Foley, Weyler get their kicks under pressure

TAKE A deep breath. Check your alignment. Look left, look right. Take one last deep breath, and then signal.

No, those aren't directions you give a nervous first-time driver who is about to merge into traffic. They're part of a checklist that Father Judge kicker Connor Foley goes through before he swings his size 11.

"It's pretty much bombs away from there," Foley said yesterday before practice.

Want to be a kicker? Could you deal with the pressure of potentially disappointing the big and burly after they've battled all game only to have your foot decide their fates?

Judge's Foley and Cardinal O'Hara's Steve Weyler are two of the Catholic League's historical best. Both have made game-winners this season, and each hopes to continue facing that pressure in college.

But first, Foley, a 6-foot, 195-pound senior, has one more high school game left when his Crusaders face Abraham Lincoln Thanksgiving morning in the Turkey Bowl.

Pressure kicks aren't new for the 18-year-old. He slugged a 36-yard triple with 1:33 remaining on a blustery day in Week 10 for a 10-7 victory against Roman Catholic, Judge's last victory.

"My teammates were telling me. 'This is going to come down to you. You'll have to put this away for us,' " Foley said. "Felt great to be able to kick the game-winning field goal. It was just a great accomplishment for us."

A 4-year starter, Foley, who lives in the Port Richmond area, had fallen to Roman in three straight seasons. He had also missed two kicks before that make (one was blocked).

"I was under a lot of pressure," he said. "I felt like the world was on my shoulders. I was shaking. I could barely breathe. I was gasping for air almost. My legs were shaking. As soon as I kicked it I kept my head down, saw it was good and it just basically felt like the whole world was lifted off my shoulders.

"You're going to be nervous, but as a kicker you have to be able to fight through it and respond in those types of situations positively."

First-team All-Catholic accolades again this season make four in a row, a first in CL football history for kickers, according to TedSilary.com. Division I Stony Brook and Towson have inquired about his services, as has Division II West Chester, Foley said.

The career 3.5 student will find similar pressures when he pursues a career in nursing with the ultimate goal of becoming a nurse anesthetist. Two cousins pursuing similar careers have been an inspiration.

For now, one last chance for high school glory remains.

"I'm really just hoping to come out with a win, but if it does come down to me, I have no problem putting one right between the uprights and giving everybody that great game that they deserve."

Weyler did just that for O'Hara back in Week 8 with an extra point to cap a furious fourth-quarter comeback and a 36-35 overtime victory against rival Bonner-Prendergast.

The 17-year-old right-footed the winning PAT after teammate Gabriel Cordes blocked B-P's attempt.

The comeback shoe was on the other foot in the playoffs however, as B-P stormed back for an unlikely 41-38 takedown that ended the Lions' season.

Weyler is also a four-timer like Foley, only he made all-CL first-team as a kicker (2010, 2013), and as a punter (2011, 2012). That versatility has earned him a scholarship to Villanova where he will attempt to fill both roles.

So, the 5-11, 175-pound Media native will keep his mismatched shoes in the area.

Weyler wears a 10 1/2 football cleat on his left, non-kicking foot, and "squeezes down" to a size-8 1/2 soccer cleat on his right foot.

"It doesn't feel good," he said plainly, adding that he fought blisters for 2 weeks until the shoe formed to his foot. "Not the easiest thing to deal with, but it's worth it."

Not quite like Tom Dempsey's club, but Weyler said the smaller shoe provides an "easier striking surface" for the ball.

Dempsey is the former NFL kicker born without toes on his right foot, who set the league record with a 63-yard field goal in 1970 (since tied by Jason Elam, Denver, 1998; Sebastian Janikowski, Oakland, 2011; David Akers, San Francisco 2012).

Weyler got the idea from his personal kicking coach E.J. Cochrane, a former Pennsbury High School product, who had a stint with the Eagles. He has also trained with former-NFL kicker John Carney and former Bucknell punter Phil Azarik (Germantown Academy). Weyler also said O'Hara special-teams coach Paul Strus has been instrumental.

"You trust in your preparation," he said. "You trust teammates will block. Your holder will handle a good snap. You're pretty much doing exactly what you've been doing for however long. So, there's pressure, but at the same time you're just out there having fun."

Weyler is a 4.3 student with eyes on becoming a sports attorney, but before that, he's hoping he can just keep kicking.

"That's the ultimate goal," he said of the NFL. "I've worked with a lot of guys that have been lucky enough to get there. So that's the ultimate goal and hopefully with hard work I'll eventually get there one day. We'll see."