Marshall's Craig Ratanamorn has only one comment about his perfect place-kicking streak.

Shhhhh.

Which is somewhat bewildering.

I mean, Don Larsen never had to shush anybody.

When the famous New York Yankees pitcher was hurling the only perfect game in World Series history in 1956, were people constantly reminding Larson that he was throwing a masterpiece?

Of course not.

The same goes for Nolan Ryan and his all-time high seven no-hitters.

And how about UCLA's Bill Walton during the 87-66 win over Memphis in the 1973 national championship game. Think anybody told Walton he hadn't missed a shot on his way to a 22-for-23 shooting performance?

Pick a sport, any sport.

Did Wes Malott have to quiet his beer-swilling buddies while rolling two 300 games in an ESPN broadcast of the King of Bowling series in 2009?

Or did PGA member Mancil Davis have to hush the rest of his foursome while firing any of his world-record 51 holes-in-one?

No, no, no.

Ratanamorn wishes he were so lucky.

You see, the Herd's senior place-kicker is 13-for-13 on field goals and 24-for-24 on extra points this season. No other kicker in all of NCAA FBS competition is still perfect in field goals and PATs this season.

Only Ratanamorn is El Perfecto.

And everybody knows it.

Do they ever.

"Everybody won't stop bugging me about it," said Ratanamorn, shaking his head. "Oh, perfect season, perfect season.

"I'm just like, 'Chill out' because I want to keep having this good confidence in myself, so I can perform for my team."

Obviously, it's not a scenario like in baseball, basketball, bowling, golf or most other sports.

"I wish," said Ratanamorn wistfully. "I'm getting it during mid-game even. One thing you've really got to do is shove it off to the side and really just know that you're there to put points up for the team, not really for yourself."

But what about the jinx factor? The whole reason there's so much silence during these quests for perfection is everyone is afraid they'll hex the competitor.

So, isn't Ratanamorn afraid people are jinxing his perfect streak? Or isn't he superstitious?

"Oh, I'm a little bit of a head-case," he admitted with a grin. "Not much. I don't let it show. Most of all, you've just got to let it go. Push it to the side. You've just got to dust off your shoulder and really concentrate on what you're there for."

That's fairly astute for a guy in the midst of only his second season of place-kicking. Obviously, Ratanamorn is a quick study.

And it showed during the season-long 46-yard field goal he kicked against Southern Miss last Saturday. The '08 version of Ratanamorn would have tried to crush the ball and probably missed the kick.

"Yeah, it's a big illusion that I finally figured out this year," said Ratanamorn, who is a Lou Groza semifinalist. "No matter how long it is, you've got to kick it like you're kicking a PAT.

"Just a different angle, that's all.

"You've just got to really concentrate and focus on yourself on just staying the same. No need to rush it. No need to over-power it. Just stay the same."

That, more than any other reason, is why Ratanamorn is the only perfect kicker in collegiate football.

"Yeah, that's the biggest aspect," he said. "A couple of rude awakenings have taught me a lot."

Now, if his fans would just learn the same lesson.

In a word ... shhhhh.

Chuck Landon is a sports columnist for The Herald-Dispatch. Call him at 304-526-2827. E-mail him at clandon@herald-dispatch.com.

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