DELAWARE – Ryan Montgomery had no qualms about sending his kicker out for a 54-yard field goal attempt during the Delaware Hayes football team’s game at Big Walnut on Sept. 11.
Chase Sims has shown the ability to kick long distances.
When the senior got out there, he went through the same routine he always does: He checked the yardage between the spot of the ball and tee to make sure the snap was the correct distance.
He lined up the kick, checked to see if his holder was ready. Sims took a deep breath, widening his arms to make sure his chest was up. Then he nodded to signal he was ready.
Sims did everything he always does. But this kick was blocked by Cole Hysell, whose Golden Eagles went on to win 46-0. Delaware fell to 2-2 overall and 0-1 in OCC-Capital Division play.
“We just didn’t block it right,” Montgomery said.
It was Sims’ first miss of the season after making his first three, including a 49-yarder against Thomas Worthington in Week 3, a career long.
Sims is also 8-for-8 on extra points. He’s got seven touchbacks in 14 kickoff attempts and is averaging 42.9 yards per punt, with six of his 20 attempts ending up inside the opponent’s 20.
Hayes v. Buckeye Valley during Week 1. Photos by Hayden Gray. Story continues below.
“Chase has such a unique talent that really catches the eye of a lot of college coaches,” Montgomery said. “He’s really good and it’s just a different weapon to have. It changes the game. We want to kick off to start the game because we know the other team’s going to start at the 20.
“It alleviates some of the stress on special teams for you when you have a kid that can do that. It also puts pressure on the other team.”
The mental part of being a kicker is sometimes more difficult than the physical.
“Your one shot out there is magnified compared to other positions,” said wide receivers and special teams coach Anthony Sanfillipo, who was a kicker at Ohio Wesleyan. “When you don’t do the right thing, it’s really hard to mentally reset and believe in yourself and be confident.”
Sims is also a starting safety, something that allows him to mentally move on when from a bad kick.
“I feel like if I don’t have the best kick or punt or put the team in the best situation, I can immediately go make up for it,” said Sims, who has 25 tackles and a fumble recovery.
“I can impact the game right away and then maybe make up for a mistake or something that didn’t go as well,” he said. “It occupies my mind, keeping me busy. I can’t let it affect me because I have other things going on.”
Sims got into football relatively late. He grew up playing soccer but wasn’t having much fun with it anymore. Then he remembered Kyle Klumpp played soccer and kicked at Delaware before graduating in 2020.
And he knew Chaz Sakala, a 2025 graduate, was the Pacers’ kicker when Sims joined the team as a sophomore. Sakala also played soccer.
“I had a hard time transitioning to high school soccer,” Sims said. “Seeing the football program – I just wanted to be a part of it.
“I think high school football is one of the coolest things,” he said. “The community cares so much about it. It’s the tradition and there’s so much history to it. (Plus), I had a lot of friends on the team, and I really liked the coaches.”
So, he called up coach Montgomery and asked if he could join the team as a kicker.
Sanfillipo, who is also the Pacers’ head boys lacrosse coach, could tell right away that Sims had a knack for kicking.
“I just knew that he was going to be successful because he was so coachable,” Sanfillippo said. “At first, we took it like a soccer ball and talked about (the differences). We cleaned up some of the techniques and things. Almost right after we did that, I think he kicked a 45-yarder.”
Sims got to work in the weight room and started attending kicking clinics. He’s attended specialist camps at Connecticut, James Madison, Notre Dame, Purdue, Western Michigan and Youngstown State among others.
He’s got offers from Division II Walsh as well as Division III Capital, Ohio Northern and Otterbein.
And he’s beginning to garner some interest from Division I schools, with a visit scheduled at Western Michigan later this season.
The current climate of college sports makes it even more difficult for specialists like Sims.
“(Coaches) want to make sure that they understand the current situation of their kickers,” Sims said. “The way eligibility keeps changing (and) with the (transfer) portal, it’s really hard to know.
“Other positions, you might have six to 10 guys that can move around,” he said. “For specialists, most of the time, they might have only two spots for every position. So, that makes it tough.”
Delaware continues OCC-Capital play at home against Westerville North on Sept. 18.
The Pacers are led by junior quarterback Simon Lash (34 of 61, 512 yards, four touchdowns, one interception), freshman running back Andrew Oldaker (58 carries, 256 yards, one touchdown) and freshman wide receiver Dominic Kenney (eight catches, 188 yards, one touchdown).
Defensively, junior linebacker Bryce Decaro has 31 tackles, including eight tackles-for-loss to lead the way.
“Overall, it’s been a pretty positive start,” Sims said. “Even from the losses, we’ve been able to learn a lot and grow. We’re looking to bounce back this Friday against Westerville North.”
