Kicking into high gear

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 06/11/2008 (6374 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

He’s been booed and cheered. He’s heard his name praised and cursed. To sum up, Winnipeg Blue Bombers kicker Alexis Serna has lived through enough ups and downs to last an entire career in his first season as a professional.

And come Saturday in the East Division Semifinal against the Edmonton Eskimos it essentially starts all over again.

Say what you will about the Bombers attempting to limit the effectiveness of Ricky Ray or the Eskimos’ gameplan to shut down Fred Reid and Joe Smith but — if the Vegas oddsmakers who favour Winnipeg by a field goal are right — the game could come down to a kick from Serna or Edmonton’s Noel Prefontaine.

The conditions won’t matter, whether it’s a perfect day or the wind is howling: kickers, like quarterbacks, can build a reputation solely on what they do in November. Serna may have the CFL’s lowest field-goal percentage — 66.7 — but if he hammers home the game-winner on Saturday much of the nightmare of the regular season could be erased. And if he’s learned anything about himself this season it’s been about resiliency, both his own and that of the entire Bombers team. The squad goes 0-4 and 2-8 to open the season, but bounces back enough to play host to a playoff game.

Serna was the picture of streaky, from whiffing on gimme kicks to being named the CFL’s Special Teams Player of the Week on Wednesday for his work in the win over Hamilton last weekend.

“I knew I could fight through adversity and (the season) just solidified that I could fight through it,” said Serna. “I’m excited about the opportunities I had here and I’m glad I had the opportunity to come here because I’m around a great group of guys and it was a lot of fun playing.

“There was a lot of highs and lows and I’ve gone through that in my career. But this was a little more stressful… in college, you do bad but you’re still on the team. Out here you can be sent home.”

The Bombers, while trying to work around new logos being painted on the field this week during practice, have had Serna punt and placekick both with and into the wind. Still, getting a feel for the often-swirling conditions that make Canad Inns Stadium the toughest place in the league to kick likely will come down to the warm-up Saturday morning.

“I think I’m prepared for it,” Serna said. “I just have to go out there, stay relaxed and keep doing what I’m doing. It’s always a challenge. The biggest thing is going out there in warm-ups and hitting them from both ends and knowing your range. Then it’s about staying focused and keeping your head down.”

Interestingly, through all this trials and tribulations this year Serna has had the backing of his teammates and the coaching staff. Assistant coach Richard Harris could often be seen wrapping his arm around Serna for support after a miss while head coach Doug Berry called in the rookie prior to last week’s game for a moral pat on the back.

“I just made a commitment to him based on the way he had been kicking and told him what my expectations were of him in the near future. That was it,” Berry said. “I was just complimenting him on how well he’s been doing.

“I just know he’s capable. I’ve seen it in so many games and fortunately we’re seeing it in the last month or so. Hopefully he can just carry it for another game, two or three as it goes.”

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca