Trending
Steven Gutierrez has become Mr. Automatic for the Mineral Ridge High football team.
Gutierrez, a senior kicker, has established a school record this year by booting 45 successful point-after kicks through eight games. It's the most PATs in a single season in school history. He is also in the midst of another school record, having made 63 consecutive PATs dating back to last season.
Gutierrez has kicked at least one field goal in each of Mineral Ridge's eight wins this year, missing just one field goal all year long.
At Warren G. Harding High, Jaron Edmonds is also having a record-breaking season. On Oct. 2, Edmonds booted a 48-yard field goal in a 33-14 win at Boardman - the longest made field goal in school history. Edmonds' boot broke a 61-year-old record which was previously held by Tony Capers, who kicked a 41-yard-field goal in 1965.
Edmonds also holds school records for most field goals in one game (four) and career field goals (16).
Gutierrez and Edmonds are among a new wave of high school kickers who have specialized the position.
"Back in the day, especially with the smaller schools, you didn't always have someone on your roster who was just a kicker," Mineral Ridge coach Andy Hake said. "Today it's different. Some of these kids are so good. They get into kicking at such a young age, and when they get to high school, that's their thing.
"Today there are kicking camps and coaches or trainers just for that position. Kickers have more of an impact than ever before. The kicking game has always been a huge part of the overall game, and now when you have an elite kicker, it can be a difference maker."
Gutierrez checks all the boxes. He began "kicking" at the age of 3 when he was introduced to soccer. During his freshman year in high school, the Rams football team was in desperate need of a kicker and Gutierrez gave it a try, even though he never kicked a football competitively up to that point.
Gutierrez admittedly "wasn't completely serious" about the role until his sophomore year. Since then, he has attended numerous national kicking camps, he has connected with a personal coach, he has become obsessed with his role as a football kicker and he has become a key ingredient in the Rams' success.
"Steven is clutch, he's a weapon," Hake said. "He kicks 50-yarders in practice, and we have no problem putting him out there in game-winning situations. He's elite. He's the star of our soccer team. If he focused solely on football, it's scary how good he could be. He'll play at the next level."
Gutierrez attended his first kicking camp three years ago at Youngstown State University. He has since attended numerous camps, including a national camp in Tennessee, where he earned a four-star rating. He most recently attended the Kohl's Professional Kicking Camp in Cleveland earlier this month.
"That first camp I attended taught me so much," Gutierrez said. "Kicking is way more than just having accuracy or a strong leg. I was taught how to have a field plan. How to create a routine and stick with it. Always make sure the toes are lined up at 3 O'clock. Be consistent with how far you step back from the placement, always take the same size steps. Pay attention to the wind.
"The mental aspect of kicking is just as important as the kick itself."
Gutierrez is also quick to credit his holder (Thomas Koniowsky) and snapper (Ajay Deley).
"Every kick is a team effort, it takes all 11 guys to make it work, and it definitely doesn't work unless the snap and hold are close to perfect," Gutierrez said.
Gutierrez, who stands 5-foot-8 and weighs 130 pounds, said he was awestruck when attending his first kicking camp, noting that "a lot of the kickers were much bigger, much stronger and more athletic than myself." Still, he is not deterred from striving to kick beyond high school.
"I have room to grow, and I'll continue to put in the time and the work to improve my game," Gutierrez said. "There's so much that goes into being a successful kicker. I'm looking to get better in every aspect."
Harding coach Matt Richardson said the kicking game at the high school level "is more specialized than ever before," while noting that the surge in soccer participation over the past few decades has also helped the football kicking game at all levels.
"There have always been good kickers in our game, but now there are more of them, the talent is more widespread," Richardson said. "Kickers in the NFL and college are now kicking longer field goals than ever before. They're more accurate than ever, and that is trickling down to the high school level.
"Jaron's mom played soccer. Jaron played soccer long before he played football. It's no surprise he evolved into a great football kicker."
Richardson said Edmonds also benefits from opportunities that were not always offered to kickers of the previous generations.
"Jaron has reaped the benefits of (Harding strength coach) Mike Bartos. These kicker-only camps do wonders in teaching kicking fundamentals and building confidence.
"We're blessed to have Jaron. We always want to end each drive with points, and with him, our percentages go up."
Edmonds, who also plays baseball, began kicking a football at an early age. In fact, he attended his first camp at the age of 7 - where he finished in last place.
"When the camp ended I told the camp director that I would come back the next year and win the camp," Edmonds said. "For a year, I learned everything there is to know about kicking, I worked at it all the time and I came back the next year and won.
"It's true that so much of what we do is mental. You have to have a strong and accurate leg, but you also have to be mentally strong. During a game, I'm constantly checking the wind after nearly every play. I'm paying attention to the other team's kicking game. I'm staying focused."
Edmonds, who has already garnered interest from several colleges, said the best is yet to come. Right now, he said he would be confident if he was sent onto the field to attempt a 55-yard field goal.
"I'm still growing as a kicker, I'm still learning and I'll continue to work hard every day, so I believe I haven't come close to reaching my peak," Edmonds said.
Gutierrez and his Mineral Ridge teammates will look to lift their record to 9-0 tonight when they host Western Reserve.
Edmonds and his WGH teammates seek to keep their playoff hopes alive as they host Massillon.