CALHOUN, Ga. – Let’s face it: Kickers have few admirers.
Girls don’t brag about dating kickers on the football team, teammates make it a point to stay away from them during games and coaches often age prematurely because of them (see Bowden, Bobby).
Scott Norwood, despite being the greatest kicker in Buffalo Bills history, earned the unflattering nickname “Wide Right” for his miss at the final gun in Super Bowl XXV.
There is, however, a group who not only appreciate what kickers can do but actually admire the good ones. We’re talking high school coaches, who often have to pull kids from the soccer field, physical education class or the band to fill a needed spot. But when a kicker is a weapon, the high school coach has a rare commodity.
Calhoun High School coach Hal Lamb has been more fortunate than most. Current kicker Adam Griffith is the latest in a long line that has included the likes of Jimmy Little, Andy Elackman and current Georgia Tech kicker Scott Blair. Griffith, like the others, can get three points any time the Yellow Jackets get inside the 40, and he consistently puts kickoffs into the end zone, creating a long field for the opposition.