Utah State kicker remains tight with Puailoas

SANDPOINT — In 1974, a kicker named A.Z. Knapp booted field goals of 34, 27 and 19 yards, propelling his Utah State team over heated rival BYU by the score of 9-6, a game remembered most for a post-game, bench-clearing brawl.

Fast forward to this Saturday, when Knapp will be the honorary captain before the two schools renew the longstanding rivalry. Also in attendance will be Bulldog head football coach Satini Puailoa and his son Satini Jr., making the trip from Sandpoint to Logan, Utah. Knapp and the Puailoa family have a relationship that spans four decades.

Knapp played with Satini’s older brother Scott Puailoa at Santa Barbara City College in the early ’70s, and more recently played in a San Marcos High School alumni game with Satini. He also coached with Satini’s dad, also named Satini, and spoke with great reverence about the longtime San Marcos coaching legend.

“He recently had the San Marcos High School field dedicated in his honor. He coached there most of his life. I don’t know how many great players,” said Knapp, who has since remained close with the Puailoas. “Coach comes from the Puailoa coaching family. His dad was a major icon in Santa Barbara.”

The Puailoas are also a very athletic family, with three generations each leaving their mark on the gridiron, and in Scott’s case, the golf course. Knapp says Satini, who coached MMA legend Chuck “The Ice Man” Liddell while head coach at San Marcos before moving to Sandpoint in the late ’90s, loves coaching and puts a lot into it. He also says Satini was a heck of a football player in his own right, earning a spot in the school’s Hall of Fame.

“He’s a Puailoa. His dad was a fast athlete,” says Knapp. “So was his brother Scott, who got a golf and football scholarship to the University of Pacific. Outstanding athletes, the Puailoa family.”

Knapp, a toe-punching kicker who went on to kick briefly in the NFL with the Packers and Seahawks, remembers the special night in 1974 fondly.

“We emptied the benches three different times during the game and had a bench clearing brawl after the game,” recalled Knapp, admitting he was part of the fray. “Utah State is my heart and soul. I had all the records there when I left.”