HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL

A leg up

Duo continues kicking legacy at State College

Guy Cipriano

Kevin DiSanto and Zak Khayat could trot onto almost any practice field in Pennsylvania, approach a football once and receive a full-time kicking gig.

CDT/Michelle Bixby

State College kickers Kevin DiSanto, left, and Zak Khayat. CDT/Michelle Bixby Thursday, Oct. 8, 2009

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At State College, the situation is different.

DiSanto and Khayat practiced alone during summers and winters, attended camps, went entire afternoons without missing extra points and examined film of other kickers only to split time as seniors.

Still, the benefits of the shared responsibilities are obvious.

A reliable kicking game has helped the Little Lions post a 4-1 record entering tonight’s game at Cedar Cliff (3-2).

A two-kicker system seems peculiar, considering many coaches need to raid soccer practice or school hallways to find one. But when it comes to kicking, State College functions in a different realm.

Recent Little Lion lineage includes Collin Wagner, Tom Kondash, Russell Nye, C.J. Bahr and David Kimball. Wagner starts for Penn State, Kondash punts at Lehigh and Bahr kicks for Slippery Rock. Nye played at Temple last year and Kimball kicked for Penn State from 2000-03.

“We have been fortunate,” coach Al Wolski said. “We usually have two guys. The nice thing about it is that they compete for who’s going to get to the chance. If we have two that are equal, we will give them both an opportunity to display their talent.”

State College’s productive offense — the Little Lions average 37.2 points per game — provides DiSanto and Khayat with ample kicking opportunities.

They are a combined 21-for-21 on extra points with three touchbacks. DiSanto has kicked four field goals, including three in slippery conditions during last week’s 30-19 victory over Harrisburg. Khayat went 6-for-8 on field-goal attempts last season.

“It’s kind of funny,” Khayat said. “I remember kicking in ninth grade and having such a good time and we both wanted to kick in 10th grade. We have been kicking together ever since. The competition prepares you for college. We’re competing now instead of waiting to compete in college.”

Both players possess soccer backgrounds. DiSanto still plays for the Little Lions’ varsity team, which creates hectic scenarios like Thursday when he practiced alongside Khayat before a soccer game against Altoona.

Serious kicking desires also emerged around the same time.

DiSanto started noticing the position when he attended a Penn State-Temple game at Beaver Stadium shortly after moving to State College from Buffalo, N.Y., in 2003. Two years later, he attended his first Penn State kicking camp.

“I thought my soccer skills would translate into kicking,” DiSanto said.

DiSanto sought advice from Kimball and former Penn State kicker Kevin Kelly. He continued attending camps and kicking on the side, but didn’t join the football team until his sophomore year because his mother, Patti, expressed concerns about the contact.

“I kind of wanted to do both sports in eighth grade,” DiSanto said. “My mom didn’t want me taking hits, so I was holding off on the idea. My sophomore year I got word I could do both and the coaches seemed pretty interested.”

DiSanto joined a junior varsity team with a kicker who already experienced the varied emotions attached to the position.

Khayat’s kicking career started in ninth grade when he needed a position after joining the freshman team. His first extra-point attempt was blocked. Later in the season he kicked a 26-yard field goal.

“I had a lot more confidence,” Khayat said. “I was the first ninth-grader to make a field goal in five years or something like that and they made a big deal of it.”

By their junior years, Khayat and DiSanto were kicking for a varsity team that went 12-1 and advanced to the PIAA Class AAAA quarterfinals.

To prepare for this season and set up possible college careers, they spent winters inside Holuba Hall, either kicking alone or with Penn State players. The duo attended multiple camps this past summer, with the left-footed DiSanto booting a 55-yarder at Penn State. They also logged hours of spring and summer work with veteran State College assistant coach Mike Snyder, who oversees the kicking game.

Wolski and Snyder evaluate kickers’ progress daily. Friday night decisions are often dictated by the course of a game, and kickers are used interchangeably. Khayat also plays safety and wide receiver.

“It’s the way it is and the kids have bought into it,” Wolski said. “They are both competitive and they both want to stay out there. If somebody gets hot, we will stay with that guy when they have pretty equal talent.”

State College’s kicking shelf appears well-stocked. Junior Garrett Nicholson has kicked varsity extra points and converted a game-winning 39-yard field goal during a junior varsity game against Cumberland Valley. There’s also another Khayat on the way as Zak’s brother, Nico, kicks for the freshman team.

“It’s unbelievable all the talent that comes through,” DiSanto said. “We have a great coach in Mike Snyder and it’s amazing to see what the guys before have accomplished. It’s a great feeling to go out there and perform at their level.”

TONIGHT'S GAMES

All games begin at 7 p.m.

• Bald Eagle Area at Clearfield Bellefonte at DuBois

• Philipsburg-Osceola at Penns Valley State College at Cedar Cliff

Guy Cipriano can be reached at 231-4643.