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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Here’s The Kicker: There’s just one this time


Weddle will take care of field goals and, for now, punts.  
 (Christopher Anderson/ / The Spokesman-Review)

The Kicker was just 7 of 13 on field goals last year, with a long of 41 yards.

In fairness, half of the misses were blocks, which may or may not have been the fault of The Kicker. But The Kicker also missed six extra points.

Quite honestly, The Kicker directly contributed to the two heart-breaking losses the Eastern Washington football team had last year.

All-in-all, 2004 was not a good season for The Kicker.

In 2004 The Kicker for the Eagles was a hybrid, No. 13 Sheldon Weddle for two-thirds of the field-goals attempts and just more than half the PATs, No. 7 Skyler Allen for the rest, including kickoffs.

That was to change this year.

Allen, who was relegated to kicking because his promising career as a quarterback was blocked by the play of Erik Meyer and his potential as a wide receiver was derailed by injury, decided to focus on academics. That makes Weddle the kicker for everything except kickoffs, which will be handled by Brett Bergstrom.

“I feel more relaxed this year than I did last year with that whole situation,” said Weddle, a redshirt junior out of Ephrata, Wash. “Skyler and I alternating, that was hard mentally on both of us. Now I feel confident. I’m a year older, a year more experienced.”

Even with the job handed to him, it hasn’t been easy for Weddle. About the time Allen made his decision, Weddle and three teammates were in a serious car accident while returning to campus from teammate Tim Calhoun’s June wedding.

“I just had a pretty good concussion and whiplash and I had a bunch of glass cuts,” Weddle said. “It wasn’t too serious. My neck’s still sore. It kept me out of workouts for a couple of weeks this summer but other than that … it hasn’t hindered me.”

Maybe, maybe not.

Head coach Paul Wulff isn’t so sure, especially after Weddle hit just 3 of 5 field-goal attempts in the first scrimmage on Saturday. One miss came after a high snap as the Eagles break in a new long snapper, Mark Lathim, and holder, David Thompson.

“Sheldon is still recovering,” Wulff said. “He’s still weak and has lost some strength. It’s still a physical issue with him. He missed a lot of kicking over the summer. His strength is still not there, although he’s starting to gain it back. It’s going to be another month for him to really get to the form we need him to be at.”

Weddle expects to do better today when the fourth-ranked Eagles have their final scrimmage at 9:30 a.m. on Woodward Field in preparation for the Sept. 3 opener at San Jose State.

But if the 6-foot-1, 195-pounder is confident he’s physically fit, he admits that mentally it’s another story.

“I had three of my good friends in the car with me,” he said. “Right now they’re not out here on the field with me. In a way it makes me feel, I don’t know how to describe it really. It’s kind of a weird feeling, like I got away with it a little bit.

“I’m happy we’re all OK. They’re going to be able to get back out on the field.”

That is also up in the air.

Tight end Anthony McCarty, who had nerve and tendon damage to his left thumb, has been at practice and going through physical therapy. He hopes to be playing by the conference opener Sept. 24. Wide receiver Kyle Long is due to have ACL surgery soon and will miss the season. Punter Ryan Donckers, the driver, is still at home after breaking three vertebrae but should be on campus next week. Best-case scenario has him missing just two games.

Weddle inherits most of the punting chores from Donckers, his roommate and friend since meeting at a kicking camp in high school.

“I feel pretty confident as far as sky punts inside the 20, just like Ryan,” Weddle said. “He’s definitely a guy you can’t replace. He had a heck of a year last year and I think he would have definitely had a better year this year if he had the opportunity. Hopefully, he gets back healthy and has the opportunity.

“Actually I think it probably helps more than anything because it helps me stay loose throughout the game. I’m just excited I get to see the field more now.”

More important, though, is kicking.

“I’m going to have to step up as far as punting and obviously my kicking has to make improvements from last year,” he added.