AGOURA, Calif. -- To the unknowing, Oak Park High School football coach Fred Yamano apparently wasn't playing with a full deck. Rowing with just one oar in the water, as they say.
Yamano had sent a 16-year-old kid weakened by the flu, a kid who an hour earlier had thrown up because of the illness, into the game to kick a 64-yard field goal!
Now the National Football League field goal record -- the record for the best football players in the world -- is 63 yards, by Tom Dempsey. Sure, Fred. And after he kicks this 64-yard field goal, why not ask the kid to refinance the national debt and put America back to work, if he's not busy.
That's what the unknowing were saying as Eric Affholter lined up for the field goal. What they didn't know was that Affholter routinely practices 62-yard field goals. And makes about half of them.
The ball was snapped, the holder slammed it onto the tee and Affholter connected.
The 'thud' of shoe hitting leather drifted over the rolling hills, hills that just a week ago were ablaze with a raging brushfire. The players and fans at Oak Park High School were silent as the ball began its journey toward the horizon.
'I knew I hit it pretty good, I knew it had the distance,' Affholter said. 'The crosswind caught it and I thought it was going to move too far.'
The ball hit the left upright and dropped over the crossbar. The kick eclipsed the high school record of 62 yards set in 1929 by Kelly Imhoff of Kent, Wash.
Affholter thrust a fist into the air and then let his eyes drift over to the hill where his father was watching.
'I saw my Dad jumping up and down. He was pretty excited,' Affholter said. 'That was a nice feeling. He used to take me out with the football when I was five or six and we'd kick it back and forth.'
The players on the opposing team -- Carpinteria -- had been making jokes about the field goal attempt. They were yelling 'fake, fake' as Affholter lined up, anticipating a run. When the ball bounced over the crossbar, the laughter stopped. Eleven kids suddenly looked like their dates just called an hour before the prom and said, sorry, but they'd gotten a better offer.
Carpinteria won the game 14-13 but the day belonged to tiny Oak Park High, total enrollment 325, and its hero, Affholter.
Those who doubted the sanity of Yamano didn't know that Affholter had kicked a 58-yard field goal in the first game of the season. They didn't know that an Affholter field goal attempt is one of the most powerful offensive weapons for Oak Park High.
'If he misses, the other team gets the ball at the 20-yard line,' Yamano said. 'Eric can kick the ball 75 yards off a tee. Our punter hits it about 38 yards. Not much of a decision, right?'
The day after the kick, CBS called from Los Angeles. They wanted the game film and an interview with the kid now known by his teammates as 'The Celebrity.' That afternoon, Affholter was on national television, explaining the kick as the black and white film was run.
'It didn't seem like such a big deal,' said the junior, who moved from Detroit with his family 11 years ago. 'But I guess it is a big deal now. I was pretty excited when it happened but I never thought it would get this much attention.'
Hollywood couldn't have picked a better character for the part. Three days after the record kick, the 6-foot, 175-pound, handsome, blonde Affholter roared up to the practice field in his Chevy Blazer. Out he stepped, a straw hat gracing his head.
'It's the superstar,' his teammates yelled.
'They're not really impressed with the whole thing,' Affholter said. 'They won't treat me any differently.'
Neither will the coaches.
'Yesterday he had lots of interviews and didn't get to run,' said assistant coach Paul Robinson. 'Today he owes me a mile after practice.'
Without knowing it, Affholter began preparing for his record kick at the age of five when he began playing soccer.
'I didn't start kicking footballs seriously until ninth grade,' he said. 'And I've never practiced kicking during the off-season, only during football season. Maybe now I'll get more serious about it and start working out during the off-season, too.'
The kick is sure to attract the attention of college recruiters. Alas, should they get overanxious and even speak with Affholter before next season, the NCAA may lay down some stiff penalties on their schools.
So for about 12 months, Eric Affholter can relax and enjoy being a teenager. And work on field goals.
'I guess we're going to have to move back and start practicing from 65 yards now,' he said.
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