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CATCH UP ON THE COUNTDOWN BY VISITING: ARIZONA’S TOP 100 INDIVIDUAL RECORDS
Max Zendejas wore No. 13 just like Lee Pistor and Jon Prasuhn — all of whom share the Arizona record for longest field goal made of 57 yards.
Only 18 days separate us from the start of Rich Rodriguez’s fifth season, when the Arizona Wildcats football team plays Brigham Young on Sept. 3 at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale.
As is customary on this Web site, we will count down the days with an interesting element associated with each day. This year the topic is the top 100 individual records in Arizona’s storied football past.
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Lee Pistor’s 57-yard field goal at Iowa set the Arizona standard in 1977 that was later matched by Max Zendejas and Jon Prasuhn (Arizona Desert Yearbook photo)
Arizona Republic clipping of Jon Prasuhn celebrating in the arms of holder Brian Hand after making a 36-yard field goal that beat ASU in 1995.
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In past years, we have counted down the top games and highlighted players and some of the top plays in Arizona Wildcats football history. A couple of years ago in our top 100 countdown, we showcased the 1914 team that was responsible for Arizona becoming the “Wildcats”.
Back to this year’s countdown of the top 100 individual records in the 117 years of Arizona football:
No. 18
Longest Field Goal: 57 yards, Lee Pistor, at Iowa, Sept. 24, 1977; Max Zendejas, at ASU, Nov. 23, 1985; Jon Prasuhn, vs. Pacific, Sept. 2, 1995
Pac-12 record: 62 yards, Jason Hanson, Washington State vs. UNLV, Sept. 28, 1991
NCAA record: 67 yards, Russell Erxleben, Texas vs. Rice, Oct. 1, 1977; Steve Little, Arkansas
vs. Texas, Oct. 15, 1977; Joe Williams, Wichita State vs. Southern Illinois, Oct. 21, 1978
Max Zendejas kicked a 57-yard field goal in this game at ASU in 1985 to help knock the Sun Devils from advancing to the Rose Bowl (Tucson Citizen file photo)
They all wore No. 13, which is supposed to be superstitious for bad luck. Arizona placekickers Lee Pistor, Max Zendejas and Jon Prasuhn dispelled that fear by coming through with some of the biggest kicks in school history.
They each made a 57-yard field goal, which stands as the school record.
All were seniors when they made history. Pistor made his 57-yarder at Iowa in 1977. Zendejas connected on his in the fourth quarter at ASU, helping to knock the Sun Devils out of the Rose Bowl. Prasuhn’s feat against Pacific in 1995 is an Arizona Stadium record.
The reports out Iowa City, Iowa, stated that Pistor was aided by a 20-mph wind, but that should not take away from his accomplishment. Pistor had the unique style of lacing up his cleat so the toes were turned up in his shoe in almost a 90-degree angle when he kicked.
Zendejas’ 57-yarder with 5:27 left tied the game with ASU at 13. He then made a 32-yard field goal to give the Wildcats 16-13 win at Sun Devil Stadium.
He had the opportunity to make the 57-yarder after he missed a 52-yard try. Fortunately for Arizona the play was blown dead because of an illegal procedure call against the Wildcats. Arizona coach Larry Smith did not hesitate to allow another attempt for Zendejas, who made a school-record 14 field goals from 50 yards or longer in his career.
“Max would have hit that one from 60,” Smith told the Arizona Republic after the game. “He really punched that baby. I think it was still going up when it hit the net (beyond the goal posts).”
Prasuhn’s 57-yarder against Pacific occurred as the first half ended sending the 48,434 fans at Arizona Stadium into a frenzy.
“I knew it was a long kick. I could tell the uprights were pretty far away,” Prasuhn told the Arizona Daily Wildcat his record-tying effort . “When I went out there I just pretty much told myself just to go out and kick this one like I do my other kicks.
“Actually, it didn’t go end-over-end so it wasn’t a perfect kick. But I got into it really good so it carried a long way.”
Other Zendejas records at Arizona listed previously in this countdown:
30. Most Consecutive Field Goals Made: 11, 1984 (First 5 games from vs. Fresno St., Sept. 1, to vs. Long Beach St., Sept. 29)
38. Most Field Goals Made 50 Yards or More, Career: 14, 1982-85 (23 attempts)
54. Most Points Scored, Career: 360, 1982-85 (79 FGs, 123 PATs)
74. Field Goals Made, Career: 79, 1982-85 (attempted 107)
90. Most Consecutive Games Kicking Field Goal, Career: 18, 1982-84
ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He is a former Arizona Daily Star beat reporter for the Arizona basketball team, including when the Wildcats won the 1996-97 NCAA title. He has also written articles for CollegeAD.com, Bleacher Report, Lindy’s Sports, TucsonCitizen.com, The Arizona Republic, Sporting News and Baseball America, among many other publications. He has also authored the book “The Highest Form of Living”, which is available at Amazon.
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