Kickers have a leg up

It's not every day that a high school athlete arrives at a game via helicopter.

But hey, those football kickers have been known to have a flare for the dramatics.

It was Carmel kicker Austin Heinrichs who swooped in on a helicopter two years ago so that he would be on time for a football game at far south suburban Marian Catholic.

Also a soccer player, Heinrichs was running late because he had played in a soccer game in the northern suburbs earlier that afternoon.

"That was pretty crazy," said Heinrichs, who has definitely seen his share of craziness.

Craziness ensued again after he hit a dramatic (what else?) 19-yard field goal with just seconds remaining to beat crosstown rival Libertyville earlier this season. Fans quickly spilled onto the field to celebrate with the hero of the game.

"That was the best game of my life," Heinrichs said. "It was a huge challenge and there was a lot of pressure, but I like pressure."

Good thing.

Kickers are under more pressure than ever right now.

As the playoffs wear on, the games will be getting tighter and the stakes will be getting higher. A good kicker can mean the difference between living another week and turning in equipment on Monday.

"Being able to make extra points and field goals from about 35 yards and in is huge in these games," Carmel coach Andy Bitto said. "You want a good kicker when you're in the playoffs."

There are three playoff teams left in the Daily Herald's Lake County coverage area -- Carmel (8-2), Lake Zurich (9-1) and Grant (10-0). And all three teams, not surprisingly, have very solid kickers, which could bode well for them as they try to advance into next week's quarterfinals.

Just for kicks (ha, ha), let's get to know Heinrichs, Lake Zurich's Kevin Johnson and Grant's Kevin Katchmar a little better.

A whirlwind career

Heinrichs had never before been on a helicopter until that busy fall day two years ago.

The flight was arranged by his dad, who called in a favor with a coworker.

That coworker happened to have access to a helicopter.

"Normally it takes about 2½ hours to get down to Marian Catholic after school on a Friday," said Heinrichs, who rode in style to the game with former Carmel kicker Kevin Cook, who was also on the soccer team. "We got there in only 25 minutes. That was a pretty cool experience."

Heinrichs would say the same thing about his decision to juggle both football and soccer for the last four falls.

He grew up on soccer, and eats, sleeps and drinks it. But he got sucked in by football, too.

During his freshman year, one of his soccer coaches told him that he should give kicking footballs a try. Heinrichs' leg strength and accuracy were impressive even back then.

"I showed up at football practice and showed what little knowledge about football I had," laughed Heinrichs, who had never played football prior to his freshman year. "But the football coaches called me back and that's how it all started."

Since then, time has been in short supply, but besides the day of the helicopter incident, Heinrichs has had very few conflicts between soccer and football. He usually attends the first part of football practice and then runs over to soccer just in time for the start of practice there.

"I've constantly been on the go every fall, that's for sure," said Heinrichs, who was a defender for the soccer team, which recently advanced to the sectional final. In the meantime, he made 33-of-36 extra points and 1 field goal for the football team. "But I love both sports, so I'm glad I did it. It was a great opportunity that not everyone gets to do."

He's kickin' back

He's still hurting.

But heck, it's the playoffs. So Kevin Johnson is back to kicking.

Johnson kicked Lake Zurich all the way through to the Class 7A state title game last season and spent the entire off-season waiting anxiously to start his fourth year on the job.

But against Fremd in the Bears' season opener, Johnson tightened up and somehow injured his quad muscle.

His leg has been tender ever since.

He's continued to start at safety, but his kicking duties have shrunk considerably. Since a Week 3 victory over Stevenson in which he hit all three of his field goals attempts, including a career long 40-yarder, Johnson has come in only for crucial extra points or field goals.

"The funny thing is, I can get away with doing a full sprint, I can do everything I need to do to play defense, but it's when I go through the violent motion of throwing my leg back for a kick that I really feel the pain," Johnson said. "I told the coaches pretty much right after that Fremd game that I should rest my leg as much as I could during the regular season so that I could be ready later on."

For the playoffs, that is.

Johnson, whose leg isn't perfect, but is significantly better, knows how important a kicker can be in the playoffs. He says he wants to be the guy his teammates and coaches look to when a game is on the line.

"The whole team has put a lot of confidence in me and I know I can live up to that responsibility," said Johnson, a former soccer player who fell in love with football. "Most of that comes from my nature. I'm just an easy-going kid and I don't get uptight or bothered by much. When there's a crucial field goal to make, it never crosses my mind that I could miss.

"I've kicked thousands and thousands of field goals. I've worked hard on my kicking. I haven't kicked a lot this season, but I'm still confident. I know I can do it."

So do the Lake Zurich coaches, who are thrilled that Johnson is back in the fold.

Mike Powers and Dan Iwicki filled in admirably for Johnson this season, but Johnson has playoff experience and a sparkling resume. He's made about 9 field goals over the last two seasons and is practically perfect on his extra points.

"Kevin has been there, he's been in those tight playoff games," said Lake Zurich coach Bryan Stortz, who pointed to the field goal that Johnson hit in the Bears' four-point victory over Rockford Boylan in the Class 7A semifinals last season. "That makes a big difference. As the playoffs go, you find yourself in tighter and tighter games. Having a proven kicker is a huge weapon."

He's on their side

Field goals and extra points are just part of Kevin Katchmar's job.

He takes every Grant kickoff just as seriously, especially when he knows coach Kurt Rous has called for an onside kick.

That's when it's time for Katchmar to really shine.

The Bulldogs have designed their onside kick scheme in such a way that Katchmar is the most likely person to retrieve the ball -- even though he is in charge, of course, of also kicking it.

"It's set up for him to get it," Grant coach Kurt Rous said. "He just kicks it straight on and slow and then follows it.

"I've been kind of crazy with the onside kicks this year. But it's an exciting play. I like to do it when we get the momentum going our way. And I love it that he does those kicks so well."

So well, in fact, that Katchmar is almost perfect. The Bulldogs have attempted 6 onside kids this season and have recovered 5. Katchmar has recovered all five.

Katchmar recovered one of them last week against Simeon. He also hit his only field goal of the year -- a 35-yarder.

Katchmar, who has been kicking footballs since the fourth grade and soccer balls even before that, is 34-of-37 on extra points.

"Before the kick, I just try to visualize my kicking motion and the ball going through the uprights," Katchmar said. "There is that pressure that comes with every kick, but I try to tune that out. I take some deep breaths, I look at the same place every time, either the scoreboard or this 'G' on the fence, and I focus on that.

"I like that I could have the chance to win the game. That makes (the pressure) worth it."

A lot of hard work has been worth it, too.

An injured shoulder has prevented Katchmar from playing additional positions for the Bulldogs, so he has thrown himself into his kicking.

This summer, Katchmar borrowed the school's kicking net and practiced for countless hours on his own. He also attended some specialty kicking camps to work on his form.

"Kevin has really worked hard at his kicking," Rous said. "He's developed himself into a really good kicker. And we haven't really had too many of those at Grant.

"A good kicker is always good to have in the playoffs. You need to feel confident about kicking the ball in important games like these."