Lawrence High senior Rex Hargis, a kicker for the LHS football team and defender on the Lions soccer program, often has to balance his time between the two sports he loves.

Cleats and shin guards or a helmet and shoulder pads?

It’s a scenario that surfaces nearly every day for Lawrence High senior Rex Hargis.

Luckily, though, Hargis’ coaches – not to mention his mind and body – have allowed him to compete successfully in both soccer and football for the Lions this season.

“It’s been a lot easier than it could’ve been,” Hargis said. “The coaches have been great on both sides. They’ve really been flexible in allowing me to do both.”

Until this year, Hargis was solely a soccer player. As a ninth-grader, he started for LHS’s junior varsity and played enough minutes on varsity to earn a letter. From then on, he’s been a varsity starter, mostly as the center defender on the Lions’ last line of defense.

With his lifelong love of football firmly in place, Hargis finally got curious about football this summer when he drove by a group of LHS players at a summer workout.

A couple of days later, Hargis contacted Lions coach Dirk Wedd about joining the team.

“I’d thought about it before,” Hargis said. “And I’d always wanted to try it. I’ve always liked football – especially the NFL – and I’ve always wondered what it would be like to play.”

Wedd agreed to give Hargis a shot, but the senior-to-be had to earn his keep. First off, Wedd encouraged him to attend the remaining summer workouts. Secondly, and perhaps most important, Wedd explained how Hargis needed to show the rest of the team that being an LHS football player meant something to him.

“Those guys bust their butts for 48 minutes during a game,” Wedd said. “For a kicker, you can come on the field and in three seconds make all of that hard work disappear by missing a kick. That hasn’t been a problem for Rex, though. I think the determining factor in letting him join the team was that he didn’t miss a two-a-day this summer. But what I think is most important is that are guys are sold on him.

“We had a long talk about how he can’t just be a kicker. He has to have some ownership in the team and he has to prove to his teammates that it’s important to him. He’s done a great job.”

Hargis’ statistics hardly are sensational, but kicking stats at LHS rarely are. He has nailed nearly all of his extra points and two of the three field goals he’s attempted. The lone miss came last week in a victory over Washburn Rural when he missed from 38 yards.

“I just didn’t get ahold of it,” Hargis said.

Not bad for a part-time kicker.

See, Hargis’ stint with the football team didn’t come in place of his spot on the soccer pitch. Instead, he combined it with his love of soccer.

A typical day for Hargis takes him through seven hours of school, an hour of kicking at football practice and two to three more with the soccer team. Combine that with homework, a social life and time with his family, and you’re looking at a full day. Oh, and on weekends, he’s a waiter at Carlos O’Kelly’s.

“There’s no way I could fit that into the week, too,” he said.

But somehow he finds time for all of it.

Hargis admits that the mental part of adding another sport to his list of activities has been more difficult than the physical aspect. But having a solid rapport with several players on the football team prior to the season helped the transition.

“Physically, it’s been about what I expected,” Hargis said. “Mentally, it’s been harder because I like to think I’m just as much a part of the team as anybody. I’m still a senior, I like to win and I’ve really gotten into it.”

Sometimes, he’s been thrust right into the thick of things, as his two career tackles prove.

“The first game against Olathe North, he makes a touchdown-saving tackle on the opening kickoff,” Wedd said. “I think that really proved something. It got everyone really fired up. The bottom line is the kid hates to lose.”

Occasionally, however, that’s unavoidable. Such was the case back in September when Hargis was faced with one of the toughest choices he’s had to make – attend the LHS football game at Olathe Northwest or stay home for the LHS soccer match vs. Free State?

“That was tough,” Hargis said. “But the biggest factor was that I’ve played soccer longer and I’m a team captain.”

The LHS soccer team lost that night. The football team won.

With both seasons nearly behind him, Hargis is soaking up as much as he can. With Friday’s football game against Free State fast approaching, he can’t help but think about getting revenge for that September loss in soccer.

“I’ve done a pretty good job of keeping the sports separate, but any time we have a chance to beat Free State is great,” he said.

So what if the city showdown comes down to a last-second field goal from Hargis’ left foot?

“I’d prefer we’re up so much that any kicks I make just add to the lead,” he said. “But if I was put in that position, I’d have to make the kick.”