When UL kicker Brett Baer last was heard from, he was beneath a massive celebratory pile, waiting for the message to get to the top that it was awfully hard to breath down there.

And now, the rest of the

story "» .

Because for every field goal Baer has made, every extra point he has converted, every 26-yard game-winner he has enjoyed — OK, there is just that one, last Saturday night to beat Florida Atlantic at Cajun Field — there is more to it than the foot that booted the ball through.

There are, in fact, two others — Matt Rosenbalm and Brady Thomas, both good buddies with Baer and each other — without whom none of it would work nearly as well as it has been for the 4-1 Ragin’ Cajuns.

"They’ve been doing an unbelievable job," Baer said of the usually unsung ones.

"There’s just as much pressure, or more, on the snapper and the holder during that time," Cajuns coach Mark Hudspeth added. "The kicker, he just kicks it. But the ball’s got to get there, and it’s got to be held."

No one knows that better than Rosenbalm, a junior from Forsyth Central High in Cumming, Ga., who has been UL’s top deep snapper since the beginning of last season.

Well, it all starts with me," Rosenbalm said when asked who feels that pressure most. "If I don’t get the snap, then Brady can’t hold and Brett can’t kick. But I think Brett probably has the most on his shoulders."

Something new

If Rosenbalm does his job — Hudspeth knocks on wood whenever discussing just how well he has, calling him "dead accurate and consistent" — Thomas is the chain’s next link.

The junior from Aledo High in Aledo, Texas, never had held before this year.

But with time on his hands — Thomas also is UL’s No. 4 quarterback behind Blaine Gautier, Chris Masson and Brad McGuire — he was more than happy to give it a shot.

"Any way I could get on the field to help the team out," Thomas said, "I really wanted to do."

Besides, he added, "I thought it would be cool if I could hold for (Baer) and help him out."

The two are housemates, and Baer knew UL had a need when punter Spencer Ortego — who doubled as UL’s holder in 2010 — left after four years with the Cajuns.

Who better than his best friend on campus?

Hudspeth was willing to tap Thomas, in large part because he likes having a quarterback hold.

"It allows you to roll out if you have a bad snap, and it allows you to put in some fakes, too," he said. "The threat is there."

Moreover, Hudspeth added, "I always enjoy it when somebody finds a role and they take pride in it, as small as it may be."

Yet as nerve-wracking as it is, Thomas accepted the assignment, even though — truth be told — he had no idea what he was doing.

That in mind, following a round of golf in the summer, he, Rosenbalm and Baer went to work for about 20 minutes.

"We were at the house, in the backyard, just snapping and holding," said Baer, a junior from Brandon, Miss.

One thing led to another, and before long the Georgia-Texas-Mississippi trio was sending cell snapshots to UL’s new head coach, letting Hudspeth know what they were up to.

Through offseason workouts and fall camp, often four or five times a week, repetition was order of the day.

"He (Thomas) has it down to a science now," Rosenbalm said.

"It’s the kind of a position where nobody notices you until you mess up. (But) I don’t really feel too much pressure, because we had worked on it so much," Thomas added. "At the beginning of the summer, I was a little nervous about doing it — because I had never done it before. But now I’m comfortable with it."

So comfy that the middle man between Rosenbalm and Baer helped the trio extend Baer’s perfect streak of career consecutive field goals made to 14 heading into last Saturday’s home game vs. FAU.

They even got so accustomed to the makes that a post-kick routine unfolded.

Rosenbalm mixes things up, going with anything from a high-five to a hug with Baer.

But Thomas and Baer take it to another level, first high-fiving and then — they enjoy watching pro wrestling — mimicking together the awarding of a championship belt.

"Every kicker and holder in the nation has something," Thomas said, "and we didn’t have anything."

Makes and misses

As it turned out, though, there would be no hand-slaps, no imaginary belts, early on against FAU.

Baer missed his first attempt against the Owls — a 48-yarder in the third quarter that was one yard shy of the career-long he hit two weeks earlier against Nicholls State and the same distance as one he hit one week earlier in an upset win at Florida International.

It was wide left.

"We all wanted it to (last forever)," Rosenbalm said.

"I didn’t want (the streak) to end for him," Thomas added, "but when it did I just told him, ‘Now we can start a new one.’ "

Even that, though, would have to be, ahem, put on hold, as UL’s very next drive against FAU ended with Baer shanking a 25-yarder that hit the left upright.

But then he got it together, hitting his next three attempts, from 47 yards on the Cajuns’ ensuing possession, from 46 yards midway through the fourth and from 26 for the win as time expired.

"It seemed like he was a little down on himself at the time," Rosenbalm said, "but to come back and make that (47)-yarder was huge for him, and I think he got his confidence right back."

Still going

As the Cajuns prepare to play Troy on Saturday night at Cajun Field, each among the trio is back to believing.

And there is a streak going, even longer than the new one of three field goals: It’s Baer’s perfect career tally of 41-for-41 on point-after tries, and it’s one expected to continue growing. "Extra points are just a chip shot," Rosenbalm said, "I mean, Brett makes those every day. He’s a great kicker. So as long as we execute the snap and the hold, he should be able to kick it through."

No matter what Baer does, it seems, it really does take three — not to mention some decent protection up front.

Rosenbalm would have it no other way.

"We just care about winning," he said. "Brett’s gonna make the kicks, Brady’s gonna hold the ball and I’m gonna snap it. As long as we keep doing that, I think we can continue winning."

And as long as the Cajuns do, the threesome will keep continue celebrating.

After Baer rebounded to help UL beat FAU, there was little time for high-fives.

The kick complete, Rosenbalm made a beeline for Baer. "I tackled him, like everybody else," he said.

Among those also down on the ground were McGuire, who besides being UL’s starting fullback also lines up to block on field goals, and Thomas.

As the pile above them expanded, the oxygen down below grew thin.  

"It just kept getting darker, and heavier and heavier," Thomas said. "It was fun, though.’