In football, your kicker can be the hero or the goat.

Imagine being called upon to boot a long field goal to put your team ahead in the game’s waning moments.

Now, imagine that goalpost is only nine feet wide. That’s what faces Carlos Ojeda, who grew up rooting for the Miami Dolphins and Miami Hurricanes and today is the kicker for the New Mexico Wildcats.

“We were playing in Campbellsville, Ky. We were down by three with nine seconds left and I was out to kick about a 35-yard field goal; made it.

“Earlier I had hit a 46-yard field goal, tying the game at halftime,” he recalled. “We went on to play overtime and I hit the wining point, 27-26, and that was our first division game of the year.”

On the flip side of the coin, the Miami, Fla., native said, came when he was in high school.

“It was my first game ever in high school, seeing my friends in the stands and the cheerleaders,” he said. “I’m warming up, kicking into the net before the game and I was about to get on the field and I’m kicking hard. I swing my leg one time and my left leg comes right from under me — I land flat on my back in front of the whole dance team and students.

“It was pretty embarrassing.”

Ojeda, 25, said the Wildcats’ other kicking hopeful left camp a week or two ago, so he should be the go-to guy for coach Floyd Johnson when the team opens its inaugural season March 30 in Arizona.

Ojeda had never been to New Mexico before he came here seeking a job with the new American Indoor Football Association team, which will play its seven home games at Santa Ana Star Center.

“Never been (here), never heard anything from it. I like it though; it’s something I could get used to,” he said.

Ojeda said he’s been working hard on kicking from placement, drop-kicking — drop-kick field goals are worth four points and give a kicker an extra blocker — and trying to stay tough and strong because when he misses a field goal attempt, the ball is live as it bounces off the netting behind the end zone and he may be called upon to make a tackle.

“I try to stay in the gym so if I do have to make a tackle, I can do that. I made a couple,” he said. “You never want your kicker to tackle anyone. If it was up to me, the guys would take care of it up front.”

Ojeda, who spent last season kicking for two teams, the Alaska Wild of the Intense Football League, and then the Ohio Valley Greyhounds in the United Indoor Football League.

It was hard to match his college stats; Ojeda was 43 of 43 on PATs.

He’s also had a workout with the Las Vegas Gladiators in the Arena Football League.

“I did well, but they thought I should go and get some more experience in the indoor game,” he said. “It’s fun.”

That intangible factor can be important for a team’s success, he said.

“Everyone’s real close, everyone gets along,” he said of his teammates on the Wildcats. “Everyone’s from different places. On other teams, you have your little cliques. … This one, I was surprised. Everyone gets along, there’s a lot of camaraderie, everyone jokes around, so it’s a real unit out here, so that’s something you need.”

He doesn’t think he’ll take much abuse from the other ‘Cats or coaching staff if he costs them a game.

“In all honesty, I think should make the kicks, so I’m going to be harder on myself than anyone else on the team,” he said. “If I miss and the game’s on the line, it’s almost like I deserve (to be treated poorly).

“It’s tough,” he said. “It takes a lot of accuracy, and a lot of hard work in the off-season, so that’s what I’ve been doing.”

Like a lot of football kickers, he originally played the original futbol.

“I got to high school and thought I’d give kicking a shot; I took a real liking to it,” he said.

In college n he played at Central Florida and Webber International University -- Ojeda was 43 of 43 on extra-point attempts; at Webberville, he was seven of eight kicking field goals.

“You Tube” video clips show a 47-yard field goal, squib kicks and other feats of Ojeda’s feet.

He doesn’t lack for confidence.

“As far as distance, anywhere on the field is a scoring opportunity, I feel,” he said.