Geisler Seems to Be Back on Straight and Narrow for Kingsmen

Kicking field goals, Ryan Geisler can attest, has its highs and lows.

High: In 1997, Geisler, a freshman from Camarillo High, kicked a school-record 57-yarder in his first attempt for Cal Lutheran at home against Pacific Lutheran.

Low: In 1998, Geisler missed all six field goal attempts at Pacific Lutheran, and Cal Lutheran lost, 20-14, in double-overtime.

Such is life trying to split the uprights--which is a bit like splitting hairs.

“It’s a lot of technique, really,” Geisler said. “A lot of it is leg strength, but it’s your steps. If your plant foot is just an inch or so off, or if you plant it too far back, you’ll miss. Everything’s got to be perfect.”

Geisler, good from three-point range more often than not, appears to be at the top of his game entering his senior season. He will tee it up Saturday when Cal Lutheran opens the season against Pacific Lutheran, defending Division III national champion, at Tacoma, Wash.

The Kingsmen will try to rebound from a 3-6 record and third-place finish in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Chris Czernek, who passed for 1,665 yards and 10 touchdowns, and Dorian Stitt, who led the Kingsmen with 639 yards rushing, return as starters.

Geisler, who last season led the nation in field-goal efficiency, figures to continue getting his kicks.

Geisler connected on 14 of 18, including two longer than 50 yards, while earning Division III All-American honors last season. He also made 23 of 25 extra-point attempts and led Cal Lutheran in scoring with 65 points.

Quite a turnaround for Geisler, who as a sophomore was only three of 12 on three-pointers.

“He’s back on track now,” Coach Scott Squires of Cal Lutheran said. “He’s worked his tail off all off-season. We’re glad to have him here.”

For Squires, in his fifth season at Cal Lutheran, the opener against Pacific Lutheran--billed as the Lutheran Brotherhood Kickoff Classic--marks a homecoming. Squires played defensive back and linebacker for Pacific Lutheran and longtime Coach Frosty Westering, and was a member of the Lutes’ 1985 NAIA Division II national championship team.

For Geisler, the trip to Tacoma will mark a return to Sparks Stadium, scene of the 0-for-6 debacle. It’s a score he longs to settle.

Among Geisler’s written list of goals are a SCIAC championship and improvement on accuracy and performance in the clutch.

As a senior at Camarillo, he made nine of 13 field goals and 56 of 60 extra-point attempts, leading the team in scoring as the Scorpions won a Southern Section title.

Geisler had never played organized football until his senior year. A converted soccer player, Geisler opted for football after being coaxed by coaches.

“You look at his career in high school and nobody really knew about him,” Squires said. “But we knew about him through our soccer coaches because he came up playing soccer in camps at Cal Lutheran.”

Rather than bask in accolades, however, Geisler chooses to dwell on two missed field-goal attempts against Occidental last season and a missed extra-point attempt against La Verne.

The missed extra point--attempted from 35 yards because of a celebration penalty against the Kingsmen--ultimately cost Cal Lutheran victory, despite four field goals by Geisler.

While teammates practice, Geisler separates himself, attempting kicks from kooky angles in an attempt to hone his accuracy.

At 6 feet 1 and 200 pounds, Geisler doesn’t fit the mold of most kickers. In fact, he considers himself a tad overweight.

But Geisler has no desire to perform other than as a kicker.

“I’m pretty content being a kicker,” Geisler said. “Watching these guys get knocked around, I don’t mind.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

