By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
When the coach of his Union Raiders peewee football team asked if anyone wanted to be a placekicker, Mason Molique eagerly raised his hand.
“It kind of intrigued me to try it,” he recalled. “After the first practice, (coach) said I would start as the kicker and from then on me and my dad would go out and work on it.”
Over the last four years, Molique improved his kicking skills by going to elite camps. The Ryle junior is currently ranked 55th in the nation among high school placekickers who will graduate in 2019 on the Chris Sailer Kicking website.
Molique could climb even higher in the national rankings if he continues to do well at kicking camps like he did the last two years. One of the biggest camps is May 13-14 in Las Vegas that draws a lot of attention from college coaches.
“This summer may be more important than the (high school) season, just going to camps and talking to (college) coaches,” he said of his recruiting outlook.
Molique has been Ryle’s placekicker for three seasons. He has scored a total of 215 points by making 22 of 28 field goal attempts (78.5 percent) and 149 of 154 extra-point kicks (96.7 percent).
During his freshman season, he kicked 11 consecutive field goals that ranks second in the state record books. He needs two more field goals and 21 extra-points to break the existing Northern Kentucky career records in those categories.
Molique was voted to all-state teams after the 2016 and 2017 seasons, but the exposure he gets at kicking camps is equally important to landing a major college scholarship. On the Chris Sailer Kicking website, he needs a 5-star ranking to be listed as an NCAA Division I prospect. He currently has 4.5 stars.
“I don’t have any (scholarship) offers yet,” he said. “Kickers normally get a good amount of offers, but we’re the late ones. I’ve had multiple coaches message me and talk to me. The connection is close. I feel like they’re just waiting to pull the trigger.”
Last year, Molique attended two Chris Sailer Kicking Camps and other camps hosted by college teams. He said each one normally begins with training tips to sharpen placekicking and punting skills and then comes the competition.
“They’ll do last man standing, where you start with a normal PAT (point-after touchdown) and keep moving back as far as you can until there’s only a couple guys left out of 50,” Molique said. “They’ll also give you a series of kicks and you have to hit each one to keep advancing.”
The camps also include kickoff and punting contests that keep tabs on distance and hang time. Those contests are used to grade players for the national ranking that appears on the Chris Sailer Kicking website.
Molique’s review on the website reads: “A competitor that does very well under pressure. He kicks with great confidence. The future is bright with continued hard work.”
After making his rounds at camps this spring and summer, Molique will suit up for his senior season on the Ryle football team. He gives his teammates much of the credit for his past success. In fact, he’s only had one kick blocked over the past three seasons.
“I’ve been truly blessed with great holders and a great offensive line the past three years that’s been able to block for me,” he said. “And just the offense itself has given me numerous opportunities to show what I can do.”
Last season, Molique converted four of six field goals and 44 of 47 extra-point kicks to score 56 points for the Raiders. He also averaged 40.4 yards on kickoffs and punted eight times for a 28.4 average.
“I’m the starting punter this year so I’m going up to the field and not just (practice) doing kickoffs and field goals but incorporating punting as well,” he said. “I definitely prefer placekicking over punting, but I enjoy doing both.”