THE FRONT ROW with MARK NELKE: When soccer players double as high school football kickers

A couple of weeks ago, a Moses Lake player broke a long kickoff return down the sideline, and the kicker for Post Falls was shaping up as the last line of defense.

Normally that's not an issue — unless your kicker is also a soccer player who just recently learned how to kick a football.

In this instance, the kicker was junior Andon Brandt, whose regular job is playing midfielder or striker for the Post Falls High boys soccer team.

"He had to go make the tackle, and it was the first time he’d ever tackled anybody in his life," recalled Mick Zeller, Trojans special teams coach.

How’d he do?

"I’m not sure if he actually made the tackle, but he slowed him down and made him cut back, and I think him and another kid caught up to him and tackled him at the same time," Zeller said.

"He might have gotten an assist … but he did his job; he knew what to do," Zeller added, sounding somewhat like the proud father.

SOCCER PLAYERS moonlighting as placekickers have been around for decades — in some places, roughly as long as high schools have fielded soccer teams.

Often times, they're not even listed on the roster, if they join the team during the season.

At Post Falls, it's been a tradition for nearly two decades.

Gabe Lawson, boys soccer coach at Post Falls for every year but one since 2003, believes Casey Schooley was the first soccer player to kick for the Trojans, in the mid-2000s.

And, many times since, a Trojan soccer player has doubled as placekicker for the football team.

Like Griffen Hoerner in 2008 ... Scott Benner in 2010 ... Timmy Mueller in 2011 and '12 ... J.D. Sullivan in 2013 ...

"I'm always good with that," Lawson said. "It gives those guys a good experience; I'm always happy to help. Those boys love going out there. It gives them a little bit of a different experience — they usually don’t get to play under the lights, or in front of a lot of people."

Zeller, who recently resigned as Post Falls baseball coach, has coached in the Trojan football program since 2000, mostly as a freshman or junior varsity coach. In 2016, he became special teams coach on the varsity when Blaine Bennett took over as head coach.

Zeller remembers Mueller, the former Trojan soccer star, doing rugby-style punts for the football team.

Zeller's first two years with the varsity, the kicker was Braden Vaughan, the star running back who also played linebacker.

But after that, his kickers came from the soccer team.

His first one, in 2018, was Josh Brisendine.

The next one was Brayan Lara Mendez. Last year, it was Logan Kollar, and when he got injured, Isaac Ballew came in.

And this year it’s Andon Brandt.

"One year we used seven kickers," Zeller said, including "a German exchange student, we nicknamed him 'Das Boot.'"

Weird thing is, Zeller said he's never had to go to Lawson and ask for a kicker.

"Usually the kids take care of it," Zeller said.

Eventually a soccer player will show up at football practice, and if he shows he's good enough to kick for the football team, Bennett will tell Zeller, “He’s yours.”

"We exchange phone numbers, and I keep him in the loop," Zeller said, "what color jerseys and pants we’re wearing, what time the pregame meal is, where it is, what time the bus leaves."

Because the soccer and football teams practice at roughly the same time, it is rare for the soccer player/placekicker to be at football practice. They usually come over after soccer practice and kick on their own, after most of the football players have left.

But once, near the end of double-days, Brandt was able to make it to a football practice, just before the season opener vs. Sandpoint.

"The first time we sent people at him, and had to block for him, there’s lots of noise, lots of action … I think he kicked it right in the back of one of our linemen," Zeller recalled. "We kinda had to settle him down."

Brandt has since settled down, and while he can kick extra points, mostly now handles field goals and kickoffs. senior Luna, a lineman, handles most of the PATs.

Playing football has impacted Brandt on the soccer field, Lawson said.

"Last year he wasn’t as aggressive," Lawson recalled. "He’s one of the most aggressive players on the field now."

WHAT'S THE trick to taking a soccer player and making him a placekicker?

"It’s different, because they kick totally different," Zeller said, noting soccer players are trying to kick a ball below a crossbar 8 feet off the ground, and football kickers are trying to clear a crossbar 10 feet high.

"They don’t kick up, they want to kick the ball down, and kick line drives and I told him, 'I don’t know if you play golf, but think sand wedge. We just need the ball in the air, and you have a strong enough leg, it’s going to go 30, 40 yards. We can’t have line drives; line drives will get blocked at the line of scrimmage. You want to get the ball up as quick as you can.'"

Other adjustments, Zeller said, include getting the timing right — starting your steps right as the holder catches the ball — as well as dealing with the noise of a game, as well as the onrushing linemen.

That, and tackling. Soccer players/placekickers are not usually there when the football team practices tackling.

Then again, if your kickoff guy has to be good at tackling ...

"If you have to tackle somebody, we’re in trouble anyway," Zeller said.

Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via email at mnelke@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter @CdAPressSports.