LEG WORK GETTING DONE KICKERS ARE GAINING NOTORIETY IN FOOTHILL LEAGUE.Byline: Gerry Gittelson Staff Writer Foothill League kickers kickers See bells and whistles. are putting their best foot forward. This year's group is exceptionally strong, particularly at Canyon, which might have its best kicking game in school history. Placekickers Chris Chalmers and Cameron White Cameron Leon White (b. August 18 1983 in Bairnsdale, Victoria) is an Australian cricketer. A powerful middle order batsman and occasional right-arm leg-spin bowler, White made his first-class cricket debut as a teenager in the 2000-01 season for the Victorian Bushrangers. are dependable and strong-legged, and punter Punter 1. An trader who hopes to make quick profits. Basically, another term for speculator. 2. In the U.K., it is generally used to describe someone who gambles. It is also used to mean a client or customer of any business. Dejon Negron is averaging 40 yards per punt. At Valencia, kicker Kicker A right, warrant, or some other feature added to a debt instrument to make it more desirable to potential investors. Notes: The ability to trade a bond or other debt instrument in for stock may entice investors, if they feel the stock will appreciate. Brian Malette and punter Shane Morales have improved, and both are among the region's best. Malette has been nearly perfect, converting his only field-goal attempt and 17-of-17 PATs, and booming more than 80 percent of his kickoffs into the end zone for touchbacks. Morales is averaging 39.7 yards per punt, an improvement from last year's average of 30.2. And Burroughs kicker James Cullen There are different people named James Cullen:
Things are even looking up at Saugus, which was the league's only school not to convert a field goal last year. Jeff Jalapan ended the skid with his first field goal this season, and the team has an intriguing in·trigue n. 1. a. A secret or underhand scheme; a plot. b. The practice of or involvement in such schemes. 2. A clandestine love affair. v. kickoff specialist in senior Darus Nua, a first-year soccer convert with a powerful leg. A year ago, Valencia's Malette connected on 5-of-6 field goals but couldn't reach the end zone on kickoffs. This year, he's doing it easily. ``I have 14 of 17 touchbacks this season, and I take a lot of pride in that,'' Malette said. ``I think college coaches like it when your kickoffs are deep, too.'' Chalmers' rise is an interesting story. Midway through last season, Canyon coach Harry Welch Welch , William Henry 1850-1934. American pathologist and bacteriologist who discovered the bacteria that causes gas gangrene. couldn't find anyone who could kick the ball into the end zone, and he searched everywhere before discovering Chalmers on the JV soccer team. ``I must have went through 10 guys before we found him,'' Welch said. Chalmers had never kicked a football in his life, but shared a class with linebacker Ryan Colletta, who urged him to give it a try. ``The first day, Cameron White kind of helped me out a lot,'' said Chalmers, who placed every kickoff into the end zone in his first game. Chalmers worked with a private kicking coach this past summer, and his leg is stronger than ever. He can kick 70-yarders easily, a rarity in high school football. And White has again proved dependable as a close-range specialist. ``It's a luxury every coach dreams about, to have PATs almost automatic and to have the ball kicked into the end zone almost every time,'' Welch said. ``It takes a lot of pressure off. It's just a very, very luxurious position. And to have a punter who can hang the ball into the air and drive it deep is really an asset, too.'' Welch believes the kicking game isn't appreciated at the high school level. ``I guess all of us are familiar with offense and defense, but sometimes the kicking game is made the stepchild step·child n. 1. A child of one's spouse by a previous union. 2. Something that does not receive appropriate care, respect, or attention: "Demography has a reputation for being the stepchild of . . . ,'' he said. ``But the kicking game is every bit as important. It just doesn't get the spotlight.'' Two years ago, Canyon punter Mike Lingua lingua /lin·gua/ (ling´gwah) pl. lin´guae [L.] tongue.lin´gual lingua geogra´phica benign migratory glossitis. lingua ni´gra black tongue. earned a scholarship to Fresno State, and Chalmers is hoping to take the same path. ``Coach Welch told me if I listen to him and get some extra training, I can go to a Division I college. That's what I want to do,'' he said. Malette feels the same way. ``That's why I quit soccer,'' he said. ``I want to concentrate on football.'' Gerry Gittelson, (661) 257-5218 gerry.gittelson(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo, 4 boxes Photo: (color) Canyon High's Cameron Wright Horace Cameron Wright (Cam, 1901?-1979) was a Welsh scientist who worked for the Royal Naval Physiological Laboratory at Alverstoke, near Gosport in Hampshire and for the British Ministry of Aircraft Production during World War II. , left, and Chris Chalmers are two of the Foothill League's prominent kickers. Tina Burch/Staff Photographer Box: (1) FIRST AND 10 (2) INSIDE THE NUMBERS (3) GAME OF THE WEEK (4) TODAY'S GAMES |
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