Playing a perfect season to close out his senior year while etching his name in the books as one of the best kickers the Commonwealth has ever seen, Owensboro senior Andrew Lanz has earned the title of the Owensboro Times 2022 Special Teams Player of the Year.
Lanz said that he is thrilled to receive the honor, especially to wrap up his high school career with the Red Devils—making it evident that he was a difference maker thanks to his work ethic throughout the past four years.
“It honestly means a lot, especially in my senior season,” Lanz said. “It helps reflect all of the hard work I’ve put in over the past four years. But honestly, all I have cared about in my time here is winning games and my goal every week was to come out and do whatever I could for my team for us to reach that goal.”
Lanz suited up in all 13 games this season for Owensboro, going 57-57 on extra points while sinking both of his field goal attempts this season. The senior kicker said that the keys to success this year has been the time spent with his coaches and teammates in practice, noting that they gained a lot of trust in him during the offseason and prepared with game-type situations in practice to be the best he can be.
Having longtime friends as teammates helps too, as Lanz said that his success would be much more limited without some of his favorite people going to battle with him on the gridiron.
“My teammates were also a huge part, in particular Zach Clark, Kasey Boone, and Xander Early,” Lanz said. “Kasey has held for me since eighth grade so we’ve had a great connection which makes my job much easier. Zach stepped into the role as long snapper this year without any experience and did an amazing job all year and Xander stepped in during the playoffs after Zach hurt his hand and did a great job as well. Without those three guys my success wouldn’t have been possible.”
Lanz is proud of the way he and his team competed this year, particularly being happy with accomplishing a number of goals he’d set for himself coming into the year such as being more consistent and increasing his distance on kickoffs and field goals.
“I went to different camps over the summer to help improve my kicking technique and I got together with our strength and conditioning coach to help me get on an effective workout plan,” Lanz said. “On top of those I worked a lot on different pooches and squibs which helped us have a lot of unique styles of kickoffs that made it hard for teams to prepare for.”
The senior’s career came to an end with some historical numbers, claiming the all-time PATS record with his 192nd on Oct. 14 against Graves County. Lanz finishes with 213 total, placing him in the top-ten all-time in the state of Kentucky.
Given that going into high school Andrew was a soccer player first, kicker second, he is thrilled with how far he has come and is thankful for the love that he now has for football.
“When I first started my kicking career, I was just a normal middle school soccer player that wanted to see how I could do when trying to kick a football,” Lanz said. “I had no serious intention with it until a friend told me that our middle school team needed a kicker. Fast forward five years later I have not only been the starting kicker for three years, but I also quit soccer in the process to fully focus on football. What started as just a fun activity out in my front yard has definitely turned into much more and I would’ve never expected to get where I am today.”
Lanz went on to reiterate that he wouldn’t have been able to split the uprights as much as he has for Owensboro without the trust and help of his coaches and teammates, noting that enjoying the success he has had individually and as a team is something that he’ll always cherish.
“In a place like Owensboro High School, football is a huge deal,” Lanz said. “With OHS having such a historic tradition, it has been an awesome experience to say I was a part of such a great team. Not very many people can say they’ve been to four straight state semi finals including one state championship and that is why OHS football is so special. Not only is the football part special, but so is the relationship building in the process.”
But most of all, Lanz will always remember the adversity his team faced during his senior season and how they attacked it. Coming together with friends, coaches and teammates and bonding like a family in order to succeed while having a blast is something that he’ll never forget.
“I will most remember how close of a team we were,” Lanz said. “Despite a tough start to the season, which was something my class wasn’t used to, we came together and fixed what needed to be fixed and went further in the playoffs than people expected. Although it didn’t end like we hoped, we became very close in the locker room which made the season very enjoyable.”
