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Punter Gets Another Leg Up on Competition

After all, Ralf Mojsiejenko is paid to punt, not to make tackles.

So when Rod Woodson broke loose on a punt return for the Pittsburgh Steelers against the Chargers Sunday, Mojsiejenko met the challenge his way. Instead of risking life and limb by meeting the fleet Woodson head-on, Mojsiejenko simply stuck out a foot and tripped him.

Actually, this wasn’t a maneuver Mojsiejenko dreamed up on the spur of the moment. He did the same thing to Tim Brown of the Raiders 5 weeks ago, and amazingly got away with it.

This time, the officials hit Mojsiejenko with a 10-yard penalty, tacking it onto a play that already had covered 28 yards. But it may have saved a touchdown--temporarily, as it turned out--and it gave the crowd of 33,816 at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium one of its biggest kicks of a day that ended with a 20-14 Charger victory.

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When the replay of Mojsiejenko’s trip was shown on the scoreboard, the fans roared.

“They loved it,” Mojsiejenko said. “It was a pretty good trip. I think everybody laughed at it. I had to laugh myself.”

Charger Coach Al Saunders took a somewhat dimmer view of his punter’s caper. He wasn’t overjoyed about seeing the Steelers on the San Diego 25-yard line and closing in on their second touchdown in a 3-minute span during the fourth quarter. They scored 2 plays later.

But, reported Mojsiejenko, Saunders’ ire lasted only until the men had a heart-to-heart talk on the sideline.

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“I’d have to say Al didn’t like it at first,” Mojsiejenko said. “He got a little mad at me. Then after saying a few words, he asked me, ‘Could you have stopped him any other way?’ I said no, that it was a natural reaction. Woodson has 4.3 speed (for 40 yards), so I don’t think anybody else on the punt team could have caught him.”

Understandably, Mojsiejenko also took flak from Woodson, who hastened to remind him that such tactics could be hazardous to a punt returner’s health.

“Woodson yelled at me when he was on the ground,” Mojsiejenko said. “He said, ‘You kicked me in the midsection.’ He thought I was trying to hurt him.

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“I didn’t get a chance to say anything then, but I apologized to him after the game. We knew each other in college. We spent some time together at preseason Big Ten meetings (Mojsiejenko went to Michigan State, Woodson to Purdue). He’s a good guy, and a great athlete.”

Recalling the stop he put on Brown in the second Raider game, Mojsiejenko said, “It was about the same deal as this one. I was faked out, and all I could do was trip him. I don’t understand why I didn’t get caught.”

Punters and kickers take a lot of ribbing from their teammates about being something less than football players, but Mojsiejenko (6 feet 3 inches and 213 pounds) considers this unjustified.

“I don’t do things like that because I’m a sissy punter,” he said. “When I was kicking off last year, I tackled the return man in a game against Denver.”

Mojsiejenko also made news Sunday in a way more directly related to his specialty. With his 5 punts, he set a club season record of 83, surpassing the 79 by Paul Maguire, now an NBC sportscaster, in 1962.

Told of this, Mojsiejenko grinned and said, “That’s a great record to have. About all it means is that we haven’t been moving the ball. Let’s hope I don’t break it next year.

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“The record I’d really like to have is for the Chargers’ best career average. I think I’m getting close.”

Here, Mojsiejenko underestimated himself. He holds the record with a 42.9-yard average for 4 NFL seasons. His 44.2 average this season has pushed him past Maury Buford, now with the New York Giants, who averaged 42.7 from 1982 through 1984 before losing the job to Mojsiejenko.

Mojsiejenko went to the Pro Bowl in Honolulu last season for the first time after leading the AFC with a 42.9 average. Voting will be held today among the league’s players and coaches, and though he is a candidate to repeat, Mojsiejenko expects the honor to go to either Harry Newsome of the Steelers or Mike Horan of the Broncos. Newsome leads the league with a 45.6 average, and Horan shares second place with Mojsiejenko at 44.2.

“I don’t think I have too good a chance,” Mojsiejenko said. “I felt more confident last year. It was a thrill to be voted in.”

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