MILFORD — When Nick Araujo was in youth soccer for Milford as a seventh grader, the now-senior kicked his first discipline aim in an organized recreation. It got here towards Mansfield, and Milford reached the 25-yard line, from which the coach had the boldness to kick with Araujo.
“Believe it or not, it just sailed through,” mentioned Araujo, who added, “and had a good amount of leg, too.”
Since coming to the highschool, Araujo has been the group’s kicker since his freshman yr. But that’s solely the start of his contributions to the Scarlet Hawks. He has began at linebacker since his sophomore yr. Last yr, he was the second working again to Romeo Holland. And now Araujo begins at working again, strongside linebacker, kicker, and punter.
But extra than simply the sum of his positions, Araujo represents an instance of the ascent of Milford soccer. In some ways, he’s the quintessential Scarlet Hawks soccer participant: large, robust, hard-nosed, and good.
“You give me a team full of Nick Araujos and I’d be a very happy coach, and probably win a lot of football games, for sure,” Milford coach Dale Olson mentioned. “I know they tease him that Nick should have his hand on the ground playing offensive guard. I think in a lot of programs, Nick probably would as a 6-foot, 230-pound guy. Here, we’re just blessed that we can use him the way we use him. He’s a talented kid.”
And Araujo has confirmed off that expertise in a myriad of the way already this season. A captain, he has carried the ball 12 instances for 219 yards and two touchdowns, and kicked discipline targets of 45, 41, and 26 yards. He doesn’t seem like your typical kicker, however he will get the job completed.
“I think a lot of people are pretty surprised (when they see me),” Araujo mentioned. “You look at other teams, all of the kickers are (180 pounds). They’re not too big, and they’re only kickers. When you look at me, I’m just a pretty big dude out there kicking the ball.”
Over this previous summer time, Araujo received a kicking competitors at a University of Alabama camp.
“The competition was unreal down there,” Araujo mentioned. “Kids from everywhere were flying in. I was talking to people that flew in from New York, some close to here. When I finally kicked that 54-yard field goal (to win it), it was just a relief. I was filled with excitement.”
And whereas he says he enjoys kicking essentially the most, Araujo excels on offense and protection, too. Olson mentioned groups attempt the identical technique when he’s carrying the ball.
“They try to tackle him low,” Olson mentioned. “He’s thick in his lower half. Nick made a conscious effort this offseason to trim up, get rid of a little of the baby fat. He actually increased his speed. It shocked me, when we scrimmaged Springfield Central, he took off on a 50-yard run, and there was nobody catching him. To see that, against Springfield Central, with the speed that was on the field … Listen, get a 230-pound back at the second and third level, there’s not too many kids that want to tackle that when he’s at full speed.”
Araujo has each particular person and group targets he desires to perform this yr. Milford made the Final Four in D2 the final two years, however has not made it to Gillette. This yr, the Scarlet Hawks have an opportunity to make some noise in D3.
“Our team goals are to get over that final hump,” Araujo mentioned. “For the last two years, we’ve only made it to the Final Four. We fell short. So we’re trying to get over that hump. My personal goal is to kick in college, and try to rush for over 1,000 yards this year.”
NAME: Nick Araujo
SCHOOL: Milford
AGE: 18
HEIGHT/WEIGHT: 6-0, 220
POSITION: Kicker, working again, linebacker
NICKNAME: Kicker
FAMILY: (Father, mom, brothers and sisters) Robert (dad), Maureen (mother), Abby, Anna, Jillian (sisters)
ACCOMPLISHMENTS: Rookie of the yr sophomore yr
FAVORITE PERSONAL MOMENT IN SPORTS: Longest discipline aim 52 yards towards Attleboro final yr
FAVORITE COURSE IN SCHOOL: Spanish
LEAST FAVORITE COURSE IN SCHOOL: Math
FAVORITE PIGOUT FOOD: Cheeseburger
FAVORITE TV SHOW: All American (Netflix)
FAVORITE MOVIE: Ted
FAVORITE MUSICIAN: Don’t have one, simply hip hop
FAVORITE VIDEO GAME: Madden
FAVORITE SMARTPHONE APP: Snapchat or Twitter
FAVORITE TWITTER ACCOUNT TO FOLLOW: @AdamKurkjian
FAVORITE PRO TEAM: Patriots
FAVORITE ATHLETE: Justin Tucker
HOW DO YOU PREPARE FOR A GAME: Eat, then Power Nap, sit and calm down, don’t hearken to music
IF YOU COULD BE SOMEONE ELSE FOR A DAY, WHO WOULD IT BE: The Rock
CAREER AMBITIONS: Law enforcement or legal justice
