Abrams Has Had a Leg Up on Success : Shrine All-Stars: La Jolla Country Day High graduate broke placekicking records after starting in soccer.

At 5 feet 8, Eric Abrams knew his opportunities in football were limited. He could be a placekicker or the water boy.

Having developed strong legs from years of playing soccer, Abrams decided to try kicking.

It was a wise decision. The La Jolla Country Day High graduate was voted to numerous All-American teams last year and accepted a scholarship to Stanford.

Abrams, who is left-footed, set state records for extra points, 177, and most points by a kicker, 213, in three seasons. Only 17 of his 243 kickoffs were returned. Two of his 12 field goals were from 53 yards.

All of this was accomplished on a team with 18 players that competes in an eight-man league.

“A lot of people thought that attending a small school would hurt my chances for recruiting exposure,” Abrams said. “But it proved just the opposite. We were scoring so many points that I was constantly out on the field.”

La Jolla Country Day, with an enrollment of 250, finished 9-1 last season after losing in the San Diego Section eight-man championship. It had won the title in 1990.

Abrams was not the Torres’ only standout player, however. Running back Rashaan Salaam, who signed with Colorado, set section records for total yards, 4,982, and touchdowns, 105.

Abrams and Salaam were selected to play in tonight’s 41st Shrine All-Star game at Long Beach Veterans Stadium. The game, which pits the best players from Southern California against the best from Northern California, will begin at 7 p.m.

Although Salaam has decided to bypass the Shrine game, Abrams said he is looking forward to it. He hopes to break the field goal record of 52 yards set last year by the North’s Armando Avina of East Union.

A kicking career was the farthest thing from Abrams’ mind when he started high school four years ago. He preferred soccer and baseball.

Things changed when he suffered a broken left arm during a soccer game in his freshman year. He had surgery, then tried to return to the sport. He wore a special pad on his arm, but the constant contact proved painful.

He decided to give up soccer during his sophomore year and devote his attention to football, specifically kicking. He quickly earned a spot on the varsity.

For three seasons, he practiced by himself at one end of the field, while his teammates drilled at the other end.

Occasionally, he would meet with a private kicking coach, Gary Zauner, for a $100-per-hour session.

Abrams also became friends with John Carney, the San Diego Chargers’ kicker. They frequently worked out together at the Chargers’ practice facility.

“His strength for his age is excellent,” Carney said earlier this year. “He’s a much better kicker than I was at his age. He has developed his talent into a very smooth kicking style.”

In kicking an extra point at Francis Parker High during his junior season, the 160-pound Abrams put the ball through the uprights, over the stadium fence and into the street, where it struck the side of a passing car.

Last season, Abrams converted 52 of 53 extra point attempts and seven of eight field goal kicks. He was generally regarded as the top kicking prospect in the nation and Parade magazine went so far as to make him national player of the year.

The award might also have been based on Abrams’ record off the field. He graduated with a 4.32 grade-point average. And as a charitable project, he collected a donation for every extra point he made, then contributed more than $25,000 to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

La Jolla Country Day is not a high-profile football school, but Abrams attended several summer camps during his sophomore and junior years and said that by performing well, he favorably impressed college coaches.

He visited UCLA, Stanford and Michigan before deciding on the Cardinal. He said the school’s academic record and the chance to play immediately were the deciding factors.

At Stanford, Abrams, 18, is expected to battle returning kicker Aaron Mills, a junior who converted six of 15 field goal tries last season.

“I definitely expect to play right away,” Abrams said.

Shrine Notes

Tickets for tonight’s game are $8 and may be purchased at the football office at the Shrine Auditorium or at other Shrine clubs in the Southland affiliated with Al Malaikah and El Bekal temples. . . . The South team will be without two of its top selections. Quarterback Chad Davis of San Diego Mira Mesa and running back David Dotson of Valley View in Moreno Valley have dropped out because of ankle injuries. Late additions to the South roster include linebacker Sam Santana of Paramount, defensive back Justin Smith of Atascadero and quarterback Matt Koffler of Rosemead.