When Temple visits Navy Saturday for a nonleague game at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, the Owls (5-2) will have more to worry about than defending the vaunted option offense that has the Midshipmen ranked third in the nation with 286.4 yards rushing per game.
That's because looming on the sideline will be Joe Buckley, the Malvern Prep product who is handling Navy's kicking chores in fine style. A junior who did not see any game action his first two years with the team, the 5-9, 176-pound Buckley is proving to be another weapon for the Midshipmen.
Already, he had made kicks in overtime to give Navy (6-2) wins over Air Force and Southern Methodist. Last week, in the Midshipmen's 13-10 conquest of visiting Wake Forest in Annapolis, Md., Buckley made three-pointers from 50 and 41 yards. He is 7 of 9 on field goal attempts this season, and is 24 for 24 on extra points.
"I don't think I envisioned two game-winning field goals and a 50-yarder," said Buckley, who was second on the depth chart entering the fall. "My first two years, I did a lot of scout team kickoffs and coverages. I was the backup to the backup. I've been just trying to wait my turn and get better from my freshman year. I wanted the job really bad. I practiced and practiced just to get the opportunity to kick in games."
Buckley, a Downingtown native whose late field goal as a senior defeated Downingtown East, wasn't on Temple's radar coming out of high school. But he is now.
"Obviously, he does a great job for them," Owls coach Al Golden said. "He's hitting the long ones, and in the rain last week."
Buckley still can't get over his success at converting the decisive field goal.
"I would say there hasn't been a better thing to happen to me in my whole life," he said. "After the Air Force game, I felt invincible. My mental makeup is that I'm laid-back, and I try not to think about too many things during a football game. I want to kick the same whether it's an extra point or a game-winning field goal. If you mentally break down on an extra point, that could be the difference in the game."
Buckley said that SMU called time-out in an effort to "freeze" him before his 24-yard field goal ended the game.
"I don't think that works," Buckley said. "It just gives me more time to warm up."
Contact staff writer Kevin Tatum at 215-854-2583 or ktatum@phillynews.com.
