Football and Soccer Want Rahill at SDSU, So He’s. . . : Getting His Kicks Either Way

In the movies, Ferris Bueller shows what a day off from school is like and Rodney Dangerfield shows what it is like going back to school.

At San Diego State, there’s a real-life school story seemingly made for motion pictures. It’s the story of sophomore Kevin Rahill, a junior varsity soccer player one day and varsity football placekicker the next.

“Everything has fit into place like it was out of a movie,” Rahill said.

Rahill went to the football coaches’ office in February, inquiring about kicking for the Aztecs. He was put on the team’s mailing list.

In April, he returned to ask about his status. The coaches politely told him no thanks. SDSU already had two placekickers. Freshman Tom Wurth was on scholarship and sophomore John Palatella was a holdover walk-on.

Rahill decided it was time to become a soccer walk-on.

Two weeks before football season, Rahill’s parents asked him if he might still play football. Rahill told them it was out of the question.

Meanwhile, Wurth and Palatella were kicking poorly in practice. “Go find me a kicker,” Coach Denny Stolz told kicking coach Dave Ohton one day.

So, nine days before the first football game, Ohton walked onto the junior varsity soccer field during practice. There he found Rahill.

Chuck Clegg, SDSU’s soccer coach, agreed to let Rahill try out for football with the condition that Rahill could return if he did not succeed in football.

Five minutes into Rahill’s first day of football, he was not making much of an impression.

“When he kicked before practice, I remember saying ‘Oh, no,’ ” Ohton said.

Then, practice began. Ohton started saying, “Oh, yes.”

Rahill attempted six field goals in the 30- to 40-yard range. He made them all.

“If I hadn’t done well, I probably wouldn’t have stuck with it,” Rahill said. “I guess what helped me was that I was relaxed. I knew if I had a bad day, I was already on the soccer team. It could’ve been like all of this never happened.”

The next day, Rahill was called upon to kick 25- and 37-yard field goals in a team scrimmage. He made both with distance to spare.

At the time, there was only one week remaining until the opening game against Cal State Long Beach.

Ohton was convinced Rahill should be the kicker. Stolz wasn’t convinced until two days before the first game because he wanted to see more of Rahill.

In retrospect, Rahill considered himself in a no-lose situation.

“If I wasn’t on the soccer team or had competed right from the start, every kick would’ve mattered more,” Rahill said. “That turns it into a job more than fun. When I came out, it was fun. There wasn’t all that much pressure.”

Pressure came last Saturday night against Long Beach.

On Rahill’s first extra-point attempt, his wobbly kick barely cleared the crossbar.

Ohton said he assumed that Rahill was nervous. Rahill said he wasn’t.

Instead, Rahill said it was difficult to kick off the infield dirt at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium. Rahill felt a little better the next day when he saw Charger kicker Rolf Benirschke kick a knuckleball from the same spot.

After Rahill’s first extra point Saturday night, he began kicking the way he had practiced. He was successful on field-goal attempts of 38 and 26 yards, and he easily made two extra points.

In the ensuing weeks, the Aztecs seemingly won’t have to worry about a placekicker.

“When I played with the Kansas City Chiefs, I saw Nick Lowery a lot,” Ohton said. “Nick played soccer a long time ago. He was the type who was cocky about what he could do. He’d think he would make it, and he did. Kevin’s a lot the same way. He’s confident he’ll make it.”

At Hogan High School in Vallejo, Rahill made the most of his kicks.

As a junior, he made every extra-point attempt and averaged 40 yards a punt. He did not attempt a field goal.

As a senior, he made all but one extra point (it was blocked), made four of five field goals and averaged 41 yards a punt. His field goals ranged from 32 to 38 yards. He missed from 52 yards.

Still, nobody recruited him out of high school. He decided to attend Sacramento City College and was a freshman redshirt.

Last season, Rahill resumed kicking at Contra Costa College. He had three extra points and a field goal blocked while being protected, so to speak, by a line that averaged 210 pounds.

So, this season, Rahill didn’t want another year like last season. He was coming to SDSU, either to play football or soccer.

In the past, Rahill always remained in shape by playing on a club soccer team. This year, he may have inadvertently helped himself prepare for football by practicing with SDSU’s soccer team.

“When I came out from soccer, the other kickers had been kicking a couple hours a day,” Rahill said. “I felt nice and fresh. This is the most flexible I’ve ever been. I think soccer did that to me. If I wouldn’t have played soccer and they had me come out for football, I don’t think I would have done as well. I was relaxed from soccer, I’m more flexible, and there is a lot of accuracy involved in soccer.”

There’s also a big difference between kicking a soccer ball and a football. In soccer, a majority of kicks are short passes that don’t require full leg strength. In football, every kick is all out. Therein lies Rahill’s theory that football kickers’ legs get tired a lot faster than those of soccer players.

“The last four years of football, I have spent three or four months in preparation,” Rahill said. “After this season, I’m not so sure. I might use soccer again (to prepare for football). In other years, I would kick 100 footballs a day. When the season started, my leg was shot. Coming out from soccer, I feel twice as fresh.”

And now, Rahill feels twice as good about his football career.

“After Saturday night, I’ve decided on playing football,” he said. “Unless something major goes wrong, I plan to play football for the next three years.”

Aztec Notes

Defensive tackle Levi Esene (hamstring) and reserve tailback Ron Slack (ankle) are expected to play in Saturday night’s game at Utah, although their time will be limited. Both players missed last Saturday’s 27-24 victory over Cal State Long Beach in the season opener. . . . Aztec awards against Long Beach: Todd Santos, top offensive player; Randy Kirk, top defensive player; Wayne Ross, top special teams player. . . . Before last week’s game, Athletic Director Fred Miller offered season ticket refunds to anybody who wasn’t satisfied with the Aztecs. Only one of the 11,980 season ticket holders took Miller up on the offer. “I asked the man if he didn’t like his seats,” said Vickie Larsen, SDSU ticket manager. “He said he just didn’t like the game.” . . . It was raining heavily Tuesday afternoon in Salt Lake City. However, the forecast for Saturday’s game is clear skies with temperatures in the mid-50s.