Jefferson's Rocha piling up the field goals

CEDAR RAPIDS - He might buy a small see-through case for it. There's no question he's going to get out a Sharpie and write down the particulars.

Nick Rocha is proud of the game ball he received following Cedar Rapids Jefferson's 37-20 win last week over Waterloo East. He should be proud.

It's not often a kicker gets an honor like that, almost never in the high-school ranks."Coach came in with the ball, and I was like 'Oh, man. He's not going to give it to me, is he?'" Rocha said. "I mean, our quarterback, Layne Sullivan, had, like, over 300 yards in the game. But he came in and said 'This is going to someone who deserves it. Someone who has really improved.' It felt good. It feels nice to get a little bit of recognition for all the hard work you've put in."

Not to mention all the accuracy. Rocha is 6-for-6 in extra points this season, 6-for-7 in field goals.

He made a school-record 45-yarder two weeks ago at Iowa City High and bettered that with a 46-yarder against East. It was one of three field goals he made in the game, also a school record.

Jefferson plays Kennedy at Kingston Stadium Friday night. Is there a chance Rocha could get four field goals in this one?

"He has come out of nowhere," said Jefferson Coach Brian Webb. "More than anything, it's him knowing he could do this. His field goals are right down the middle. It's not hard to tell he has great confidence right now."

A lefty, Rocha kicked as a freshman but took his sophomore season off to concentrate on other activities, including being a member of Jeff's "Band of Blue." Webb came to town from Carroll Kuemper last season and contacted soccer coach John O'Connor about any kicker candidates he might be able to provide.

Rocha got a personal invite from Webb to come back out for the team and obliged.

"I realized how much I missed it," Rocha said. "I decided it would be football instead of marching band."

Rocha hit 3-of-3 extra points and a 30-yard field goal last season as basically Jefferson's No. 2 kicker but has taken over all of the kicking duties, including kickoffs, this season. The improvement is stunning, especially considering he never did any offseason kicking work and has never gone to any kind of kicking camp.

"It's a privilege," he said. "I just go to practice every day. I have to concentrate just like everyone else."

Rocha has given Webb comfort in knowing his team has a good chance for points any time it gets to the opponent's 30-yard line. Maybe even beyond.

Webb said he has seen Rocha hit 60-yarders in practice. Rocha said his longest practice make was 67 yards.

"That was crazy," he said. "After practice one day, we went over to the sophomore field to keep kicking. We marked down the yardage. I just kept going back more and more and more. After 60 yards, I took it one yard at a time."