NASHVILLE - Had things ended up just a little differently, Sims Lenhardt and Scottie Montgomery would have both looked back on Saturday as a remarkable day for both themselves and their team.
Instead, both were denied the chance to be heroes when it mattered most.
Lenhardt, who Friday was named a semifinalist for the Lou Groza Award as the nation's best placekicker, harmlessly shattered the record at Duke for career field goals with a 25-yard chip shot late in the second quarter.
That turned out to be his easiest effort of the day. The junior nailed a career-long 54 yarder into the wind at the very end of the first half, and the ball looked like it could've gone another four or five yards.
"Really, that was about my limit in pregame," Lenhardt said. "I knew I was pushing it, but during a game, if you get that adrenalin and you hit the ball solid, sometimes it will carry for you. I think that was the case there."
He also made a 53 yarder, the second longest of his career, in the third quarter to pull Duke back within two touchdowns. In the first overtime, with Vanderbilt already holding a 33-30 lead and the crowd as loud as it had been all afternoon, Lenhardt calmly connected on a 45-yard effort to force the second overtime.
Unfortunately for Lenhardt, he never got another chance.
The same could be said for Montgomery. With 12 catches for 243 yards, including long touchdowns of 88 and 36 yards, the junior turned in an incredible performance by any standards.
But a great afternoon ended in disaster. Tied at 30, the Blue Devils got the ball back with 1:15 left in the fourth quarter and quarterback Bobby Campbell quickly connected with Montgomery on an 11-yard out down the left sideline that put Duke at its own 45.
Three plays later, Montgomery was wide open down the middle of the field for what could have been a game-winning 55-yard strike. Campbell, though, was pressured and threw the ball just a foot or two past Montgomery, who hit the air horizontally and got his fingertips on the ball.
Instead of a great catch to set up a field goal, Montgomery ended up with a separated shoulder.
"I was trying to show effort," Montgomery said. "After the play, I was thinking maybe I shouldn't have done it, but I don't regret anything."
In overtime, Montgomery eventually returned to the sidelines and was forced to watch as Duke's offense sputtered.
Both players turned in career efforts. Both, however, cared little about their individual performances in a 36-33 loss.
"It's hard to get too much satisfaction out of this," Lenhardt said of his performance. "I'd trade [all of the field goals] for a victory."
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