Sept. 26, 2005
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern place-kicker Joel Howells (Sycamore, Ill./Sycamore) was named the Big Ten Conference Special Teams Player of the Week Monday for his performance in Saturday's league opener vs. Penn State.
Howells booted a school-record five field goals (out of six attempts), breaking Northwestern's previous mark (four), which was held by three players -- Tim Long (2000 vs. Michigan), Brian Gowins (1998 vs. Hawaii) and Sam Valenzisi (1993 vs. Minnesota and 1995 vs. Michigan).
Howells converted kicks from distances of 20, 25, 42, 46 and 25 yards. The 46-yarder equaled a career long. His school-record fifth kick -- the 25-yarder -- with 2:10 left to play in the game had given the Wildcats a 29-27 lead over Penn State.
Howells also equaled Northwestern's single-game scoring record for a place-kicker with 17 points.
Howells now ranks 16th nationally in field goals per game with a 1.75 per game average.