When Berkner head coach Jim Ledford says that kicker Zach Olen is one of the top five high school kickers in the country, he knows what he's talking about. Ledford coached future University of Texas and NFL kicker Phil Dawson at Lake Highlands and says Olen is the best he's had since.
A four-year starter, Olen has nailed all of his extra points and 8-of-9 field goals this year. He's howitzer leg regularly blasts away 60-yarders in practice and drawn the attention of Texas, LSU, Northwestern, Purdue, and UNT. How strong is the leg? His only miss came last week against Sunset. Not only was the miss a 52-yarder, but it also wasn't short - it was wide left.
"It could have gone 62 yards, easy," Ledford said. "He's won a lot of ball games for us - two when he was a freshman. He has a phenomenal leg."
At 5-10, 210 pounds, Olen, whose brother Max is a lineman for the Rams, is big enough to help the Rams at linebacker, but Ledford's not thinking about it.
"No way - he's way to valuable," Ledford said. "I'd never risk it.
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Contributors
Jeff Andrews
Jeff Andrews covers north Metroplex high schools for ESPNDallas.com. He covered high school sports for four years at the Denton Record-Chronicle. Andrews is a graduate of UNT.
Randy Jennings
Randy Jennings covers south Metroplex high schools for ESPNDallas.com. His 34-year career as a sports writer includes eight years at the Dallas Morning News. Jennings is a graduate of UT-Arlington.
Mercedes Mayer
Mercedes Mayer covers west Metroplex high schools for ESPNDallas.com. Mercedes has covered DFW-area sports for the last six years, including a 5 1/2 year stint with the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Mayer is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin.
Ethan Szatmary
Ethan B. Szatmary covers east Metroplex high schools for ESPNDallas.com. Ethan covered colleges and high schools for the Denton Record-Chronicle for eight years and graduated from Emory University.
