Ray Brewer, iphone photo
Coronado High’s Spencer Cofer.
Thursday, Oct. 2, 2014 | 2 a.m.
Prep Sports Now
#702hsfb Takeover
Las Vegas Sun sports reporters Ray Brewer and Case Keefer relive Bishop Gorman prevailing over St. John Bosco in a battle between the two top-ranked teams in the nation before getting to the rest of an eventful week. Does Arbor View still have a case to be ranked above Liberty? Did Faith Lutheran really get into the end zone on its game-winning Hail Mary? Who would win: Coronado or Centennial? They debate all these topics and more.
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Coronado High junior kicker Spencer Cofer doesn’t have to look far for pointers.
His dad, Mike Cofer, spent eight years kicking in the NFL and won two Super Bowls with the San Francisco 49ers, giving Spencer a valuable resource in approaching his craft.
So, when Cofer was called into the game last week at Arbor View to attempt a game-tying 45-yard field goal at the end of regulation, he used some of his dad’s advice.
“My dad tells me to just hit the extra point,” Spencer Cofer said.
Cofer drilled the field goal to force overtime, but it wasn’t his biggest kick of the game. He made a 54-yarder earlier and finished with four field goals — both a rarity for high school kickers.
For his efforts, Cofer was named the Sun’s Player of the Week.
The award isn’t necessarily designed for an established player or someone committed to a Division I school. Rather, it is for those talented athletes under the radar who deserve recognition for their efforts.
“He nailed it,” Coronado coach Brad Talich said about the kick to force overtime. “That would have been good from 70.”
The Arbor View game wasn’t the first time Cofer was called into action in the final seconds with the game on the line. Against Liberty earlier in the season, he missed short on a 52-yard attempt in a one-point loss.
The miss could have hurt him mentally for the rest of the season, but Cofer says he wasn’t bothered. It was just one game.
“I can’t worry about that. Hopefully we see (Liberty) in the playoffs,” Cofer said
Cofer didn’t begin kicking until the ninth grade and doesn’t consider himself just a kicker. He’s also the Cougars’ backup quarterback and one of the baseball team’s best players.
“My dad raised us (his brother, Jackson, also played at Coronado) to be athletes,” he said.
This won’t be the last time Cofer gets a chance to win a game for Coronado. He’s an offensive weapon, especially since most local teams struggle to find a reliable kicker.
“Even if a team stops us on the 35- or 40-yard line, we aren’t afraid to send him out there,” Talich said.
Ray Brewer can be reached at 702-990-2662 or [email protected]. Follow Ray on Twitter at twitter.com/raybrewer21
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