Sander Sahaydak could barely see his hand in front of his face when his number was called during Monday’s scrimmage against Alaska Anchorage. In between the falling flakes of the ongoing blizzard, he was asked to do the impossible — knock down the game-winning field goal in near-zero visibility.

The Nittany Lion special teams unit, with its road whites acting as camouflage from the Seawolf faithful’s snowballs, took the field and got set for the 69-yard attempt.

The snap and the hold were perfect, and it all came down to Sahaydak’s leg. The placekicker trudged through the snow and sent the ball toward what he assumed was the goalpost. The ball tumbled through the air as the heavy winds blew the ball back and forth. Finally, the ball struck the left post, careened down to the crossbar, and went through the back of the uprights.

“In terms of the game-winning field goal battle, we won that battle today,” James Franklin said postgame. “It’s a battle that I don’t think gets talked about enough. It’s something only a true football guy such as myself is capable of recognizing the importance of.”

But the conversation took a turn as soon as Franklin was asked about the circumstances that led to the game-winning kick. Both sides of the ball struggled, having never played football that close to the Arctic Circle before. Penn State was heavily favored, yet needed a last-minute miracle to pull out the win.

“I’m not one for excuses,” Franklin said. “But it was cold, my starting quarterback went down with frostbite, the northern lights distracted us, I woke up on the left side of the bed this morning instead of the right, the team bus’ tires were 10-15 PSI below their recommended level, and the family guinea pig is sick. I still coached a perfect game, though.”

Sahaydak thanked his coach for trusting him enough to take the final shot over new transfer addition Chase Meyer but noted he knew the kick came with consequences.

The kicker said he could barely see the goalposts through the snow but could feel the heat of Franklin’s intense gaze as he made his run to the football.

“The pressure was enormous,” he said. “The glare on coach’s face told me that if I missed, I would never get another birthday tweet as long as I’m on his roster.”

But Sahaydak delivered and Penn State emerged victorious from its snowy scrimmage with momentum heading into the new season. It’s momentum that won’t just affect the team as a whole, but the individuals, too.

Last summer, an intense battle for the starting placekicker spot took place in preseason camp. Sahaydak emerged victorious, but Franklin went to Alex Felkins for the rest of the season after an 0-2 start from Sahaydak against West Virginia.

Now, after successfully directing a ball through the uprights in swirling winds, Sahaydak says he’s back.

“Last year, because of the start, I didn’t get the chance to kick in White Out conditions,” Sahaydak said. “Now I have.”

Editor’s note: This story is part of Onward State’s April Fools’ Day series. It is satirical, meant for entertainment, and not to be taken literally. Any quotes were made up for the purpose of this post.