance product who played three full seasons for Stanford after a one-game appearance in 2020. Hatfield, a receiver and return specialist, is a Southern Alamance alum.
• Karty kicked first-half field goals of 34, 23 and 56 yards in Saturday’s 56-23 home loss to No. 17 Notre Dame. The last of the field goals marked the longest field goal by any kicker since Stanford Stadium was renovated in 2006.
Karty connected on three field goals in four different games this year.
For the season, Karty was good on 23 of 27 field-goal attempts and went 21-for-21 on extra-point kicks. His final attempt was one of his misses when a 56-yard try was blocked in the fourth quarter Saturday.
He had a 53-yarder in the second-to-last game against visiting California.
Karty owns the highest percentage of made field goals in school history at 85 percent.
The Cardinal ended up with a 3-9 record, going 2-7 in the Pac-12.
• Hatfield turned in the longest scoring play in the air this season for the Pirates during a season-ending 29-27 loss to Tulsa on Saturday in Greenville.
Hatfield’s 31-yard catch from Alex Flinn came in the second quarter. Hatfield finished the game with two catches for 45 yards to go with 50 return yards on three kickoff returns and one punt return.
For the season, Hatfield had 27 receptions for 341 yards.
The fifth-year player was the Pirates’ primary punt returner with 13 for an average of 7.4 yards per opportunity. He averaged 16.9 yards on eight kickoff returns.
East Carolina had a 2-10 record, including 1-7 in the American Athletic Conference.
