Manny Berz kicks for accuracy, distance; oh, he makes tackles, too

It’s a picture-perfect July morning in Perris, a city of more than 72,000 located about 17 miles south of Riverside.

There’s not a cloud in the sky, the temperature is in the 80s and Manny Berz is kicking one football after another through the uprights at Citrus Hill High.

Thirty-six times he attempts field goals at distances ranging from 30 yards to 50 yards. Thirty-six times his kicks are perfect.

He’s jokingly asked if he could send the ball flying between the two huge water tanks that are standing on a hill above the scoreboard, for an unofficial “water tank field goal.”

“It’s a few 100 yards too far,” he said. “Maybe if I took a hike up there and got a little closer, I think I’d have a shot.”

When it comes to top high school kickers in the region, no one has been better than Berz, a 5-foot-9 senior.

Over three seasons, he has made 38 of 42 field goals. As a junior, he was 87 of 88 on extra points. He also averaged better than 46 yards a punt. And he’s not afraid to make tackles, either. He had nine solo tackles and three fumble recoveries.

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Citrus Hill kicker has made 38 of 42 field goal attempts in his career.

If that’s not impressive enough, he has never received a grade other than A on his report card in high school.

“He’s been our kicker from Day One,” Coach Eric Zomalt said. “He’s been exceptional.”

During the spring, Berz and his father, Lenny, drove more than 3,800 miles around the country touring colleges. They slept for six of the eight days in their 2001 Ford Expedition.

By the end of the summer, Berz had attended 10 camps. He was determined to present himself to college coaches and learn more about kicking.

It’s hard to find flaws in his skills or his commitment to succeed. He has trained under private coaches Michael Husted and Jamie Kohl.

Before games, he goes through a daily routine: Wakes up; brushes his teeth; showers with country music playing (Luke Bryan); goes to school; comes home to take a nap; goes to the team meal; watches film; suits ups; attends a team prayer; goes to pregame warmups.

Then, he says, “it’s go-time,”

Kickers are specialists. They make cameo appearances, ever so brief, but they’re expected to deliver every time.

“The challenge is the preparation,” Berz said. “You prepare so much and so long just for five seconds, and those five seconds can determine how good your preparation really was. Every you you got out there, you’ll have butterflies, but what sets you apart from most is your preparation. If you’re prepared, your [second] nature will take over.”

Repetition is what kickers rely on. They take the same number of steps before kicking. They keep their head down and follow through like a golfer hitting a tee shot. Any deviation — a hip twisting too much one way or the other — can result in failure.

“Every kick is the same,” Berz said. “And when every kick is the same, you don’t think about it and that’s when your consistency takes over.”

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Twitter: @latsondheimer