Big kick

HOUSTON -- Place kicker is normally a position reserved for soccer players or foreign exchange students. On some teams a quarterback or wide receiver may do the kicking and occasionally something crazy, like a linebacker kicking the ball, may happen. Rarely do you see the heart of your defensive line standing behind the holder, ready to boot the kick.

Gary Seltenreich may stand at 6-foot-6, 435 pounds, but he is not your average big man. He is a big man, with a big foot. Going into his senior campaign, Seltenreich was penciled in as a starter at defensive tackle for the Houston High football squad, but he has since added another position to his pigskin r/sum/.

"I never thought I would be a kicker," Seltenreich said pointing to his considerable physique. "I've got size."

Houston now has the most imposing kicker in all of Alaska, and possibly North America.

"He's not just a kicker, he's a middle control man," Houston head coach Norm Bouchard said.

Seltenreich does not just have a powerful leg to bring to the Hawk special teams, Bouchard believes Seltenreich's size is an aid to the Hawk kickoff coverage.

"Players are not going to run around him," Bouchard said. "They'll need a full tank of gas."

But it was Seltenreich's powerful leg that landed him the gig as the team's kicker. Last season, the Hawks would stage kicking contests, pairing the coaches and the players, as a fun activity for practice on game day. A player and a coach would each take a kick at the uprights and the winner would send the losing team running. If a player had the longest kick, the coaches would run. And if a coach had the longest kick, the players would run.

"Gary got up there last year and kicked a 45-yarder," Bouchard said. "I thought, 'Holy Cow!'"

Seltenreich's 45-yard bomb, sent the coaches running and now Seltenreich runs the kickoff and point-after-touchdown squads.

"Last year they had me kicking (during practice) and finally this year they gave me the shot," Seltenreich said.

Bouchard found his versatile big man a kicking shoe with a square toe, and taught Seltenreich a quick and easy way to boot the ball. Now Seltenreich just takes two steps and punches the ball.

"He's such a horse," Bouchard said. "He's got a big, strong leg. You can hear that ball screaming on the way out."

Seltenreich has handled all the PATs and kickoffs this season for the Hawks. He has posted a high percentage, kicking extra points, and is booming his kick offs further and further. Seltenreich consistently forced Sitka to start in poor field position with long kicks in Houston's 28-6 win over the Wolves on Thursday.

In addition to kicking, Seltenreich also had the opportunity to live out a lineman's dream on Thursday. Late in the contest the Hawk big man took the snap on an extra point and rumbled into the end zone, carrying three Sitka players, to score the two-point conversion.

"I didn't know what to think," Seltenreich said. "My heart was pounding. It was just amazing."

Hawk captain Andy Kappler set up the play for his fellow senior and friend, telling Seltenreich that the plan was on and to just be ready for it.

And while Seltenreich continues to give the Hawks a punch with his leg, he has continued to work at defensive tackle.

"I think that is where he can go to college and be a force for someone," Bouchard said.

Seltenreich and Kappler both went down to a Nike football camp during the off-season and, according to Bouchard, finished in the top 10 of their respective

positions.