It happened in the blink of an eye ... literally.
Derik Keyes knifed in so quickly on Central Florida punter Aaron Horne last Saturday night that it almost seemed Keyes had hidden himself away in the Golden Knights' huddle and then joined Horne in the backfield at the snap.
Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns had just scored to get within 21-7 of the visitors in the second quarter at Cajun Field, and 18,262 fans were looking for an additional spark to ignite a comeback.
Keyes, a redshirt freshman defensive back from Lafayette High School, was there to provide it as he stormed in to block Horne's punt and set the Cajuns up at the UCF 23-yard line with 5:03 still to play in the first half.
"It was a stunt we'd been working on for three weeks, and we finally ran it," Keyes said. "I guess the guy blew an assignment and I was able to get through there. I blinked, and when I opened my eyes the ball was right there in front of me."
The rest of the story
Bruce Brown
bbrown@theadvertiser.com