Shawnee Mission East kicker Parker Willis has knocked some field goals through the uprights from a considerable distance before.
A converted soccer player, the junior makes a habit of lining up 50 yards or so back for a couple of attempts in practice. He’s even hit a 60-yarder before. But when he got word from the Lancer football coaching staff that he should limber up for a long attempt as the clock neared halftime in Friday’s game against SM North, he wasn’t especially confident.
“I had a pretty big cramp in my right leg, so I was thinking there’s no way I’m going to get it far enough,” he said. “Plus, it’s different in a game than in practice.”
With the Lancers leading SM North 49-0 and less than a minute to go, the coaches sent the field goal unit out on fourth down. The ball was spotted right between the hash marks, 56 long yards away from the uprights.
“At that distance, you kind of just let it rip,” Willis says.
And let it rip he did. Willis struck the ball squarely, notching the second-longest field goal in Kansas high school history and the longest in SM East history. Here are two looks at the big kick:
56 yard field goal by Parker Willis @willisparker_. Now 7/7 on FG and 22/22 on XPT for year @sportsinkansas @Rivals @KansasPregame pic.twitter.com/lsrgKFKleD
— Lancer Football (@SME_Football) September 30, 2017
Parker Willis set school record with 56 yd field goal 1 shy of state record @SME_Football In NFL only 2 kicks from beyond 56yd this season pic.twitter.com/gsbFrW9q0S
— Brian Libeer (@BrianLibeer) September 30, 2017
Willis started kicking as a freshman, and made the varsity team as a sophomore last year. After deciding to make the transition from soccer to football, Willis began attending the Kohl’s Professional Kicking camps for training on the finer points of field goal kicking. In the most recent Kohl’s ranking event, Willis showed well enough to put him among the top 40 prospects in the country for the graduating class of 2019. The Kohl’s scouts said Willis “showed solid leg strength by charting numerous 45+ yard punts as well at camp,” and that “He has great levers and hit the ball well.”
