By Vince Teresi
Kennedy High School student Patric Goerum currently leads the Oregon 2A Tri-River Conference football ranking for his performance as a point-after-touchdown kicker, making 32 of 36 attempts within seven games as of Nov.19.
A foreign exchange student from Wiesbaden, Germany, Goerum played soccer, but never had any experience playing with an American football until he arrived at Kennedy.
He enjoys the game and the camaraderie of the Kennedy players.
“I was really never scared about doing the job for the team,” he said.
“The crowd noise and excitement don’t bother me either. I even get more motivated by it than during the daily practices.”
Goerum is a perfectionist when it comes to setting up his kick, and he takes pride in doing his job well. He also provides the team with a bit of humor which teammates enjoy.
Goerum plans to attend a techical school in Munich when he returns home. His mother, a beautician, is proud of his athletic success. However, he said “she does tend to worry about me playing the sport of American football, thinking it is perhaps as rough as rugby.” He added he has assured her that it is not.
As of Nov. 23, the football team had advanced semifinals of the 2A OSAA football state championship by defeating Bonaza 56-14 and Oakland, 48-0. They played Gold Beach Nov. 27. Results were unavailable at press time.
