Will Warne kicked a 57-yard field goal in practice, off the grass field behind Mountain View High School.
He earned first-team, all-league status as a kicker the past two seasons with the Thunder.
He had dreams of kicking in the biggest stadiums in college football, of walking on to a Division I program and becoming great.
But then it occurred to him that he did not have to go to the Pac-12 Conference or the Southeastern Conference to become great.
“If you can kick, you can kick. If you can kick, you can go anywhere,” Warne said. “My high school coach (Adam Mathieson) made me realize that.”
So Warne will be attending a college most of his peers had never heard of before, a small college in Geneva, New York. Warne will compete for the kicking duties for the Hobart Statesmen.
It is Division III football, but that is fine with Warne.
“I can get a killer education and play football,” Warne said. “It’s still quality football.”
In fact, Hobart had a player selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2015 draft.
Some day, maybe, that could be Warne making it to the professional ranks. First, he has to finish his high school career. He has one more contest. Warne will be kicking for the East team at Saturday’s Freedom Bowl Classic, an all-star football game featuring Southwest Washington players. Kickoff is 7:30 p.m. at McKenzie Stadium.
Warne is no stranger to the benefits of Hobart. His father and grandfather attended the school. But when Will Warne went to visit, in the middle of the winter, he was freezing. The college’s tour guide that day teased Warne for wearing too much clothing and that he better get used to the weather.
Warne thought about the football seasons there, how Hobart is accustomed to making the playoffs, how those games could go into November and perhaps December. It will be cold.
“I’m going to be kicking rocks,” he said.
But at least he will be kicking.
Warne started out as a soccer player but was introduced to the art of football kicking by Daron Alcorn, a former Arena League kicker who lives in Clark County.
As a freshman, Warne went out for the Mountain View football team. He only wanted to kick, but the program had an unwritten rule that nobody just kicks, not as a freshman at least. So Warne worked out a little as a wide receiver and even got a couple looks at quarterback.
As a sophomore, he was told he could, indeed, just kick.
“That was the happiest day of my life,” Warne said.
Don’t take that the wrong way. He loves football. It’s just he prefers his own specialty part of the game.
“Football is No. 1 to me. Football teaches you things that are crucial to have in your life,” Warne said. “The ultimate goal is to enjoy myself and see how long I can ride the football train.”
He expects to study architecture. Or perhaps go into the arts — he enjoyed being in front of the camera for Mountain View video productions. And he will keep kicking.
That train is headed some 2,700 miles east to Hobart. Warne is attending a small college, but he still has big dreams.
? What: Freedom Bowl Classic all-star high school football game.
? When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday.
? Where: McKenzie Stadium, 2205 N.E. 138th Ave., in Vancouver.
? Cost: $10, which also includes admission to CCYF games at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. (Net proceeds help support Shriners Hospitals for Children.)
