By Curtis Dffield, Canton Repository

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

PLAIN TWP. — .The winds might have been light and variable

Tuesday night, but the the confidence of four kickers was very strong.

Hoover’s A.J. Sarbaugh, St. Thomas Aquinas’ Ray Benedetti,

Perry’s Ben Karam and Northwest’s Seth Miracle made it look easy,

as all four qualified during the preliminaries of The Repository

East-West All-Star Football Game Kicking Contest at GlenOak’s

Bob Commings Field.

The finals are at halftime of Saturday’s East-West All-Star football

game at Fawcett Stadium.

Sarbaugh, a senior for the Vikings, was perfect until 52 yards out,

where he missed both attempts.

“I felt real good out there,” Sarbaugh said. “It’s not about style points.

It’s about if you make the field goals.”

Also for the East, Benedetti never missed until his first attempt from

50 yards, but his second try cleared the uprights. Both of his

attempts from 52 yards were no good. The result was a tie for the two

East kickers.

Benedetti joins a long list of Aquinas kickers, who have a rich tradition

of having great success in this kicking contest.

“I was really comfortable out there,” Benedetti said. “This is quite an experience for me.”

Karam’s different approach of kicking straight on didn’t affect him one bit. He, too, never missed until his 50-yard attempts. Every field goal made was straight through the uprights.

“I wasn’t looking to kick it real long today, as I don’t really practice far distances,” said Karam.

Miracle will join Karam from the West squad in the finals. His last attempt from 45 yards was good. His last shot from 50 yards was wide right.

“I have a lot of confidence right now,” Miracle said. “I love the pressure, and the crowd on Saturday will make it even better for me.”

Confident kickers ready for East-West All-Star Game

North Canton Hoover's A.J. Sarbaugh qualified for the finals of the kicking contest held during The Repository's East-West All-Star Football game.

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