HS football position by position breakdown: Scouting the specialists

By: HSSN Staff
Monday, August 21, 2017 | 7:36 PM

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The season was already underway when Pine-Richland opened its kicker spot to a school-wide tryout.

The winner was Vittorio Orsini, a soccer player who already knew how to kick field goals.

That proved invaluable a couple of months later, when Orsini kicked 25- and 27-yarders in a WPIAL Class 6A quarterfinal to defeat Bethel Park. His second kick came with one second left to win 35-32.

Yes, kickers are important.

This year’s Top 5 combined to kick 25 field goals a season ago with two 40-yarders by Freeport’s Jake Sarver. Some are versatile specialists who also punt or are kickoff experts who routinely pin teams deep with touchbacks.

Orsini and Sarver each were first-team all-conference kickers last season.

The first-team punters include Sarver, Greensburg Central Catholic’s Ethan Slike, Moon’s Nick Sebatian, California’s Dustin Mock and Ellwood City’s Donavin Chambers.

The WPIAL also added a talented kicker this year when Red Land’s Ryan Coe transferred to South Fayette. Coe ranks No. 23 nationally among juniors who participated in Kohl’s Kicking Camps.

Chris Harlan is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at charlan@tribweb.com or via Twitter @CHarlan_Trib.

1. Nick Tarabrella

Penn-Trafford

Senior, 6-5, 190

Tarabrella made eight field goals as a junior and earned second-team all-conference in Class 5A. He made kicks from 34, 32, 32, 32, 32, 32, 30 and 29 yards. He’s ranked fifth in the state (first in WPIAL kickers) and No. 82 nationally among Kohl’s Kicking Camp participants. He has 102 career extra points.

2. Will Connelly

Beaver

Senior, 6-2, 210

Connelly accepted a walk-on invitation from Pitt. He made 2 of 4 field goal attempts last season, converting from 38 and 39 yards. He earned first-team all-conference honors in Class 3A. His greatest impact came on kickoffs, where he put around 60 percent of his kicks into the end zone. He had four in a victory over Aliquippa.

3. Jake Sarver

Freeport

Senior, 5-11, 180

Sarver was both a first-team all-conference kicker and punter as a junior in Class 3A. He made 6 of 9 field goals with two 40-yarders included. His others were from 37, 36, 35 and 32 yards. He’s made 17 of 22 career attempts and 83 of 92 extra points. Sarver also scored seven offensive touchdowns, with a 60-yard run and a 65-yard catch included in the group.

4. Vittorio Orsini

Pine-Richland

Senior, 5-9, 155

Orsini converted 6 of 7 field goal attempts last season and earned first-team all-conference in Class 6A. His longest was a 36-yarder. Orsini, who was a forward on the soccer team and a midseason addition to the football roster, also converted from 34, 27, 26, 25 and 25 yards, and made 19 of 20 extra points.

5. Brendan Jugan

Central Valley

Senior, 5-11, 170

Jugan made 3 of 5 field goal attempts as a junior and went 34 for 34 on extra points. He also had 10 touchbacks among his 45 kickoffs. His longest field goal was 33 yards, but he has a 38-yarder in his career. He’s converted 10 of 14 career field goal attempts and 108 of 115 extra-point tries.

One to watch: Cameron Guess

Belle Vernon

Sophomore, 5-10, 170

Guess showed off his leg strength as a freshman by putting 15 of 26 kickoffs into the end zone for touchbacks. He also went 2 for 2 on field goal attempts last season with 39- and 26-yard makes. He converted 16 of 18 extra points.

Tags: Beaver, Belle Vernon, Central Valley, Freeport, Penn-Trafford, Pine-Richland