Horstman getting his kicks for Red Riders
By RALPH COX, sports correspondentArticle Photos
Fact Box
SATURDAY:
-- Weir High (9-2) will host James Monroe (8-3) in a West Virginia Class AA playoff game at 1:30 p.m.
WEIRTON - Good place-kickers have at least two things in common - a lot of practice and the ability to concentrate.
Weir High junior, Justin Horstman, does both and the results have shown in the team statistics - seven field goals and 31 extra points.
When talking to the 6-footer, who also plays on the Red Rider basketball and baseball teams, you get the feeling that those statistics are no big deal. He seems to take it all in stride.
However, for a 16-year-old to trot out on the field with less than a minute to go, get the kicking tee and everything ready for a 21-yard field goal that would break a tie game and give his team a much-needed win to make the state playoffs, it is a big deal.
"I just concentrate on keeping my head down and getting my two steps just right and put my toes square on the ball," Horstman said matter-of-factly. "I owe a lot to Cory (Enrietti) and Billy (Perkins)."
Enrietti, a senior, is the long snapper for the Red Riders and Perkins, a sophomore, is the holder.
"Cory's snaps are always perfect and fast, too," said Horstman. "Billy puts the ball on the tee and turns the laces away. They are great guys to work with."
It's not as if being the kicking team is all these three players do. Enrietti, like Horstman, is a backup quarterback for the Red Riders. He, along with Perkins, plays tight end on offense. Perkins moves to linebacker on the defense. Horstman does double duty as a wide receiver on the Weir High offense and cornerback when the defense is on the field.
Yet they find time every day in practice to work on the kicking game for at least 15 minutes and often longer. Horstman revealed that he practices extra points and kickoffs every day and twice a week the whole kicking team practices them.
Coach Eric Meek said that his team also practices weekly getting on and off the field within the 25-second time limit in case they have to kick a field goal as the clock is winding down.
They had do that for a field goal at least once during the regular season when Horstman booted a 30-yard field goal as time ran out just before halftime against Edison. They also have to do after each touchdown as the kicking team has just 25 seconds to get the play off.
Horstman said he played a lot of soccer prior to going to Weir Middle School and found that he could kick the ball pretty hard and accurately even though he did not use the standard soccer style. He said he always has kicked the ball straight away with his toes.
When he got to Weir Middle, Horstman decided to play football and thus began his kicking career.
"I just always thought kicking was fun and I really enjoy it," he said.
Horstman said he injured a hamstring in the preseason this year so he tries not to kick beyond what he can do without straining.
"I regularly kick 40-yarders in practice," Horstman said of his field goals. "That is about as far as I can kick without straining. With kickoffs, I get about 60 yards, but I have to try not to over kick so I don't re-injure the hamstring.
Horstman uses a special kicking shoe that has a square toe on it.
"We used to have difficulty with it especially trying to hurry to stay within the 25-second time limit, but now we have special laces for the shoe and it is much easier to get on quickly," he said.
Another game that Horstman's toe was key was in the 28-27 victory over Brooke in the regular season - another important game that helped the Red Riders gain the No. 4 seed in the postseason tournament. He didn't make a field goal in that game, but was perfect on all four extra points.
Then last week in the opening round of the playoffs, Horstman kicked field goals of 28, 31 and 23 yards in the 23-14 win. The 31-yarder is a career-long for Horstman.
Meek said that he is working his team hard this week at scoring touchdowns when they get inside the red zone, but he'll take a field goal from the trusty toe of Horstman when getting into the end zone isn't in the cards.
For Horstman, it is good to know that the coaches have confidence in his toe. He said Ray Pernell is the Red Rider kicking coach, but he also gets help from coaches Dan Rovira and Paul Stevens.
"They have taught me to pretend like I have blinders on like race horses wear," he explained. "I just block out the noise and the peripheral view of all the people that comes off the edge. I really don't feel pressure. I take a two-step practice kick and then signal the guys to snap it. Concentration is the key."
Horstman said one of his goals is to obtain a college scholarship as a place-kicker.
"Football is a team sport," he concluded, "but kicker is one of the positions where a player can stand out and I kind of like that."
