By Mike Beas
Brownsburg’s pedigree of talented placekickers didn’t start with Spencer Porath.
All the same, Porath, who’ll soon start his senior year, is the latest in the long-winded scroll of Bulldogs players making a name for himself with a Howitzer of a right leg.
Porath continues to gain ground on mid-1990s BHS standout Aaron Bunten, whose 57-yard field goal vs. Cathedral nearly three decades ago remains the standard for longest in program history.
However, Porath, a Purdue University verbal commitment as of June 21, has 81 career touchbacks to Bunten’s 87 – including the season mark of 60 in 2022, and what looks to be a longstanding standard of nine kickoffs deemed unreturnable in a victory over Avon.
Brownsburg football owns a 27-7 mark in the three seasons he’s been the kicker, including a pair of Class 6A sectional titles.
“The Porath family, in general, is just so competitive, which is something you normally don’t see in kickers,” said Bulldogs football coach John Hart, who is about to begin his eighth season at Brownsburg. “I know when schools were coming to watch him in the spring, he was kicking off from the 35 (yard line) to show the strength of his leg.
“Spencer put eight out of 12 against the wind into the end zone. I’ve never seen that from a high school kid before.”
Porath, who has also represented the soccer and basketball programs at Brownsburg, did a Q&A with ICON:
Q: Was playing soccer as a young kid what led to you being a kicker, or was it something else?
A: I played soccer and basketball growing up, and I had a lot of friends who were playing football who influenced me. I actually started playing football in the eighth-grade. I picked it up pretty quickly. A lot of it is just technique and focusing on the details. I already knew I had a really strong leg.
Q: Why was it important to verbally commit to a college football program before the beginning of your senior school year?
A: It wasn’t about the time frame as much as it was making the right choice for me. Obviously, I have a great relationship with (Purdue’s) special team’s coordinator, and their kicker this year is a senior. Hopefully, I can go in and play at least three years after that.
Q: What goals, if any, have you established for the upcoming season?
A: Individual-wise, I hope to be the Indiana Mr. Kicker winner, and stat-wise, I would like to go over 90-percent on touchbacks, 85-percent on field goals and go perfect on point-after kicks.
Q: What do you feel is your strongest attribute as a kicker?
A: I’m just a really competitive person, and I feel I’m a great teammate. Just being around the guys is important to me.
