Navy kicker Moehring wants to be remembered as 'the guy that never gave up'
Bennett Moehring settled in for the kick.
It was freezing and pouring rain, his brother, Hayden, remembered. The Bentonville Tigers were supposed to smoke Rogers Heritage, but with 30 seconds to go, Bentonville was down by three points. They needed a hero.
Moehring's ball flew between the posts to force overtime, and then it did again to capture victory.
That's the kind of thing Moehring thinks about when it's his turn on the field.
“You always want to go out there and help your team,” he said. “It's my responsibility, no matter what position I'm put in, to make the kick.”
Moehring knows there's going to be eyes on him at Lincoln Financial Field on Saturday. In conditions not unlike those of that Arkansan fall night in 2014, Moehring's would-be go-ahead field goal attempt in last year's Army-Navy game flew wide and enabled the Black Knights to escape with a 14-13 victory over the Midshipmen.
It didn't help that Moehring was 48 yards away due to a pair of false start penalties against the Mids. But he didn't make it. Navy didn't win.
It is that kick Moehring's envisioning before Saturday's tilt, but it looks a little different. In his mind, the ball careens square between the two posts.
“I'll make it this time. I have the experience, I have the leg,” he said. “I'm ready to go. I hope the team can put me in the position on Saturday and let the cards fall where they may.”
At the moment, it's a fantasy, but a kick is a kick to the senior. There isn't just one that will define him.
In September, Moehring kicked his way into program history, booting his 113th career extra point to become Navy's all-time leader in that category. It was a fitting senior act for a career that had exploded like a spark in dry brush.
After stepping in to replace senior DJ Grant-Johnson in 2016 when the projected starting kicker suffered a season-ending injury, Moehring connected on 65 of 68 extra point-attempts — a single-season school record — and finished the year with 89 points. He'd already shown a solid leg, hitting a 40-yard field goal against Louisiana Tech in the Armed Forces Bowl, which has nothing on his 48-yard boot against Tulane this November.
He heads to Philadelphia having surpassed storied kicker Steve Fehr (1979-1981) as Navy's all-time scoring kicker with 218 total points.
“As a kicker, he's scored more points of anyone that's been here,” head coach Ken Niumatalolo said. “Shows you the significance he's had in this program. He's had a phenomenal career.”
Moehring doesn't flex his laurels, though. Wanting to be the most approachable person in the locker room breeds humility.
“For me, it's a testament to the team as a whole,” he said. “Our offense has been down the field a lot of times… Really it's just a matter of them putting me in position and me just doing my job.”
Abundant personal success was to be expected out of one of the most highly-recruited kickers of his class. Moehring fielded offers from Army, Tulane and Massachusetts, as well as interest from schools like California and SMU (a period his parents called “stressful”). Noted specialist instructor Chris Sailer tabbed Moehring as the No. 1 placekicker in the nation in the Class of 2015.
“He's always had that internal quiet but strong drive that other people recognize in him,” his mother Cindy said.
A clean kick in a big moment had always been in Moehring's wheelhouse. After securing the unlikely victory against Rogers Heritage, his 20-yard boot led Bentonville to the Class 7A state title.
There hadn't been a kicking specialist at Bentonville before Moehring, but his commitment to the position earned him a leadership role which spanned from changing a game's outcome to leading the pre-game prayer.
“By the time Bennett was a senior, he had earned the respect of his teammates,” said Hayden Moehring, who'd followed in his brother's footsteps to become a kicker at both Bentonville and at Navy. Unfortunately, a complication in his hip prevented him from ever taking the field for the Midshipmen.
Unlike a lot of players that wind up in a Division I football program, though, Moehring didn't find football until just before high school. No one in his family had played the sport before he did and Moehring had always played soccer. Because of that, he figured his leg strength would suit him well if he just raised his aim a little bit.
“I think they first had him pegged as a quarterback until one day when the coaches literally asked the kids who wants to try kicking,” Cindy said. “Since he'd done soccer, he raised his hand.”
When he'd reached Annapolis, some things were still uncertain. Moehring didn't play a single game his freshman season, and on the cusp of his sophomore year was still considered the backup.
He doesn't dwell on what his career would have looked like had Grant-Johnson not sat out the entire 2016 season.
“Everything happens for a reason,” Moehring said. “I was ready the moment I stepped on campus. I don't look back at 'what-ifs.' I more try to stay in the moment and ready to go.”
In fact, he doesn't dwell on anything, including the missed kick against Army. Hayden remembers his brother didn't cry at his locker and instead went to meet with the media, “faced the music” and moved forward.
“Bennett made us incredibly proud in how he handled it,” Barry Moehring said of his son.
Saturday's forecast calls for a more forgiving atmosphere than last year's blustering wind and snow: zero-percent chance of precipitation. A friendly sun. A light breeze.
If Moehring does find himself in the same situation Saturday, Niumatalolo is sure it'll finish differently.
"He'll make it,” the coach said. “I have no doubt he'll make it.”
Whether Navy's up 45-6, down 28-7 or relying on a final field-goal attempt at the buzzer, Moehring doesn't want his legacy to hinge on one moment — not this year's, not last year's.
“I just want to be a guy that never gave up. Someone that used every experience to his advantage,” he said. “Someone who held his head high.”