When USC plays Stanford, there's often a finishing kick for Trojans As USC kicker Andre Heidari trotted onto the field and lined up his dramatic game-winning field goal against Stanford last Saturday, Sam Tsagalakis went back in time. In 1953, Tsagalakis helped USC defeat Stanford with a late field goal at the peristyle end of the Coliseum. Now, watching on television in his San Marino home, Tsagalakis relived the experience. "Your mind goes blank and you don't hear anything, you just make the kick," Tsagalakis, 80, said Monday. When people ask me, 'How far did it go?' I just say, 'It cleared the torch.' Heidari's 47-yard kick with 19 seconds left put him in a fraternity that includes Tsagalakis, Ron Ayala and the late Chris Limahelu, whose dramatic kicks beat Stanford 60, 44 and 40 years ago. Heidari's kick, the difference in a 20-17 USC win, ignited a surge of fans from the stands in the Coliseum along with a rush of nostalgia. "People were calling me from all over," Tsagalakis said, laughing. It brought back a lot of happy memories. Like Heidari, Tsagalakis missed an extra-point attempt early in the game on Nov. 7, 1953. Forrest Twogood, USC's basketball coach, offered some encouraging words at halftime. He came up to me and said, 'Sam, don't worry about it. Something good is going to happen to you. I'm like, 'Yeah, yeah.' Heidari's kick was set up by an interception by Su'a Cravens with a little more than three minutes left in regulation. A USC interception preceded Tsagalakis' heroics, too. With the score tied, 20-20, and just over a minute left, USC's Ron Miller intercepted a pass by Stanford's Bobby Garrett and returned it 48 yards to the Stanford 20. One play later, Tsagalakis came on for a 38-yard attempt. "They called timeout," Tsagalakis said of Stanford, which was ranked 11th, six spots ahead of the Trojans. That was the greatest thing that happened because I got a chance to warm up and think about it. Tsagalakis split the uprights with 14 seconds left and the Trojans won, 23-20. "I really kicked the heck out of it," he said. It was a 38-yarder but it never came down. It just kept going. It was just a great, great feeling. It's been so many years, but you never forget it. Ayala, 64, knows the feeling. In October 1968, he kicked a 34-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter at Stanford to help give USC a 27-24 victory. Almost exactly a year later at the Coliseum, Stanford had kicked a field goal with a little more than a minute left to take a 24-23 lead. USC got the ball at its 15, and quarterback Jimmy Jones drove the Trojans into Stanford territory at the tunnel end of the stadium. USC was out of timeouts when Jones completed a pass to Gerry Mullins, who was unable to get out of bounds at the Stanford 17 with 15 seconds left. Ayala rushed onto the field for a 34-yard field-goal attempt.