So, about those situations. The first was in October 2011, during Elliott's first season as Lyons Township's varsity kicker. It was the school's homecoming game, against rival Oak Park and River Forest. A Saturday afternoon, sunny and clear and crisp. Lyons trailed, 14-13, with less than a minute left in regulation, and had the ball at the OPRF 35-yard line. Weinberg called two passes into the end zone, trying for the winning touchdown, because even for the best, most talented high school kicker, a 52-yard field goal is as much a Hail Mary as … well, a Hail Mary. But Weinberg had watched Elliott kick at practice. More important and more revealing was this: He had heard Elliott kick at practice. He had heard "the ball explode off his foot," Weinberg said. Now it was third-and-10, and the passes weren't working, and there were 4 seconds left in the game, and Lyons Township's record was 2-4. If the Lions lost this game, they would miss the playoffs.