Colleges: Local Kickers Ryan Clifford, George Lampros Square off Again
By: Jim Fenton, The Enterprise
The former Brockton High and Bridgewater-Raynham football kickers will be on opposite sidelines as freshmen when Framingham State hosts Mass. Maritime Saturday.
The two kickers were on opposite sidelines in high school, taking part in the football rivalry game between Brockton and Bridgewater-Raynham.
Now, Ryan Clifford and George Lampros are about to go against each other again, this time in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference.
The two freshmen kickers will reunite on Saturday afternoon when Clifford and Framingham State University host Lampros and the Massachusetts Maritime Academy.
Clifford, a 2016 Brockton High graduate, and Lampros, a 2017 Bridgewater-Raynham graduate, have taken over the place-kicking and punting duties in their first seasons at Framingham State and Mass. Maritime, respectively.
Lampros was named the MASCAC special teams player of the week for his performance last Saturday in the Buccaneers' win over Maine Maritime.
He kicked field goals of 39 and 34 yards, made all four extra points and punted four times for an average of 34 yards.
"He's good in all facets – the kickoff stuff, he's a good punter and he's been really good with the PATs and the field goals,″ said Mass. Maritime coach Jeremy Cameron. "He's doing a good job so far.
"We really liked him out of high school, so I thought he had a chance. We had a couple of kickers who were supposed to come back but decided not to. He was able to step right in, and I think he would have beaten those guys out anyway.″
Cameron has been impressed with the way his first-year kicker has made the transition from high school to Division 3 college football.
"I think it's really difficult (for a first-year kicker),″ said Cameron. "Everything he's doing is a pressure situation. When teams see a freshman back there, I think their first inclination is, 'Let's pressure this kid and see how he handles it.'
"He's a football player. None of that stuff really seems to bother him.
"He's solid right now, but I think in the middle of this year or next year, his kickoffs will really improve and the punting, too. The sky's the limit for him.″
Lampros has punted four times for an average of 34 yards with six kickoffs for an average of nearly 55 yards.
Clifford arrived at Framingham State after red-shirting at Division 1 Saint Francis University of Pennsylvania a year ago.
He has made 3-of-4 field goal attempts for the Rams (3-0), connecting from 40 and 36 yards in last Friday night's 19-13 win at Bridgewater State University.
According to coach Tom Kelley, Clifford will be even more productive once he gains more consistency (he's missed four extra points).
"He certainly has a leg,″ said Kelley. "He put one through from 60 (yards) in practice. He's a good kid, a real hard worker. He's a weapon.
"In the Cortland game, we pinned them all day long near the 10-yard line with his kickoffs. He's as good a kicker as we've had here.″
Clifford has punted 14 times for an average of 31.1 yards and has kicked off 18 times.
Both Cameron and Kelley are thrilled at the prospects of having the same kicker around for four seasons.
"We've never been in this situation where we've had someone we could really rely on with that kind of range,″ said Cameron. "It's a totally game changer with how you approach the red zone.″
Said Kelley: "It's unbelievable. He's got a great attitude, and being a kicker, you have to. You have to have that closer mentality, a short memory.″