If you can’t stand the heat, the saying goes, stay out of the kitchen. And if you can’t stand the pressure, don’t try to be Alex Kaslander.
When the senior kicker for the Hillbilly football team stepped onto the field at Cresskill last Saturday, Verona’s playoff future rested with him. There were only four seconds on the clock, and if Kaslander failed, the Black & Gold would be going to the next round and not the Maroon & White.
No fear, no pressure: Kaslander nailed it. And for that kick, Alex Kaslander is the Verona Sports Boosters Senior Athlete of the Week.
Kaslander had been in the crunch before. He took Hillbilly fans to the edge of their bleacher seats last fall when–again with just four seconds left on the clock–he made the field goal that gave Verona a 16-13 upset over Hoboken. But in the clutches or not, Kaslander delivers. In 24 attempts this season, he has had only four failed and two blocked kicks.
When football season is over (and we hope that won’t be for several more games) Kaslander will trade his #81 jersey for a #25 on the Hillbilly basketball squad. He put up 418 points last year, and plenty of them were in clutches, too.
During the 2013-2014 school year, the Verona Sports Boosters recognizes a different senior athlete at Verona High School every week. The Boosters support male and female athletes in all VHS sports through a variety of fundraisers and recognition events.
Image copyright Fred Goode Productions LLC, which maintains ownership of it. Only MyVeronaNJ.com has permission to use this photo.
Congrats nice job!