On the afternoon of Aug. 29, Manitou Springs senior Alexander Steger set a Manitou Springs school record by scoring eight goals as the Mustangs beat rival St. Mary’s 11-1.
But he wasn’t done kicking for the day.
As the sun trickled behind Pikes Peak, Alexander and his younger brother Sebastian hurried back to Manitou’s campus from the Grace Center so they could strap on their football pads for the second half of the team’s opener against Rye.
The older Steger kicked an extra point in the second half to help another Manitou team come away with a win.
About a month into the soccer season, Steger is near the top of the boys soccer state leaderboard in goals scored and total points. That’s in all classifications. He likes suiting up for two teams and he shines academically. His daily effort for the soccer team, football team and as a student is enough to earn honors as the Whataburger Athlete of the Week.
“It’s been huge for us as a team, but for the bigger picture in terms of him being a dual-sport athlete and how he can support the school and be a part of all of Manitou, it’s pretty special and pretty cool,” soccer coach Ben Mack said. “We’re a small school and I’ve been pushing for years that we have to allow for two-sport athletes in some cases.”
For Steger, it’s working wonders. Don’t get it wrong, he’s a soccer player first. The beautiful game is his first love, but he couldn’t ignore the pull strap on a football helmet and keep kicking and when the winter chill comes, he’ll head indoors and play basketball. It helps that head boys basketball coach Nick Nunley also runs special teams for the Mustangs and was more than willing to encourage Steger to add football to his to-do list.
In Week 1 of the football season, there probably weren’t too many kids in Colorado who were responsible for a combined nine points for two different programs.
“It was a lot of fun,” Steger said. “I love soccer and scoring eight goals against St. Mary’s was a lot of fun, especially with a win. And then getting to football and having the guys pumped that I did that before going out in the game and kicking an extra point was awesome too. The whole day was great.”
This isn’t just a gimmick for the Mustangs. Steger is a bona fide weapon for both teams. He has accounted for 16 of Manitou’s 21 goals on the year. He’s seen added attention in recent games, but thinks that’ll be beneficial to get his teammates open looks.
“It can’t just be me,” Steger said. “I have to use Gavin Kopp, Avery [Scott], Ezra [Gervais] and the guys on the outside.”
Opposing soccer teams have identified Steger as a weapon and there will likely be a time where it can happen on the football field as well. Manitou has two big wins already this year, but they’ll likely find themselves in a few close games down the road. Having a long-range weapon like Steger will certainly be beneficial in those moments.
“Having a weapon like Alexander for us, football-wise, that can kick it out of the back of the end zone or give us three points inside the 40[-yard line], that gives us the ability to win more football games than we could without him,” football coach Stu Jeck said. “That night [between St. Mary’s and Rye], he had a good night all the way around.”
