Not pretty, but the kick still counts
When it comes to kicking in high school football, nothing is guaranteed.
Extra points can sail wide right.
Field goal attempts can come up short.
Linemen can find themselves getting hit in the back if the kick doesn’t quite get enough air. And despite the best of intentions, can drive a coach crazy.
IN RECENT years, some area high school football teams have relied on soccer players to come join the football team to handle the kicking duties.
Players like Cade Coffey (Lakeland), Timmy Mueller (Post Falls) and Scott Benner (Post Falls) have done as such, with Coffey currently redshirting at the University of Idaho on a football scholarship.
Griphen Le of Coeur d’Alene, however — he’s no soccer player. A 5-foot-10, 205-pound senior tailback, it was Le’s right foot that played a big part in the ending of Friday’s game against Moses Lake.
Le had a 21-yard field goal come up two yards short of the goal posts midway through the fourth quarter. With a similar chance two minutes later, Le sent the kick across the goal posts for a 26-yard game winning field goal as the Vikings won 17-14.
“We practice quite a bit, but it wasn’t the best snap,” said Le of the final kick. “But we’ll get it down. It was definitely scary.”
Le’s brother, Graison, is a junior forward on the Gonzaga University men’s soccer team.
“With him playing at GU, he definitely gives me the leg for that and helps me with my technique,” Griphen said. “This year, we couldn’t find a kicker. I’ve been doing it since my freshman year, so I stepped up and did it.”
Coeur d’Alene waited until the final moments to clinch the victory on Alec Seibold’s interception with 30 seconds remaining, but just like Seibold’s hands, it was Le’s foot that eventually got the job done on Friday.
“I like kicking because when it gets down to the end of the game, I like having all of the pressure on my shoulders,” Griphen said. “All in all, it was a really good team win. The boys up front were getting a nice push and dominating like the defensive line was all night.”
“There was a lot of second thoughts about it,” said Coeur d’Alene coach Shawn Amos of the final field goal attempt. “There was a good debate on the sideline whether to do that or not, but in that spot, you need to get the points. We’ve got to trust those guys and put them into that position and let them respond as a team to screwing it up the first time.”
THROUGHOUT THE season, teams suffer injuries that force some patchwork from coaches to remain competitive.
Already dinged up on Thursday, the Lake City Timberwolves got a little more unhealthy with an ankle injury to quarterback Collin Hunter, two starting linemen and a linebacker during a 27-7 win against Shadle Park at Albi Stadium in Spokane.
“We’ve had some growing pains and issues,” Lake City coach Van Troxel said. “Defensively, we’re working harder all the time. Offensively, we finally got some things to click and we played much better.”
Lake City lost starting free safety and running back Scott Helsper to a torn ACL during the Central Valley game on Sept. 11. Nathan Colvin, who started at middle linebacker against Rocky Mountain on Aug. 28 in Moscow, has moved back to Blackfoot. Now, add Hunter to the list of guys on the mend.
“He’s going to go to the doctor right away to get it looked at,” Troxel said. “At least (Matt) Duchow finished the third and fourth quarter and played well. We’re a work in progress and we’re going to go one day at a time.”
Jason Elliott is a sports writer for the Coeur d’Alene Press. He can be reached by telephone at 664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via email at jelliott@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter @JEPressSports.