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Wertz does it all for Laurel

Wertz does it all for Laurel

Written: Oct 22, 2014
Article
By Andrew Koob

New Castle News

Noah Wertz finally will have his name in the Laurel High football record books.

The do-it-all senior booted a 44-yard field goal, surpassing Jonathan Johnson’s record of 42 yards set in 2009, in a 27-14 win over Ellwood City Lincoln on Friday night.

Wertz also added a PAT kick, two interceptions as a defensive back, booted a punt 50 yards and threw for a two-point conversion on a bad snap.

The overall performance earned Wertz Lawrence County co-Athlete of the Week honors, an award sponsored by Washington Centre Physical Therapy and selected by the New Castle News sports staff.

“As soon as I saw it, I knew it was good,” Wertz said of his record-breaking kick. “I’ve been wanting that since freshman year, since I’ve known I can do it. It was nice, a good feeling.”

The kick comes after a few failed, yet much longer attempts throughout the past couple of years. It made finally getting the record that much sweeter.

“I had a couple in the past, one at Union that was 55 yards and I had a 56-yarder that just came up short against Beaver. I’ve been close multiple times. The farthest I’ve hit in practice is 57 yards, consistently. On Friday there was a lot of wind, so I had to adjust quite a bit for it. It ended up working out pretty well.”

Wertz’s overall performance comes during a season where first-year coach Brian Cooper wanted more out of the senior than just a reliable leg. All of the preparation that Wertz has put in finally poured out onto the field against the Wolverines.

“Noah’s been a great kicker his whole career and this year coming into it, we needed him to do more than just kick the football,” Cooper said. “He’s really worked hard at playing defensive back and playing receiver, where he didn’t really have those opportunities in the past. He’s a captain, he’s worked hard on trying to contribute to the team and it all came together during the course of the game.

“He’s a hard-working kid and I’m proud of the way he has responded over the course of the year. You can tell it’s starting to come together for him.”

Not many high school teams have the luxury of a player that can hit a field goal from beyond 40 yards. That dynamic has certainly changed the way that Cooper has taken chances throughout the season.

“The hard part is you get the chance in the course of the game and he’s playing offense and defense,” Cooper said. “You get tired as the game goes on, but he had no problems making that one. I’ve never seen a leg like that and I’ve been coaching for 20 years. He can definitely boom the ball.

“It changes your whole approach as you get down there. You don’t want to take any unnecessary risks because at the very least you have a good opportunity to get three points. We haven’t shied away from kicking field goals all year long and I know he’ll make a majority of them. It’s definitely a nice weapon to have.”

Wertz will play his final high school game against Summit Academy at Spartan Stadium on Friday night. Wertz, along with the 13 fellow Laurel seniors, want to go out on top one last time.

“We all just have to pull together for the last week,” Wertz said. “Just keep our heads straight, focus on the game, don’t think about everything else around it. Everything will play out how it has to play out, I guess. It’s rough, it’s the last game with all of these guys but it’s something that everyone goes through as a senior football player.”

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The Noah Wertz File

Position: Wide receiver/defensive back/placekicker/punter

Team: Laurel

Grade: 12

Parents: Joe and Melinda Wertz

Known for: Hitting a 44-yard field goal, booting a 50-yard punt, intercepting two passes and converting a two-point conversion in Laurel’s 27-14 win over Ellwood City

Favorite NFL Player and why: Le’Veon Bell, Pittsburgh Steelers. “He works hard and he’s just a good athlete.”

Favorite NFL Team and why: Seattle Seahawks. “I think their offense is something different from the other teams.”

Future Plans: “I plan on attending a four-year college to study criminal justice.”
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