When
Keelan Anderson of
South (Cheyenne, Wyo.) booted a 61-yard field goal in a 49-9 loss to Natrona County on Sept. 22, he became the first high school player to kick a 60-yard field goal during the 2023 seson.
A week later,
Towns McGough of
Auburn (Ala.) kicked a 60-yard field goal in a 13-7 win over Ramsey and became the 106th high school player to ever kick a field goal of 60 yards or more, according to the website luckyshow.org. The website by Paul S. Luchter tracks all field goals (professional, college and high school) of 60 yards or longer.
Using Luchter's data, MaxPreps has put together a list of the longest field goals in high school football for each of the last 65 years, along with other notable long field goals in years prior to 1959. Field goals of 60 yards have become increasingly more common with a stretch of 21 seasons (1988-2009) when at least one went through the uprights.
But long field goals are nothing new. In fact, the first of 60-yards or more is believed to have been kicked in 1929 when Kelly Imhoff of Kent (Wash.) drop kicked a 62-yard field goal. No other 60-yarders appeared until 1946 when a trio of Wisconsin kickers each booted 60-yarders. During that season, the rules allowed for field goals on the kickoff if the kick went through the uprights, which were situated on the goal line at that time.
Brenton King of Mill Creek kicked a 56-yard field goal in 2016, which was tied for the longest in high school football that year. MaxPreps highlights the longest field goals from each year since 1959. (Photo: Will Fagan)
No more 60-yard field goals appeared in the newspaper archives for nearly 25 years.
In fact, 50-yard field goals by high school players were hard to come by between 1946 and the 1960s, thus our 1959 cutoff for list.
Ross Caputo of
Judge Memorial Catholic (Salt Lake City) had the next 60-yard field goal in 1970. An all-around athlete and the team's quarterback, Caputo took advantage of 35-mph wind gusts to boot his 60-yarder, using a straight-on approach.
With the advent of soccer-style kickers in the NFL like Jan Stenerud and Pete Gogolak during the 1960s, straight-on boots gave way to soccer-style kickers at the high school level during the 1970s.
Russell Wheatley of
Permian (Odessa, Texas) is believed to be the first soccer-style kicker to convert a 60-yard field goal. Going against Longview in the Class 4A semifinals in December 1975, Wheatley, who weighed 140 pounds and kicked bare-footed, launched a 62-yard kick that hit the crossbar and went over to give Permian the 10-9 win.
Wheatley's kick tied Imhoff's mark from 1929. Eric Aftholter of
Oak Park (Calif.) set the national record with a 64-yarder in 1982 and Dirk Borgognone of
Reno (Nev.) set the record that still stands today with a 68-yarder in 1985.
A number of future NFL kickers have led the nation with the longest kick, including current Cincinnati Bengals kicker Evan McPherson of
Fort Payne (Ala.) in 2017, current New York Giants kicker Graham Gano of
Tate (Cantonment, Fla.) in 2004, former Oakland Raider Sebastian Janikowski of
Seabreeze (Daytona Beach, Fla.) in 1996 and former Philadelphia Eagle kicker Tony Franklin of
Arlington Heights (Fort Worth, Texas) in 1974.
Longest field goal every year since 1959
2023 — 61,
Keelan Anderson,
South (Cheyenne, Wyo.)2022 — 61,
Rance Purser,
Greenwood (Midland, Texas)2021 — 61,
Alex McPherson,
Fort Payne (Ala.)2020 — 60,
Aidan Lehman,
Mullen (Denver)2019 — 57, Alex McPherson, Fort Payne (Ala.)
2018 — 59,
Jared Zirkel,
Tivy (Kerrville, Texas)2017 — 60,
Evan McPherson, Fort Payne (Ala.);
Blake Wilcox,
Kettle Moraine (Wales, Wis.);
Ryan Fitzgerald,
Colquitt County (Norman Park, Ga.)2016 — 56,
Brenton King,
Mill Creek (Hoschton, Ga.);
Cole Phillips,
Cairo (Ga.)2015 — 64,
Jake Verity,
Bremen (Ga.)2014 — 61,
Zach Hintze,
St. Mary's Springs (Fond du Lac, Wis.)2013 — 62,
Mitchell Carter,
Discovery Canyon (Colorado Springs, Colo.)2012 — 67,
Austin Rehkow,
Central Valley (Spokane Valley, Wash.)2011 — 64,
Austin Pacheco,
Carson (Carson City, Nev.)2010 — 59,
Austin Hardin,
Marist (Atlanta)2009 — 67,
Kip Smith,
Legacy (Broomfield, Colo.)2008 — 60,
Cody Bradley,
Parowan (Utah);
J.T. Arnold,
Crestview (Fla.)2007 — 63,
Jeff Locke,
Mountain Ridge (Glendale, Ariz.)2006 — 62,
Dustin Bolt,
Alamosa (Colo.)2005 — 64, Richard Jackson,
Riverside (Greer, S.C.)2004 — 65, Graham Gano,
Tate (Cantonment, Fla.); Steve Purviance,
Gulf (New Port Richey, Fla.)2003 — 64, Gerry McGroarty,
Bishop Hoban (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.)2002 — 65, Daniel Austin,
Mt. Zion (Ill.)2001 — 65, Luke Roberts,
Deer Creek (Edmond, Okla.)2000 — 62, Ryan Nall,
George Walton Academy (Monroe, Ga.)1999 — 67, Rusty Curry,
Duluth (Ga.)1998 — 61, Cort Moffitt,
Booker T. Washington (Tulsa, Okla.)1997 — 63, Travis Dorsch,
Bozeman (Bozeman, Mont.); Todd Sievers,
Ankeny (Iowa); Jeremy Flores,
Willard (Mo.)1996 — 60, Sebastian Janikowski,
Seabreeze (Daytona Beach, Fla.)1995 — 63, Daniel Jordan, Middleton (Charleston, S.C.)
