Getting a Leg Up

By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor

Around campus or on the sideline, Campell Geddes seems as laid back as can be, but make no mistake—when his No. 16 is called to the field he can be counted on to get the job done, whether it be a kickoff into the end zone to prevent a return, booming a punt high and far to give teammates time to cover it or stoically splitting the uprights on a field goal. The five-star recruit has mastered all three phases of his craft and is a big reason why Palisades High’s varsity  football team is 4-1 heading into league play.

“I prefer kicking since that’s what I want to do in college and I  like the pressure,” Geddes says. “I just try to focus and not think too much about the circumstances or the distance. You have to have a short memory, but there’s no better feeling than after you make it!”

Like many football kickers, Geddes started off playing soccer, first in AYSO and moving on to club where he was a defender and midfielder while growing up in Hancock Park. He also plays guitar and is an avid surfer who likes hanging ten at Zuma or Leo Carrillo beaches in Malibu.

“In practice I punt from 50 to 55 yards but it’s more about the hang time,” Geddes says. “I try to hit 4.0 seconds every time. I’d say  punting is harder because there are more variables, more that can go wrong. On kickoffs, I expect to  reach the end zone every time barring strong wind or a penalty.”   

He made the varsity team as a freshman at Windward School in Mar Vista and went 39-of-46 on PATs and 11-of-19 on field goals over three seasons, but when the program switched from 11-man to eight-man, Geddes and lineman Baraka Beckett transferred to Palisades—a culture shock to be sure.

“This is a completely different environment… more students and bigger classes,” adds Geddes, whose family moved to the Alphabet Streets over the summer. “I like the vibe here at Palisades.”

He booted his longest field goal—a 62-yarder—at the Army All-American Camp in South Carolina and his best as a Dolphin was a 40-yarder against Sylmar in Week 2. In Palisades’ last game he kicked the game-winning extra point and placed a punt inside the 10-yard line with two minutes left.

“He’s a weapon, the best one since I’ve been here,” Pali High Coach Tim Hyde says, a glowing compliment given the team’s recent success with All-City  kicker Ethan Erickson [in 2014] and punter Quinn Perry last fall. “He’s calm, competitive and he figures things out. He fixed his own mechanics to work with our center and holder and he even kicks from a bad angle, which allowed us to run a third-down play at South Gate before bringing him in.”