Western graduate makes game-winning kick in Stanford upset of Notre Dame
By Bob Sutton
Special to The Alamance News
“. . .trying to treat every kick with the same seriousness as a potentially game-winning kick.” –Western Alamance graduate and Stanford University kicker Joshua Karty
Western Alamance graduate Joshua Karty was among the biggest heroes for Stanford in its 16-14 upset of Notre Dame on Saturday night.
Karty scored 10 of the Cardinal’s points with three field goals and an extra point at storied Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana.
Karty kicked field goals of 45, 43 and 43 yards, the final of those for the winning points with 10:20 to play.
“Something that I’ve been kind of focusing on mentally is keeping the mindset each and every game that it will come down to a field goal,” Karty said during an interview earlier in the week.
The outcome gave Stanford (2-4) a victory for the first time since its opener against Colgate.
Karty, a junior, is 7-for-7 on field goals and 18-for-18 on extra-point kicks this year.
“I have trust in my field goal unit,” Karty said. “That we’ll all do our jobs and put the ball through the pipes.”
“He gives our team so much confidence. Every time we cross the 35-yard line, we feel great about those field goals. He’s not just a kicker, he’s a weapon.” – Stanford coach David Shaw
That sentiment is spread across the team.
“He gives our team so much confidence,” Stanford coach David Shaw said after the Notre Dame game. “Every time we cross the 35-yard line, we feel great about those field goals. He’s not just a kicker, he’s a weapon.”
Earlier this month, Karty was named the Pac-12 Special Teams Player of the Week after hitting two field goals, including a 53-yarder, in a game at Oregon. That was the longest Stanford field goal since 2009, when Nate Whitaker was good from 54 yards at Wake Forest.
[Story continues below photo of Karty kicking during Oregon game earlier this year.}
“Treating every kick the same, no matter if it’s a PAT or a 53-yarder,” Karty said of the approach. “Just trying to treat every kick with the same seriousness as a potentially game-winning kick.”
Stanford’s kicker is the son of Joel and Valerie Karty of Burlington.
The Stanford connection runs deep in the family. His father, now a professor at Elon University, was a rower at Stanford and received his PhD in physical and organic chemistry from the university. His mother broke the news of being pregnant with Joshua to his father at Stanford Stadium.
