Simple math says football teams should be going for two

And it is.

As Peck explained: “Even if you’re successful 100 percent of the time kicking it, it means you only have to be successful 50 percent of the time going for two in order to break even.”

Hang on a minute, Mike. I was a journalism major in college, which meant I didn’t have to take a lot of math. So if a PAT kick is worth one point and a PAT run or pass is worth two points, then if you divide one by two, you get … OK, Coach, I’m with you. Keep going.

“And in high school football, the success rate for kicking it is more like 80 or 90 percent,” Peck said. “So we just feel we put our team in a better position going for two every time.”

Actually, I looked it up, and the success rate for Southwest Washington teams on PAT kicks this season is around 82 percent.

So a team going for two every time only needs to be successful only 41 percent of the time to break even, or basically twice in every five attempts. And that doesn’t seem that hard.

Peck’s experiment didn’t get off to a great start this season, when the Falcons were 2 of 8 (25 percent) on two-point conversion attempts in Week 1 against Parkrose.

“We had the opportunity to be more successful in that game, but we just didn’t execute,” Peck said. “Since then, we’ve been much better.”

In Weeks 2 and 3, the Falcons are 7 of 12 (58.3 percent) on two-point attempts.

Put it all together, and Prairie is 9 for 20 for the season, or 45 percent. That’s still above the 41 percent needed to be above the regional average.

But there’s another added benefit for going for two, Peck said.

“The time that we would otherwise use to practice our kicks we’re able to spend on other plays in our offense,” Peck said.

A PAT kick, or any kick, requires a lot of moving parts. It’s not just the kicker, but the holder, long snapper and blocking all working together.

The Falcons practice the kick play, just not as much as other teams.

And Peck added that the plays his team uses in two-point conversions are the same ones the Falcons use in goal-line situations or when they need to get a first down. And with the players Prairie has, getting those 3 yards better than 50 percent of time has not been hard.

That brings us to another thing the Falcons don’t do much — punt.

“We go for it on fourth down more than other teams,” he said. “When you look at the numbers, you’ll see you are in a better position to succeed by going for it on fourth down than punting.”

So it seems like the only time the Falcons put the foot to the ball this season is on kickoffs. And they’ve been doing that a lot, scoring 21 touchdowns in the first three weeks of the season.

It also appears Peck isn’t alone in his thinking.

After kicking the PAT after four of their first seven touchdowns — and one week after watching Prairie do it — Washougal went for two after its first four touchdowns on Friday against Woodland.

The Panthers converted two of those attempts.

“They are a really good offensive team with a lot of good playmakers,” Peck said of Washougal. “They should be going for two. When you look at the math, it just makes sense.”

Even to a journalism major.

Tim Martinez is the assistant sports editor/prep coordinator for The Columbian. He can be reached at 360-735-4538, tim.martinez@columbian.com or follow his Twitter handle @360TMart.