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Pasco Place-Kicker Allen Quietly Goes About His Business

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By CRISTINA LEDRA, The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 4, 2007

DADE CITY - Brennan Allen isn't that guy who is going to shout and trot around when his team makes a big play. He is a self-proclaimed softy in a rough-and-tumble world

During the pregame, you won't find Pasco's sophomore kicker rocking out to heavy metal or bobbing to hip-hop. Instead he centers to the sounds of smooth R&B or soft rock.

He may be unconventional, but the possibility of being subjected to Mariah Carey's greatest hits if Allen ever gets control of the music in the locker room is a price the Pirates are willing to pay for his kicking ability.

This season, Allen is a county-best 4-for-5 in field goals, with his longest a 38-yarder in Pasco's 39-34 win against Hudson. He also had a 37-yard field goal in the loss to Wesley Chapel, and he is 7-for-8 in extra points.

'I know people say this a lot, but if we had 22 of him on this team at different positions it would be great,' Pasco coach Tom McHugh said. 'He's just a great kid.'

Though Allen hasn't been called on to win a game for the Pirates yet, Pasco's coaches know he is there if they need him, and he gives them comfort on fourth-down situations.

'If you're in a position where you have a good kicker, what's the worst that could happen if he misses it? They get the ball on the 20 unless it's blocked, but we get those net yards,' McHugh said.

Allen would love to double as a safety, because he likes to hit people. That idea doesn't fly with the coaches, because they are protective of him not only because he's the only kicker but because he is a good one.

'He's upset that he doesn't get to play, but you just want to say, 'Let's keep our bird in hand and not go for the two in the bush,'' McHugh said.

Allen has played soccer most of his life, though he doesn't consider himself a great soccer player, and that has helped him catch on as a kicker. That and his genetically large thighs. In the weight room, Allen does 35 or 40 pounds on the leg curl to get an extra burst on his kicking leg, and he challenges himself once he gets to the practice field.

His longest field goal in practice has been 57 yards.

In game situations, Allen tries to stay as calm as possible before he kicks. Part of his calm comes from the line in front of him, and he always has complete faith.

'I get nervous,' Allen said. 'I feel it in my stomach, but then I just think, 'I do this all the time in practice' and then I smile before I kick. I always smile before I kick.'

One day, Allen hopes to earn a kicking scholarship to his dream school: the University of Florida. He used to only want to be a professional baseball player and earn a scholarship through baseball. That was until he realized he was getting pretty good at kicking.

His backup plan is to be a veterinarian, because he loves animals, including the two cats he and his mother Debbie have.

'I can't even kill a bug,' Allen said.

In a household of just him and his mother, Allen is always trying to help because he understands how hard life can be for a single mom.

'Especially because I eat so much,' Allen said. 'I'm a growing boy.'

In the summer, he had a part-time job at a bakery and gave most of what he earned to his mother, and the rest he used to hang out with his friends.

A movie junkie, one of his weekly rituals is movie night with his mom.

'My mom and I are really close,' Allen said. 'It's just the two of us.'

Of course, his mom is in attendance for all of his games, and his grandmother Suzanne drives in from Gainesville every Friday to watch.

And he's not without his supporters outside of the family.

At a recent game, his friends in the stands challenged him to get a touchback, and he responded with three on three attempts.

He has seven touchbacks this season, his longest was 60 yards, and averages 35.95 yards per punt.

'I feel like I help the team out,' Allen said. 'I get good punts and kicks, and that helps, but I feel like the ones who do the blocking and everything, they do most of the work.'

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