Football and futbol: Wagener making his mark with Panthers football team

Already accomplished on the soccer pitch, Blake Wagener has added his talents to the Maumee football team this year as the kicker and punter. / Pride of the Panthers

By JEREMY SCHNEIDER

IMA SPORTS

It’s not uncommon for high school football coaches to poach a kicker from their school’s soccer team.

What’s not ordinary is when that kicker is the school’s all-time leader in goals and scoring and is one of the best soccer players in the state.

Blake Wagener isn’t the first soccer player to throw on some shoulder pads and a helmet for the Panthers football team, but he’s arguably one of the best to do it. His kickoffs routinely soar into the end zone for touchbacks, he’s automatic on extra point kicks, and his field goals give the coaching staff a different tool in their pockets.

Wagener is 4-for-4 on field goals and nearly half of his kickoffs have gone for touchbacks. / Pride of the Panthers

Wagener’s journey onto the football team started last season. He went to every football game and noticed Cody Wulf literally never left the field; from offense to kicking to defense, Wulf was doing it all.

“I kind of felt bad for him, he should get at least some rest during the games,” Wagener said.

A conversation between Wagener and football coach Evan Karchner happened at the end of last school year. Needless to say, that chat was much easier than the one between Wagener and boys soccer coach Chad Kain.

“I really didn’t know what to say at first,” Kain said. “We definitely had conversations about the expectations, like what I would like to see him do if this is what we agree on. … I wasn’t going to tell him no, but I do believe our understanding is pretty good. He wouldn’t have come to me if he wasn’t comfortable with it.”

When Kain and Karchner met, it was agreed that Wagener would kick the ball and get off the field. That didn’t last too long — Wagener has made a few special teams tackles this year.

“If you asked me, If the guy is running for a touchdown, is he going to tackle him or is he going to run off the field, I knew going into it he’s going to get into the mix here and there,” Kain said.

“Does it worry me that something silly could happen? Absolutely. … It’s kind of difficult sometimes. All it takes is one step and you tear your ACL. If he did it on the football field, I’m probably not going to be the happiest guy in the world. If it happened on the soccer field, OK, it happened. If I get a phone call at 11 o’clock at night, ‘Hey, Blake tore his ACL planting to kick a football,’ I’m probably not going to take it the same way.”

Not that boys soccer isn’t physical, but Wagener admitted football is a little different, even with more padding.

“Coming into the season I knew Chad would not want me to tackle, but I can’t help myself if someone is running down the sidelines,” Wagener said. “It’s in my mind that I can let him score a touchdown or hit him as hard as I can and see what happens. It’s a lot more enjoyable tackling people and having some fun with it.”

Wagener said kickoffs and place kicking have come naturally to him because of soccer, he’s had to put extra work in on punting. He credited Buzz Rothenbuhler for helping him with that aspect.

Through nine games, Wagener is 4-for-4 on field goals, including a 47-yarder in last week’s win over Fostoria. Twenty-six of his 61 kickoffs have gone for touchbacks, and he has 16 punts for a 32.1 yard average.

Karchner said Wagener has impacted the football team in tangible and intangible ways. While his athletic ability is obvious, his abilities as a leader have helped the program as well.

Having a kicker like Wagener also opens up possibilities for Karchner and his coaching staff.

“It changes how you think about scoring points while we are in the red zone,” Karchner said. “Every third and fourth down isn’t a do-or-die like it was last year. We know Blake has the ability to kick a field goal from 50 yards depending on wind.

“It’s been an adjustment for us, but we know that we can get an easy three points if our offense stalls out. That was something we didn’t have last year.”

They haven’t had to use Wagener’s leg to win a game yet this season, but with tough games coming up in the Division III playoffs, it’s only a matter of time.

Who better to rely on than an all-state soccer star who routinely boots 50- and 60-yard bombs in pregame? Even if it might give his soccer coach a heart attack.

Photo courtesy of Pride of the Panthers

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