Beyond the Playbook: Tigers Dawson Kriske kicking his way to the top

With football season underway, we all know success can come down to a few inches, or even an extra point. For the Northwestern Tigers senior kicker Dawson Kriske, it comes down to 3 components. soccer, moving ice and a lucky pair of cleats.

A position in football that doesn’t get much hype, but for the Northwestern Tigers kicker Dawson Kriske his stat line warrants it.

He now leads the entire state of Wisconsin in extra point percentage at 1.0. While also ranking second in total extra points.

Kriske says, he credits that success to a teammate in both football, and soccer.

"I learned from the previous kicker Issac Nickoles, he was a big inspiration. I always saw him kick and he always told me, we both used to play soccer together through the same program St.Scholastica, like hey you got the leg".

Well that leg has led Kriske to go 30/30 in extra point conversions this season. Showcasing his overall lower body strength, but how does he fine tune his upper body?

"I actually deliver ice for Lake Shore Ice as my job, and I work 40 hours a week slinging 20lb bags of ice. So that was a good workout for my upper body" Kriske recalled.

You can work on strength all you want, but for Kriske’s head coach Jovin Kroll, its the mental side on a game day that he says contributes to number 13’s success.

"You know when your out there on a Friday night and your kicking an extra point or kicking off, its you, there is not a lot of blame you can put elsewhere. So its that willingness to put yourself on the line and go out there in such a noticeable position, I think over the years hes got more and more comfortable" Kroll said.

That comfort comes not only from practice but also a certain piece of equipment, Kriske only touches on game day.

"I always got to have the same pair of cleats, I got this one pair of cleats that I keep separate from the others and thats always my game cleats. I never wear those during the week, but they are always my game cleats" Kriske exclaimed.

You can catch Kriske, and his lucky cleats, at home this Friday against the Chetek Weyerhaeuser.