With 16 years of coaching experience at Kickapoo, not much surprises head coach Phil Hodge, but not much compares to some of the plays made by the Chiefs this year.
“Several of our goals through games this year, those are special moments,” Hodge said.
Those plays have mostly come from the senior pair of Corbin Clay and Landon Keisker.
“Pretty special, it doesn’t happen every year so when you get it, we’ve had it for two years now, but when you get it this year and they’re as focused and dialed in as they are and they work off of each other it puts you in a spot where we’re at right now,” said Hodge.
Corbin leads the team in goals.
“Corbin is big, fast, strong, knows one speed that’s it he’s got one speed and he’s coming right at you,” Hodge said.
“There’s not a ball I know I don’t play that he won’t fight for, or he’ll get to it and when he gets in front of the goal his leg is so strong it’s going into the back of the net,” said senior Landon Keisker.
Most of those goals are set up by longtime friend, and teammate, Landon Keisker.
“Really smart player, reads the game really well. Sets up his players,” Hodge said.
“He has a great first touch and he likes holding that player off. He’s quick with the ball too so he’ll just make a cut to a side, and I’ll be making a diagonal run and it’s just really hard to stop that over-the-top ball,” said senior Corbin Clay.
It’s a one-two punch that’s been years in the making.
“We met in kindergarten; we became friends in kindergarten and of course during recess we were always kicking the ball around,” Keisker said.
“It started back then but it really blossomed when we hit the high school level,” added Clay.
As their games grew together, so did their success. Corbin has 42 goals this season while Landon has more than 25 goals and assists.
“I can run onto a ball, and I can finish it and I feel like that is what makes me and him work so good, is that he can put the ball into the space for me to go,” Clay said.
What makes these two so special might be their hunger to always get better.
“I’m not satisfied with how many goals I have, and I know he’s not satisfied with how much he has. I feel like the goal isn’t about each other’s stats it’s about the team getting to the Final Four,” Clay said.
Corbin and Landon are just one win away from making the Final Four a reality.