CAL LUTHERAN ROSTER

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No. Player Pos. Ht. Wt. Yr. Hometown 1 Travis Young DB 5-9 175 Sr. Ontario 2 Eugene Sullivan WR 6-0 172 Jr. Carlsbad 3 Ryan Geisler K 6-1 195 Sr. Camarillo 4 Nana Yaw DB 5-8 160 So. San Bernardino 5 Ryan Tukua WR-QB 6-2 189 Fr. Fallbrook 6 Sean Porter WR-RB 5-7 160 So. North Hollywood 7 Jimmy Fox WR 5-9 164 Fr. Capitola 8 Justin Magruder RB 5-11 205 Jr. Bothell, Wash. 9 Adam Wirtz DE 6-2 230 Sr. Petaluma 10 Josh Tenney LB 6-0 185 Fr. Carlsbad 11 Matt Hacker LB 5-10 190 Sr. Walnut 12 Gabe Solberg QB 6-3 202 So. Castro Valley 13 Chris Czernek QB 6-0 200 Jr. Newbury Park 14 Taylor Myers QB 6-1 170 Fr. Bakersfield 15 Rashad Johnson DB 5-10 190 So. San Diego 16 Brent Baier QB 6-0 190 So. Chino 17 Matt Dark QB 5-11 190 So. Littleton, Colo. 18 Brian Woodworth WR 6-2 225 Jr. Quartz Hill 19 Alex Espinoza K-P 5-9 195 Fr. Torrance 20 Mike McErlane LB 6-1 225 Jr. Yucca Valley 21 Pat Casteel DB 6-1 195 So. Westlake Village 22 Jimi Minami SS 5-9 185 Jr. Vista 23 Eddie Torres DB 5-8 150 Fr. Compton 24 Sean McGaughey CB 5-9 190 Sr. Atascadero 25 Karl Pacheco CB 5-9 190 Jr. Castro Valley 26 Kyle Wells LB 6-2 190 Fr. Gold Run 27 R.J. Bisaha RB 5-10 170 Fr. Castro Valley 28 Andrew Harris DB 5-8 160 So. San Bernardino 29 Damon VanHoorebeke DB 5-11 180 Fr. Huntington Beach 30 Bobby Merritt DB 5-9 180 So. Spring Valley 31 Tim Hanson FS 5-11 185 So. Boulder City, Nev. 32 John Whitely RB 5-9 165 So. San Antonio 33 Nathan Priester RB 6-1 195 Fr. Campo 35 Thomas Pool DB 5-8 150 Fr. Menifee 36 Casey Fetkenhier LB 5-11 204 Fr. Glendale, Ariz. 38 Jordan Parsons CB 5-8 160 Fr. Tustin 39 Billy Harris RB 6-0 181 So. Kenmore, Wash. 40 Chris Hauser FB 5-11 205 Fr. Scottsdale, Ariz. 43 Ben Merlo LB 6-0 210 Jr. Kingsburg 44 Dorian Stitt RB 5-10 190 Sr. Simi Valley 46 Jeremy Layport FB 5-8 210 Jr. Paso Robles 47 David VanHoorebeke DB 5-8 170 Jr. Huntington Beach 50 Chris Livy LB 6-0 205 Jr. Moorpark 51 Patrick Miracle LB 5-11 215 Jr. Canyon Lake 54 Quinn Longhurst DB 6-0 220 Fr. Salt Lake City 55 David Oviedo LB 5-10 235 So. Moorpark 56 Phil Porras OL 6-3 250 Fr. Fresno 58 Mauricio Bowsa DE 6-3 250 So. Palmdale 64 Jeremy Soiland LB 5-9 200 Fr. Santa Rosa 65 Wes Jones OL 6-0 280 Fr. San Marcos 67 Vince Placido OL 6-1 230 Fr. Tempe, Ariz. 68 Scott Rodriguez OL 6-3 270 Jr. Valencia 71 Beau Kimbrel OL 6-1 190 Fr. Oceanside 72 Lyle Hollins NG 6-0 270 Jr. Palmdale 73 John Turnbull III OL 6-4 310 So. Lake Forest 74 Jeff Sabins OL 6-3 280 Jr. San Diego 75 James Hardy OL 6-4 350 Sr. Lancaster 77 Brian Arnold OL 6-0 275 Sr. Canyon Country 78 Adam Castro OL 6-0 225 Fr. Oceanside 80 Robert Fisher WR 6-2 200 Jr. Buellton 81 Robert Boland WR 5-10 168 Fr. Moorpark 85 Jeremy Watties RB 5-11 186 So. Las Vegas 88 Chris Dingman WR 6-3 185 Jr. Pleasanton 93 Saul Aguilar K 6-0 190 Fr. Oxnard 94 Chad Brown DL 6-0 220 Fr. Taft 98 John Cappelletti Jr. K 6-0 175 Fr. Laguna Nigel 99 Casey O’Brien DL 6-1 225 So. San Juan Capistrano

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