HUNTINGTON -- Adjustment is a buzz word for kickers.
When Jason Cherry played for the University of Massachusetts, he worried about wind, rain, snow, etc. Cherry's now in his fourth year kicking indoors where the concern is how high the ceiling is and where the beams and lights are.
"You have to make adjustments," said Cherry, who handles kicking duties for the Huntington Heroes this season after a three-year stay in Johnstown. "I have experience in most of the buildings we play in and that helps a lot. You work on things in practice, too."
Overhead issues aren't a major problem on extra points and short field goals. On longer field goals and kickoffs, those beams in the rafters can come into play. Cherry's cut down on striking beams at Big Sandy Superstore Arena, home field for the Heroes. Opposing kickers haven't been so lucky. Fayetteville's Rob Aviett struck the midfield beam numerous times in their game on May 3.
"It depends on how you hit the ball," Cherry said in reference to height on kicks. "You can't get too anxious."
In 2001, Cherry made his first visit to Huntington when UMass played Marshall at Joan C. Edwards Stadium. The Thundering Herd won, 49-20.
"They had (Byron) Leftwich and the gang," Cherry said. "They knocked us around."
For the past two years, Cherry paid return visits to Huntington when Johnstown played the Heroes. The first year, the teams met at Veterans Memorial Field House. Last year, the scene shifted to Big Sandy.
At the field house, kickers hit the low ceiling and lights often. "We just squibbed the ball," Cherry said. At Big Sandy, there was another problem. Getting on the field. The Heroes rolled to a 47-22 win over the Riverhawks.
When Johnstown elected not to field a team this season, Cherry needed a job. "I had options. I wanted to keep active," he said.
Cherry hooked up with the Heroes and won a two-man battle to get the job. The right-footed kicker has scored 77 points (12 field goals, 37 extra points and four unos). His next game is Saturday when the Heroes take on Erie at 7 p.m. at Big Sandy.
"He's done a good job for us," Heroes coach Carlos Clayton said.
Four unos (kicking the ball through the uprights on a kickoff is worth a point) is quite an accomplishment. Goal posts are 10 feet wide and the cross bar is suspended 10 feet. The kick comes from the goal line, meaning the ball must travel about 63-64 yards counting distance and height. If successful, the opponent gets the ball on the 5-yard line.
"That's not easy," said Cherry, who had three unos and 14 total points in the game against Fayetteville (34-26 loss). "You make an adjustment on ball striking. You can tell when you hit the ball well. Field position's important, too. You get the ball at the 5 and that gets the defense fired up."
On kickoffs, Cherry said the Heroes mix things up. Some kicks go deep and to the corner and some he bounces down the field.
"We don't want to let the return get set up," he said.
Financial problems, an issue for Cherry at Johnstown last season, surfaced again in 2008. Prior to the April 25 game at Florence, the Heroes players wouldn't board the bus for the trip to South Carolina. New owner Brent Blankenship came through on payments, but the Heroes lost at least 10 players to other AIFA teams and leagues.
"You don't work for free," Cherry said.
The Heroes fielded a replacement team and lost to the Phantoms, 66-12. Huntington has lost three straight, but the Heroes (5-4) are still in first in the Eastern Conference's East Division.
Most of the skill players stayed in Huntington. Clayton scrambled to fill voids up front. The Heroes had one practice prior to the Fayetteville game. They had a full week before Erie. The RiverRats scored with 13 seconds left last Friday to win, 47-43.
"The guys who stayed ... we're enjoying it," Cherry said. "There's unity. We felt we could stick it out. The new guys, we're bringing them in. When coach Clayton got the job, why not stay?
"The guys gave a great effort against Fayetteville. We're getting better. Hopefully the results will come around. We want another crack at Erie and Reading."
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