HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL : Chaminade Wins, 10-7, on a Late Field Goal

Jang Kim shakes a mean leg whether it be on the dance floor or the football field.

But his penchant for dancing almost kept him from having a real kick in Chaminade High’s 10-7 victory over Montclair Prep Saturday night at College of the Canyons.

The 5-10, 185-pound senior watched from the sidelines in the first half as his football team fell behind, 7-0, to Montclair Prep in a non-league game.

That was the punishment administered to Jang and five teammates for breaking curfew Friday night to attend a school dance.

“The dance was boring anyway,” Jang said.

The game was not, thanks to Jang’s appearance in the second half. After having a 41-yard field goal blocked two minutes earlier, his 30-yarder with one second left in the game gave Chaminade (1-1) an emotional victory over the Mounties (0-2).

“Deep down, I thought we’d get another chance to win it,” said Jang of the blocked kick. “I was just hoping we’d get the ball down fast enough and I wouldn’t miss it.”

The winning kick cleared the uprights easily. Jang, who also rushed for 40 yards on 14 carries, said he can go farther.

“I kick close to 70 yards in practice,” he said.

Chaminade Coach Rich Montanio said Jang kicks consistently from 45 yards in practice. “We were definitely in his range,” he said.

Montanio was relieved to see his team win in spite of itself. The Eagles had six turnovers, including three fumbles and an interception in the first half.

In addition, starting quarterback Pablo Suarez may have been lost for the season in the first half after suffering a dislocated shoulder.

Montclair Prep provided a pretty big obstacle as well, outweighing Chaminade by an average of 40 pounds per man on the line of scrimmage.

“We had to be quicker and physically strong,” Montanio said. “You could see we were getting tired at the end, but they made some mistakes that counteracted our mistakes.”

The Mounties were whistled for 91 yards in penalties, including a 15-yard, pass-interference call that set up Chaminade’s winning field goal.

“Last week after the Notre Dame game (a 14-13 Chaminade loss), some of their players were doing a lot of talking,” Jang said. “We felt we had something to prove, and I think we did.”