What’s some of the best kickers you seen in HS. And some of the longest FG kicks you seen.
Best kickers in HS
- Thread starter Vik-Val 86
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You know as I have gotten older the kicking aspect of the game I have grown to love more and more. Crest had a kid back around 13-14 (ish) that was really good ..Alex Trejo had a monster leg
Mt.pleasant had a punter that went to duke that punted a ball like it was shot out of a cannon…. Crazy
Mitchell had a very good kicker a few years ago
Mt.pleasant had a punter that went to duke that punted a ball like it was shot out of a cannon…. Crazy
Mitchell had a very good kicker a few years ago
Back in the late 80’s or early 90’s I saw a ACR kicker miss a 70 yarder wide right! He had plenty of distance and also a little wind help! Also the kid from Porter Ridge basically beat us by himself in the playoffs. I think he went on to kick for Chip Kelly’s Oregon teams.
Ryan Succop Hickory HS. Crest and Hickory were in the same conference. Hickory wasn't very good.
Noah Haney from Hibriten kicked and punted as well as played O and D-line. His leg helped us beat Shelby and East Duplin in 2017.
Ive seen the record broken 3 times
Clint Gwaltney(Shelby) 53 yards in 87
Tyler Ashe(Shelby) 58 yards against Burns (forgot what year)
Cline Ingle (Burns) 61 yards against Shelby (forgot year) (Pretty sure still the record)
Clint Gwaltney in 87 was a phenom in NC for that time... In the playoffs in rainy/icy conditions he attempted one from 63/64 yards that hit the cross bar.... He kicked one from 50 i the semis against a very good west caldwell team, that he made late to send us to the finals against Burlington Williams.. During warm ups during games he would stay out and kick field goals starting close, the further he moved back the more opposing coaches and players would stop and watch.. As he crossed over the 50 and was making them up towards 65 yards you could see the "oh crap" from the opposing teams... he was a special talent for a kicker back then,.....
Need to throw some punters some love too:
I think his name was Mike Thomas (QB Richmond County mid to late 80s) He could absolutely boom the ball, high spirals that turned over
Kenny Pauley Shelby late 80s: Same as thomas above, he had a lively leg the ball would always be a beautiful spiral turning it over in the air...
Somewhere also around that time frame, I think it was doug merritt at burns, he like the two above had other duties but I remember him being a strong legged punter...
Dude at East rutherford around 2005 Kicker and Punter massive leg power as well...
Im old and forgotten some, but seeing the longest field goal record in NC history broken 3 times is pretty cool
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Heard a story that Roy Kirby was talking to Lou Holtz when he visited Crest Succop came up in the conversation and Kirby told Holtz they needed to offer Succop a scholarship. Holtz told him they didn't offer kickers. Kirby got a call from Holtz later on and he told Kirby he just wanted to let him know that they offered Succop. He was a flat out weapon.
Matt Wogan from Porter Ridge. My son finished a distant second to him in the Shrine Bowl tryouts. Absolutely the strongest leg I’ve ever seen in high school. He was under utilized at Oregon. Had a great punting game as well.
Kicking is a huge and underrated part of the game as is a huge reason why some eastern teams struggle so much.
Have a friend that played on the 87 West Caldwell team he has told me about that kicker from Shelby in disgust of course lol.
I know there has been some good female kickers. Back in ‘17 South Iredell had a good one. I think High Point Central had one by the name of Snow Brenner. I believe that’s her name.
The popular line by those that don't fancy themselves as Golden Lions...Shelby was beaten by a foot of Snow.
😀
Remember when Spikes and Company where In can conference with Hickory you could always count on Succop to get Hickory on the board he truly was a weapon..
I met up with him at Oregon after a game. He was their kickoff guy all four years but was a bit sporadic on his accuracy on FGs.
There have been loads of elite kickers / punters from NC play FBS.
Oregon, Iowa, Purdue, Virginia, UNC, South Carolina, Florida State are some of the schools I remember them kicking for.
Couple of things I learned from being around the specialist game.
Kicking a long, accurate field goal is great but how fast is the kicker to the ball and what is the angle off the tee are two of the main components. One of NC's most prolific kicker/punters was slow to the ball and had a low trajectory. Did not translate to college but he was a force in 1A.
Major focus for punters is placement of the ball downfield and time from catch to punt. I remember Richmond County (Mike Thomas) mentioned above would not punt once they got past midfield unless it was a real long fourth down. Thomas never had to perfect the spot but he was free to boom it and he, like many, was a game changer flipping the field. He was also a stud a running the offense at qb for them.
Oregon, Iowa, Purdue, Virginia, UNC, South Carolina, Florida State are some of the schools I remember them kicking for.
Couple of things I learned from being around the specialist game.
Kicking a long, accurate field goal is great but how fast is the kicker to the ball and what is the angle off the tee are two of the main components. One of NC's most prolific kicker/punters was slow to the ball and had a low trajectory. Did not translate to college but he was a force in 1A.
Major focus for punters is placement of the ball downfield and time from catch to punt. I remember Richmond County (Mike Thomas) mentioned above would not punt once they got past midfield unless it was a real long fourth down. Thomas never had to perfect the spot but he was free to boom it and he, like many, was a game changer flipping the field. He was also a stud a running the offense at qb for them.
Kicking and punting are so much more complex than most think. What’s the coaching philosophy? Is there a consistent snapper? With placekicking, is there a good holder? Is significant time spent on the kicking game in practice? Is the team’s punt coverage any good?
I remember my son’s coach telling him he didn’t care how far he could kick. Just get it thirty yards and don’t outkick the coverage.
A punter is only as good as his snapper, his protection and his coverage.
A kicker is only as good as his snapper, holder and protection.
My son could consistently hit 55 yarders all day long off the tee. But the snap of the ball was always an adventure.
I remember my son’s coach telling him he didn’t care how far he could kick. Just get it thirty yards and don’t outkick the coverage.
A punter is only as good as his snapper, his protection and his coverage.
A kicker is only as good as his snapper, holder and protection.
My son could consistently hit 55 yarders all day long off the tee. But the snap of the ball was always an adventure.
Joshua Karty. Western Alamance. Currently at Stanford and was a finalist for the Groza Award (and likely the favorite to win it this upcoming season).
Tyler Lewis had a bomb for a right leg. Was fun watching him kick from just about anywhere on the field.
Major leg strength! He was a pregame highlight show especially on road games.
Amen!! Consistently kicking it on top of the concession stand when they played at East Surry in the playoffs.
Is that the kid from Albemarle back in the McClendon days? I see Tyler Lewis below. That rings a bell.
SP has kicker coming back this year if given the chance should break our school record. Currently sits at 57 yards I do believe. Question is will he get a shot. He's putting in the work during the offseason and would not be surprised to see him land D1.
Charlie Birtwistle.
Charlie Birtwistle.
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