1994 — 63, Tim Sydnes,
Putnam City West (Oklahoma City)1993 — 63, Dax Langley,
Heritage (Conyers, Ga.)1992 — 63, Matt Van Vuren,
Chicago Christian (Palos Heights, Ill.)1991 — 62, Jeff Hall,
Franklin County (Winchester, Tenn.)1990 — 63, Todd Sauerbrun,
Ward Melville (East Setauket, N.Y.)1989 — 62, Kyle Pooler,
Cactus (Glendale, Ariz.)1988 — 58, Chris Dawson,
Park View (Sterling, Va.)1987 — 67, Rossell Cowsert,
Dallas Christian (Mesquite, Texas)1986 — 59, Dominic Sandifer, Harvard (North Hollywood, Calif.)
1985 — 68, Dirk Borgognone,
Reno (Nev.)1984 — 58, Ki Tok Chu,
Glencliff (Nashville, Tenn.)1983 — 53, Johnny Clark,
Homewood (Ala.)1982 — 64, Eric Aftholter,
Oak Park (Calif.)1981 — 59, Tim Wise,
Monte Vista (Danville, Calif.)1980 — 61, Kurt Baal,
Denver Lutheran (Denver, Colo.)1979 — 56, Wendell Gladen,
Mount Horeb (Wis.)1978 — 58, Jeff Guy,
Gateway (Aurora, Colo.)1977 — 57, Jesse Garcia,
Lewisville (Texas); Bill Zivic,
Palo Verde (Tucson, Ariz.)1976 — 56, Eric Hipp,
Archbishop Riordan (San Francisco)1975 — 62, Russell Wheatley,
Permian (Odessa, Texas)1974 — 58, Tony Franklin,
Arlington Heights (Fort Worth, Texas)1973 — 54, Bill Blackman,
Kennedy Catholic (Hermitage, Pa.)1972 — 51, William Coleman,
Weaver (Hartford, Conn.) 1971 — 55, Larry Luderman,
Bryan (Ohio)1970 — 60, Ross Caputo,
Judge Memorial Catholic (Salt Lake City)1969 — 54, Doug Perdue,
Carter (Dallas, Texas)1968 — 58, Jim White,
Barstow (Calif.)1967 — 53, Bill McClard,
Norman (Okla.)1966 — 55, Ed McDonald,
Alamogordo (N.M.)1965 — 54, Skip Butler,
Gladewater (Texas)1964 — 47, Pete Jilleba,
Madison (N.J.)1963 — 50, Rob LaMielle, Holy Redeemer (Flint, Mich.)
1962 — 47, Jim Ryan,
Byrd (Shreveport, La.) 1961 — 43, Harry Ledbetter,
Breckenridge (Texas)1960 — 45, MIke Woloshak,
Jackson-Milton (North Jackson, Ohio)1959 — 58, Charley McCray,
Pinellas Park (Largo, Fla.)Other Notable Years
1948 — 58, Leonard Vandehey,
Loyal (Wis.)1946 — 60, Dick Hartman, Washington (Milwaukee); Jake Beason, Lincoln (Wisc.); Rich Anthan,
Sheboygan North (Sheboygan, Wis.)1929 — 62, Kelly Imhoff, Kent (Wash.)
1927 — 53, Johnny Brooks,
Rutherford (N.J.)1925 — 55, John Cavoski, Ironwood (N.Y.)
1924 — 55, Phil Mooney,
Loyola Academy (Wilmette, Ill.)1923 — 59, Field Phelps, Colorado Springs (Colo.)
1917 — 55, O.W. Wilcox, Mansfield (Pa.)
1906 — 58, Bill Broxton, City (Chattanooga, Tenn.)
Additions or corrections? Kevinaskeland65@gmail.com
Updated Oct. 17, 2023
