Is it those Santa Ana winds?

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The Inland Empire has some talent all right, but place-kicking seems to be a lost art.

I watched Corona Centennial’s kicker go wide left on his first two attempts Friday night against Crespi, breathing life back into the Celts before the Huskies finally gassed them with three fourth-quarter touchdowns in the 41-20 victory.

Another area juggernaut, Riverside North, paid the price for not recruiting a futbol player in its 21-20 loss to Redlands East Valley last week.

The Huskies scrambled for a two-point conversion after botching the hold following their first touchdown, then missed the point-after try on the second. Showing complete insecurity in the kicking game, North coaches kept the offense on the field after taking a 20-14 lead early in the fourth quarter, only to watch them fail on the two-pointer. That left them them in position to lose if the Wildcats scored a touchdown, and they did.

Now I like kickers, don’t get me wrong. They just remind me of the Goodyears on my ‘94 Suburban. I don’t pay much attention to them until one blows at a really inopportune time.

- Dan Arritt