In the late 1990s, Damon Duval was a football and soccer player who found himself wrestling with a decision.

Duval’s right foot had repeatedly proven to be skilled at booming a football or whistling a soccer ball past defenders when he played those sports at Central High School, where he graduated in 1998. Football won out, and now he handles all the kicking chores for Montreal of the Canadian Football League.

Duval led the CFL in scoring with 191 points his rookie season in 2005. His 51 field goals the next season were an Alouettes franchise record. He led the league in punting last year with a 47-yard average per kick.

Duval was relatively new to football when he started setting records playing for Central’s Purple Pounders. He remains the city’s career leader in punting average at 41.7 per kick. He set the current single-season mark his senior season with an average of 44.7 yards per punt.

Also notable in soccer, a sport he began playing before he started school, the two-sport prep standout was receiving numerous athletic offers — stateside and abroad.

“He was more than just a kicker for us,” said Mike Collier Jr., Duval’s football coach at Central and now an assistant at Cleveland High. “He was a good defensive back for us, and a wide receiver also. A lot of people may not remember that he was also being recruited by some schools as a wide receiver or a defensive back. He had 4.4 speed in the 40.

“A lot of people offered him in soccer, too. The thing was that 10 or 12 years ago soccer programs couldn’t come close to offering the type of money that football programs did.”

Duval ultimately chose football and signed with Auburn Universit,y where his achievements and honors continued from 1999 through 2002. In addition to earning All-America status while with the TIgers, he became the first to be chosen to the Coaches’ All-Southeastern Conference team at two positions, kicker and punter.

He had two NFL tryouts, with Jacksonville in 2003 and later with Atlanta. After two preseason games he was waived by the Falcons on Aug. 29, 2004.

“I thought he might’ve gotten a better shot in the NFL, but it’s such a veteran kicking league that it’s hard to get into,” Collier said. “You’ve got to get lucky, a lot of times, to get a shot at it.”

He was the CFL’s special teams player of the month in August 2006. On Aug. 8 this year he was selected the league’s special teams player of the week after kicking a career-best six field goals in a 39-11 victory at Winnepeg. A career-long 52-yarder was among them.

“I try to stay away from thinking about accolades,” Duval said. “I figure if I do my job and do it well, those things will take care of themselves.”

Soccer remains Duval’s favorite sport, but he said he could see that football would offer him more opportunities — educationally before professionally. He does have a few teammates with soccer backgrounds.

“At practice you usually don’t have to go too far to find a soccer ball,” Duval said.

Duval tries to keep up with Central’s football team when he can. He’s corresponded some through e-mails with current Purple Pounders kicker Robert Vipond, offering him kicking tips and other advice.

“He told me he’s going to break all my records,” Duval said. “Maybe ya’ll will be writing about him like this one of these days.”

Montreal (7-3) leads the CFL’s Eastern Division with eight games remaining, including tonight at Calgary (6-4). Duval has been on two Grey Cup runner-up teams. He hopes this could be a championship season.

Duval signed a contract extension earlier this year that will keep him with the Alouettes through the 2010 season. He’s married to the team president’s daughter, Ashley, and they have sons Drew, 2, and Hunter, born Aug. 5.

Perhaps his skill set is best suited for the CFL anyway. With the longer and wider fields than the NFL and extended end zones offering extra opportunities for returning kicks, Duval gets more chances to stick his head in, make a few tackles and feel like a free safety again.

“I think he’s found a good home,” Collier said. “I’m just glad to see he’s making a good living, doing what he’s good at.”

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