Schwarz ready to take next step BY JOEY GOODMAN SPORTS EDITOR JGOODMAN@LAWTON-CONSTITUTION.COM   Most football fans have heard the stories about how the kickers enjoy the good life without all that contact work and running, but anyone who witnessed last Friday’s Lawton High-MacArthur f o o t b a l l game saw that theory go down the drain when Mac k i c k e r D a n i e l S c h w a r z was sandwiched by LHS ends Patrick Diaz and D.J. Ward who combined to block one of his punts. “Those two guys are great friends of mine; in fact Patrick lived next door to me for awhile,” Schwarz said before for practice Tuesday. “I think they took it easy on me because of that blocked punt. It still got my attention.” The good news for Schwarz, though, is that after he completes the season for the Highlanders, his punting days are more than likely over because he’s committed to the University of Tulsa to be the Golden Hurricane place kicker. “I won’t have to punt in college, which is good news,” he said with that always-present grin. “They have Cole Way, who is the younger brother of University of Oklahoma punter Tress Way. He’s a great punter, so they only need me to be their placekicker.” Schwarz was offered the scholarship by Tulsa last spring and he’s happy with that decision. “I’m pretty firm with my committment because Tulsa has a pretty good football program, plus the academics are really good,” he said. “I am interested in either pharmacy or physical therapy and they have good programs for both. My parents are really excited because that’s a private school with a great reputation and they will not have to pay for my education.” Pretty good considering he just started kicking five years ago. “I was in the eighth grade at MacArthur Mid- dle School when Coach (Nic) Mims came up to me and talked to me about becoming a kicker,” Schwarz said. “He knew I had played soccer since kindergarten and he thought I might be able to make it as a kicker.” In fact, he remains a soccer player to this day, spending time each spring as a center-midfielder on offense, as well as seeing action defensively as a last line of defense right in front of the goal keeper. However, while he still loves soccer, he knows the scholarship opportunities are much better in football and that’s what lured him to Tulsa. So, how did he go from soccer player to elite kicker so quickly? “I just went to a lot of camps,” he said. “This past summer I went to 15 different camps and last year I went to 20.” He said you go to camps for several reasons. “Of course you learn new techniques and tips to improve your kicking but you also get a lot of exposure because there are college coaches there watching you,” he said. “Some of the camps were better than others but the one where I learned the most was at Kansas State. “Bill Snyder (KSU head coach) is a great special teams coach and he really helped me out a great deal. He corrected my form to where I was getting more touchbacks. That is one thing the college coaches want; somebody who can get the kickoffs into the end zone.” In fact, Schwarz keeps his own statistics on that and right now he’s booted 7 of 8 into the end zone, which leaves him just short of his 90 percent goal that he set at the start of the season. “I’m a little below that goal, plus I’m not happy that I missed that field goal against Wichita Falls, but I have to just keep on kicking to gain confidence,” he said. What he failed to mention was that the kick against the Coyotes was a 50-yarder, so there isn’t much shame in missing one from that distance. While other players are excited about rushing or passing for 1,000 yards, Schwarz is proud of his own success stories. “I had a game-winning field goal against Eisenhower my sophomore year and then last year I kicked a 53-yard field goal against Chickasha,” he said. “You have to have good range to get the colleges looking at you and I think that kick helped me get my offer.” The senior says he feels confident that he could connect from as far out as 60 yards. “When I kicked that one against Chickasha there wasn’t any wind, and I know that I’ve kicked 60-yarders with the wind,” he said. “I would like to try one that long in a game, but the main thing is to just win. I don’t care how we win. I think we have a chance to go a long way and I just want to do my part. “Beating Lawton High was special because we hadn’t beaten them since my freshman year. It gave us a lot of confidence. Now we have to keep playing well against Ike and then get ready for district. I think Ardmore and Duncan are going to be our toughest district games, but I think we have the potential to win them all if we keep playing hard.” One reason for his confidence is the attitude of this team. “There are no arguments, no problems; this team is focused on one goal and that’s winning every game,” he said. “This is a good group to make that happen.” SCHWARZ Open the Magazine Back Continue