Just for kicks

PLEASANT GROVE — Taking up football a few months before your senior season is normally not a promising idea.

Pleasant Grove Vikings place kicker Mark Kennington, however, is not deterred by odds. So when coach Dale Sampson told him early last summer that his chances of making the Vikings football team were pretty slim and that actually playing was even a longer shot, the 5-foot-6, 140-pound senior with no previous football experience ignored the warning.

"My whole life I've really wanted to play football, but I never knew what position I could play," Kennington said.

Sampson is glad that Kennington failed to heed his advice. Despite never playing high school football until this year and having no experience kicking a football until a few weeks prior to the season, Kennington has become one of the most reliable kickers in Utah preps. He's converted on 5-of-7 field-goal attempts and 13-of-15 extra-point tries.

"He's been an absolute fantastic addition to our team," Sampson said.

Kennington's long-shot journey began when he decided to participate in the Vikings' summer camps, hoping to become a receiver. He quickly learned, however, that the others vying for the receiver spots were bigger and faster.

"With the talent we have out here, it would have been pretty hard for me to play. So I decided to try kicking," he said.

As a member of the school's soccer team, kicking a ball, though not a football, was in his background. Friend and teammate Ben Gerun taught Kennington the basic fundamentals of place kicking a few weeks before fall camp began. Kennington then worked diligently on his own to hone his new trade. Shortly after workouts began Kennington convinced his coach to give his newfound kicking skills a look.

"I didn't even know he played soccer and didn't even know he could kick," Sampson said.

From 40 yards out, on his very first try, Kennington split the uprights. Sampson was sold.

"He just looked at me and said 'OK, you're the kicker,"' Kennington said.