PFC: Former soccer ’keeper Broom jumps feet-first into kicking duties with Colts

The game’s afoot for Marshal Broom . . . on an entirely different stage.

Until recently, Broom’s feet had only known a soccer ball, with the Calgary teen showing a particular talent for booming the ball downfield as a goalkeeper.

In the fall of 2010, though, Broom was introduced to a different brand of football in high school — North American gridiron style — with fantastic results. And with first-stringer Andrew Fabian (2nd year, Tilley, Alta., Brooks Composite HS) currently recuperating from a bout of mononucleosis, the Calgary Colts rookie placekicker made a dazzling junior debut on Aug. 28, chalking up 12 points in the Colts’ 30-0 Prairie Football Conference victory over the Edmonton Wildcats.

“I’ve played soccer since I was three, but I’ve always joked around with friends, saying, ‘I should go be a kicker in football,’ ” reflects Broom, 17. “I never thought I’d be kicking for real.”

The Colts (3-0), coming off their bye week, will attempt to stay unbeaten when they invade Edmonton’s Clarke Parke on Saturday, Sept. 10 for a clash with the Edmonton Huskies (0-3). Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m.

Broom first got that chance to “kick for real” last fall at Notre Dame High School, when he was invited to try out by the Pride football squad. With Broom handling punting and placekicking duties, the Pride won a Division One city championship, and got as far as provincial semifinals. And in the spring of 2011, the newcomer continued his gridiron ascendency by being named to Football Alberta’s South team for its annual Senior Bowl high school all-star game.

As a PFC rookie, Broom had no illusions about seeing the field at all this fall. Broom is an understudy to Fabian — the conference’s reigning rookie of the year, arguably the most dominant leg on the circuit, and an emergency call-up by the Calgary Stampeders for a CFL pre-season game in June.

But when Fabian broke the bad news of his illness three days before the Colts’ Aug. 28 home game, Broom was put on the spot. He delivered by making all three of his field-goal attempts, splitting the uprights from 44, 36, and 32 yards, and booted three converts.

“He had his game face on, and did everything we asked of him,” recalls Colts special-teams coach Joe Swift. “That was a monster day for your first game at this level. On top of that, his kickoffs were great — we pinned ’em inside the 10 once, the 20 twice. And even punting, he showed great composure in handling a bad snap and still getting it off.”

On the pitch, Broom has played at the highest level for age-group club soccer, winning under-14 and U-16 provincial championships with his Southwest United Premiers squad, competing twice for a national title, and playing once in the U-16 Canadian championship final. But he admits to a few butterflies snapping on that chinstrap with the Colts. “I’ve been in a lot of pressure situations in soccer. I guess you could say it was getting more or less routine,” says Broom, who’s taking classes at the University of Calgary this fall. “Against the Wildcats, I was still so new at it that I felt a lot of emotions — nervous, excited.”

Following that bye week, the Colts are hoping extra rest and recuperation will allow Fabian to answer the bell against the Huskies. But they’re also a little more comfortable knowing that they’ve got a legitimate Plan B. “We want Andrew back doing what he does best, and better than anyone else in the conference,” says Swift. “But with what Marshal did, we can sleep a little better at night.”

The Colts practise Tuesday, Sept. 6 through Thursday, Sept. 8 at Optimist Athletic Park, starting at 7 p.m., and will hold a helmets-only walkthrough at Optimist on Friday, Sept. 9, also starting at 7 p.m.