Cards' kicker Gorman as sure-footed as they come

HARLINGEN — At 5-foot-11 and 150 pounds, Grant Gorman doesn't look like one of the toughest guys on the field.

He's definitely one of them, though.

Harlingen's second-year kicker doesn't follow the same routine as the other Cardinal football players.

Gorman will stay for a whole practice once or twice a week. The other days he goes out there and just kicks the ball.

"I'll kick from up close and keep getting further back," Gorman said on Wednesday. "I'll kick from angles and from far sides trying to hit the pole. That's to practice on my accuracy."

Gorman usually leaves early because his kicking coach is also the Cardinals' passing game coordinator, Bobby Lucio.

Lucio, also the Cards' head boys soccer coach, first spotted Gorman as a middle school soccer player.

The longtime Harlingen assistant invited Gorman to kick with the varsity squad last year and the rest is history.

"He's really developed into a football player," Lucio said. "He believes he is a football player now. And that's really exciting as a coach."

Physically, Gorman's grown too. He grew from about 5-9 and 135 pounds as a freshman.

"He's still growing," Lucio said. "It's a gradual progression but there's no doubt, he's getting bigger and better as a football player."

Coaches would love to see Gorman eventually move to a more prominent role on the team as a defensive back or receiver.

Lucio thinks Gorman's got what it takes to play more than just kicker.

"He took a beating as a freshman in soccer," Lucio said of Gorman, a defender on the Cards varsity soccer club.

"But he can also dish it out. He's tough and durable."

Aside from being tough, Gorman's also confident.

Gorman's the fourth-leading scorer on the team this season with 68 points, including 59 extra points.

This year's PAT team consists of Ryan Moncivaiz (snapper), Luke Lucio (holder) and Gorman.

Gorman doesn't always kickoff as Chris Arellano handles those duties at times.

But Gorman started on kickoff last week and expects to against SA Southwest on Friday.

"I get the job done," said Gorman, who's kicked a long field goal of 44 during a game. But on Wednesday at practice, Gorman booted a 58-yarder.

"I don't feel any different from last year or anything else."

Gorman's benefited from kicking for the highest-scoring team in school history and one of only 11 teams to score over 500 points in one season with 535 so far.

Former RB Mo Hunter is the school's all-time leading scorer with 414 points.

Gorman's teammate Pablo Garza is second with 252 points and former kicker-receiver Johnny Guillen is third with 234 of which 108 came off TDs.

Former kicker Nacho Sauceda is fourth on the all-time list with 201 points, all off PATS or field goals.

Gorman stands at 128 points and could very well be the Cardinals all-time leader in scoring for kickers.

Soccer, however, remains Gorman's first and only love.

He's been playing since he was about three-years-old. Now 16, Gorman still plays for a select team, the Dynamo, during the high school soccer offseason.

"It's my passion," Gorman said of the beautiful game. "It's everything to me. If I didn't have soccer, I don't know what I'd do."

Eladio Jaimez covers District 31-5A for Valley Freedom Newspapers.