NITRO'S SHAMBLIN NOT ONLY KNOWS WHAT
IT IS, HE BOOTS 4 OF THEM
Publication:
Published: 10/01/1987
Page: P4B
Headline: NITRO'S SHAMBLIN NOT ONLY KNOWS WHAT IT IS, HE BOOTS 4 OF THEM
Byline: TOM ALUISE
It's back!
Pat Vance swung open the closet doors and reached way back
beyond the bell bottom pants and leisure suitsall the
way past the
how-to-jitterbug books. Vance even tossed aside the Statue of
away once the game was over.
And there he found it _ the drop kick. Or better yet, a
drop kicker.
Vance, in his 15th season as
coach, has employed junior offensive tackle-linebacker Shawn Shamblin
to drop kick extra points for the Wildcats.
Shamblin developed the skill kicking footballs over
telephone
wires as a kid. History says Notre Dame's George Gipp
once drop
kicked a field goal 62 yards in 1916 _ before you could even call
long distance across the country.
"We're going to go with it until somebody is able to stop us,'
said Vance, who remembers his senior football season at Nitro,
waaaaaay back in 1960, and a game against the Poca Dots.
That's when Vance last encountered a drop kicker. He played for
Poca.
"We have been having trouble making extra points,' Vance
explained, "and the kid came to me and said, "Coach, I can drop kick
it.' I said, "You don't know what a drop kick
is.'|9'
That was early last week after Nitro's regular place-kicker,
Matt McNeel, had missed two extra point tries in the
Wildcats' 27-6
victory against Herbert Hoover on Sept. 18.
Shamblin proceeded to prove his accuracy to Vance
during
practice and convinced the veteran coach to give him a shot in
Friday's contest at
Shamblin, a 6-2, 185-pounder, responded by hitting
four-of-four
extra point tries in Nitro's 28-14 triumph over the stunned Black
Eagles. McNeel, who, Vance said, is going to be a
good kicker, still
boots field goals for the Wildcats.
"I figured, "What the heck,'|9' said Vance, who admitted,
however, that Nitro will have to improve its blocking to keep
pressure off Shamblin and thus ensure success.
Shamblin is enjoying his newfangled role on the team.
He's also
the Wildcats' punter.
"I wasn't paying attention to anybody,' Shamblin
said when
asked about the reaction Friday to his drop kicks. "I was just
overjoyed that I made the first one. I knew if I missed the first
one it would be the only chance I got.'
Shamblin said his drop kick range reaches about 30
yards. The
key to a successful kick, he said, is the drop. Shamblin
drops the
ball with its point facing down and strikes the ball just as it hits
the ground.
"You have to make sure you have a good drop, keep your head
down and follow through with your leg,' he said. "The drop is the
most important part.'
As for his teammates, Shamblin said they have been a
bit
surprised with his extraordinary talent.
"They were happy I made four extra points,' he said. "We
hadn't made all of our extra points in one game this year. The
biggest thing was convincing them that it was legal.'
McNeel, meanwhile, doesn't seem to mind being
replaced by a
kicker whose style went out several decades ago.
"Last game one of his kicks brought rain,' McNeel
joked. "It
went through but it was funny.'
And good for one point. That's all that matters.
Nitro, 3-2, returns to action Friday against George Washington
at home. Other area games this week include, Herbert Hoover at
DuPont, Logan at East Bank, Hurricane at Winfield, St. Albans at
Milton, South Charleston at Oak Hill, Stonewall Jackson at Greenbrier
East, Dunbar at Sissonville and Fort Gay at Buffalo-Putnam.
DROP KICKER _
his drop kicking form. In his first try under game conditions with
the old kicking form, he was a perfect four-for-four. _ Daily
Mail
Photos by Chet Hawes.