Football: Padilla gets a kick out of his role for Crane

CRANE When the Crane Golden Cranes are on offense, Daniel Padilla can be seen standing on the sidelines.

The 6-foot, 235-pound center and defensive tackle is waiting.

Waiting for his team to advance past the 50-yard line so he can get ready.

Once the Golden Cranes pass the 35-yard line, it is time to get serious.

Time to find Jonathan Harold among the masses of football players.

Often times Padilla must yell for the ball boy to hurry, hurry lest he miss his chance.

Harold arrives and now it is time for Padilla to take off his white left cleat and put on his black kicking shoe.

The shoe looks like an older gentleman’s dress shoe, except for the flat, block-shaped end.

Then it is time to use the foot-long strap to wrap around the end of the shoe to force the blunt end of it up in the air so he has a better surface from which to kick.

After the frantic changing of gear, it is now time to wait.

Wait for head coach Naldo Esparza to call for the kicking unit.

Then Padilla, who is the second-heaviest player on the Crane varsity, runs onto the field and helps holder Lloyd Chisum get his tee set.

Padilla takes a step back and waits some more — for the play clock to wind down, for the offensive line to get set and then for the snap.

Then the Crane native takes one small step and boots the football with his left foot which is attached to his powerful left leg that left coaches and teammates shaking their heads in the weight room this offseason.

Chisum watches the ball sail away and he and the rest of the players on the field watch as the ball, more often than not, splits the uprights for another three points to be tallied on the Crane side of the scoreboard.

What Padilla does isn’t rare in football, just at this level. Kickers are a dime a dozen at the college and professional levels, but in high school football, good ones are hard to find — especially at the Class 2A level.

“We knew he had a good leg,” Esparza said. “Watching him on junior varsity on kickoffs and extra points, we knew eventually he’d be our kicker.”

Padilla has been more than just an average small-school kicker, though. He isn’t relegated to attempting chip shots only or point-after attempts.

He boomed a 49-yarder this season against Kermit — the longest field goal in the area — and has made 58-yard kicks in practice.

“It’s probably my favorite thing to do,” Padilla said. “If I had to choose between offense and kicking, I’d choose kicking.”

Padilla isn’t your normal kicker.

Most kickers are small guys, who are often made fun of for not being able to tackle and for not being big enough to play a “real” position.

“Usually they leave kickers at safety,” Padilla said, “but not me. I like to tackle and go get the ball on defense.”

Padilla has played soccer his entire life and has always kicked with the straight on approach.

As unorthodox as it looks, it seems to work for him.

“My dad (Rafael) used to get onto me about kicking with the point,” Padilla said, “but I just got used to it. Everyone says it is weird, but it works out.”

Padilla started kicking in seventh grade at the encouragement of a former assistant coach.

Padilla hasn’t looked back since and hopes to break the school record of a 53-yard kick.

“We really put a lot of emphasis on this,” Esparza said of the kicking game. “Anytime, he can get you out of a tough situation with a field goal.”