BOYS

Chad Shrout

SCHOOL: Antelope Valley

SPORT: Football

YEAR: Junior

SEASON AT A GLANCE: Shrout (6-foot-1, 225 pounds) might be the biggest kicker and punter around--because he’s also a starting defensive lineman. But there’s no mistaking the wallop in his wheels. Early in the season, he kicked three field goals in one game and has ranked among the region’s top punters all season with an average of 39 yards.

WEEK AT A GLANCE: It isn’t often that a punter steals the show, but Shrout’s performance in Antelope Valley’s 21-7 upset of top-seeded and previously unbeaten Bishop Amat in last week’s Southern Section Division I quarterfinal was head turning. When most teams face fourth and short at midfield, they go for the first down. Friday, it was fourth and Shrout. He coffin-corner kicks kept the Lancers deep in their territory by kicking balls out of bounds at the four, five, seven, eight and 15-yard lines. He also fielded a low snap on a short hop and cranked one 61 yards for a touchback. Bishop Amat had zero return yards on Shrout’s punts, which averaged 41.8 yards. Shrout also recovered a Bishop Amat fumble at the Lancer two-yard line that led to the third Antelopes’ touchdown.