The Paradise Valley football team has a ton of talent returning from last year’s squad, enough to make them one of the early favorites in 4A-II.
But coach Donnie Yantis was really worried about replacing his kicker. Danny Compton manned the position for the past three years and is now at Air Force.
Yantis said he held an open tryout for all his players this summer to find a replacement. And he found out there might not be much of a dropoff after all.
Turns out, running back/linebacker Jake Brown, one of the most important players on the team, can boot a 50-yard field goal.
“As a coach you feel like an idiot,” Yantis said. “We were clueless about it. He’s not as good as Danny, but strength-wise he definitely has a stronger leg.”
Brown was a kicker on the freshman team three years ago, but hadn’t tried it since. Yantis said Brown routinely puts kickoffs into the end zone.
“I played soccer for awhile,” Brown said. “That’s probably where I got it from.”
Brown said he’s been working on his kicking for a couple of hours each Saturday. Compton has helped him out on a few occasions, and Brown said he’s becoming more confident as the repetitions increase.
His technique is improving, which makes the kicks more accurate.
“If (the games started) now, I’d be nervous,” Brown said. “But once the season starts I should be good to go.”
It won’t diminish his other duties. Brown will still be a starter on both offense and defense.
“The kid’s going to be tired,” Yantis said.
