TEE IT UP: SV's KUTZ COMING OFF TWO ALL-STATE SEASONS

Perhaps St. Vincent's football team and Derek Kutz should be thankful that the school doesn't have a boys soccer squad.

There's no telling what Kutz's fate would've been had he had a choice between uprights and empty nets.

The soccer field is where Kutz learned to kick, but the football field is where St. Vincent's two-time, all-state kicker is developing a reputation as strong as his leg.

Kutz, who has already received letters from several big-time Division I colleges, will no doubt be a key figure for St. Vincent, which has established itself as one of the premier Class 1A teams in the state over the last two years.

Last year, Kutz was an unbelievable 42-for-42 in extra-point attempts.

"That was pretty cool," Kutz admitted, although he was not totally satisfied with his accomplishments of a year ago.

Kutz made 11 of his 18 field-goal attempts last year.

"I thought I could've done better because I missed a few I thought I should've made," he said. "And I'd like to get 75-80 percent touchbacks."

So what is he doing about it?

"All summer, I kicked every day," said Kutz, whose team was ranked first in the state for a good portion of the season and then lost in the state semifinals to the eventual state champions. "On Monday, Wednesday and Friday, I worked on my accuracy. On Tuesday and Thursday, I kicked for distance and I ran a lot of hills and stuff to build up my leg strength."

"The work ethic he has is unbelievable," said first-year St. Vincent coach Keith Winkler. "Sometimes you go to the school to check out the field or something and there he is kicking away or running all by himself. He'll take eight or 10 balls and work at it every day."

The longest field goal Kutz has nailed in a game is 44 yards. He has hit one from over 60 in practice.

"When you walk into a situation like this with a kicker the caliber that he is, it's a great situation," said Winkler after his second full day of practice on Aug. 8. "I'm not sure yet what his range is, right now I'm just watching him. But I know he'll nail 40-yarders for you. And it's a great asset to have the other team start at the 20 on almost every series."

In addition to his conditioning and workouts, Kutz attended a couple of camps over the summer.

He attended one camp at Kansas State where he won the accuracy award and he attended another at the University of Michigan.

He was among 20 kickers at the Kansas State camp. Kutz said Kansas State has shown more interest in him than any other Division I school. Some other high-profile colleges like Tennessee, Georgia and Illinois have feelers out on him.

At the Michigan camp, he was among 156 kickers.

During competitions, Kutz was usually the fourth or fifth-best among the field. The top three were college freshmen.

"To be honest with you, he's keeping his options open," said Winkler. "He's got his head on straight and he knows that this is a way to get a good education."

Kutz said he didn't start kicking the football until he was a freshman. Inspired by his brother, Jared, who was also a kicker, Derek liked kicking the pigskin from Day 1.

Kutz didn't participate in football in junior high, so he has come a long way in four years.

"I guess the reason I kept at it was because my freshman year I hit three of more than 40 yards," he said. "I just get up there and let everything go. I don't worry about (missing). If it goes through, it goes through."