Owatonna Grad up for College Kicking Award

Owatonna High School graduate and freshman place kicker for Concordia-St. Paul (CSP) is up for a college football kicking award. Sam Henson is one of ten kickers named to the Fred Mitchell Award Watch List, according to the CSP Golden Bears website. The award recognizes a players success on the football field and his community service off the field.

Henson is 5-for-7 on field goals this season for the Division II Golden Bears. His season long is 48 yards, coming in the season opener against Winona State. He is 12-for-12 on PAT's and has six touchbacks while also handling kickoffs.

The news release indicates Henson has volunteered as a youth soccer coach in Owatonna while also helping the the Huskies youth football camp. He has participated in mission trips, clean-up events and Feed My Starving Children, among other service projects.

Henson is one of three freshmen and three Division II kickers up for the national honor. "The award recognizes the most outstanding placekicker in small college football, spanning the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), NCAA Division II, Division III, NAIA and NJCAA levels, approximately 750 football programs and thei respective placekickers," states the news release.

Henson, a 2020 OHS graduate, was a Big Southeast All-District Honorable Mention his senior year for the 2019 section champions. At the time, OHS coach Jeff Williams said, "Sam became one of the most accurate placekickers in school history and his ability to kick the ball deep gave our team a considerable advantage. He was instrumental in helping our team win the field position battle and make the opposition go 80 yards against our defense."

His younger brother Drew is having a fantastic season currently for the Huskies, connecting on 5-of-6 field goal tries with a 40-yarder. He is 20-for-21 on PATs. Like his brother, Drew also played soccer. Drew actually beat Sam during a summer kicking camp according to a family member.

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