My senior year of high school football we played Weatherford for one of our biggest wins of the season. It was a close game, and our offensive drive stalled out on the opponent's 31-yard-line. My long-time friend, Hunter, was a pretty solid kicker, so coach called out the field goal unit. We rushed out onto the field to set up for a field goal as the play clock winded down. I was the holder so I was in charge of setting the ball for Hunter to kick it through the uprights. You could tell we were all nervous because a 48-yard field goal would be our longest attempt that season. The ball was snapped, and the kick was away! The ball sailed right through the uprights, but it didn't look pretty. It looked like a knuckleball with a sideways rotation. I asked Hunter how he managed to kick it that way, and he replied with, "I closed my eyes." I laughed and thought about how he always jokes to me saying that he won't ever kick my hands. We ended up winning by 3 points, so that field goal came up big in the grand scheme of things.
Author's Note:
Holding for a kicker is a fun experience. Besides the fear of them kicking your hands as they hold the football, you have to worry about catching the ball from the snapper, setting the ball correctly, and spinning the laces out. It can be pretty stressful, but you feel awesome when the kick is good. That is one of the funnier memories I have from high school football, and I am still good friends with Hunter today.
Hey Dylan,
ReplyDeleteI can't relate directly to your football story seeing as I've never played football but I can relate to the level of trust teammates must have in order to perform as one. I played soccer from the age of 5 and if a team doesn't have chemistry built from trust their chance of doing well is slim. Side note: good friends are hard to come by! I have one from high school, only one, and she is one of the last people I thought I'd stay in touch with. Keep up with the friends you made and I hope the rest of your semester is full of field goal kick moments!
Hello again Dylan. I have played some football but I mostly enjoy playing basketball. However, I do not play on a team and instead play with my siblings. Your friends comment was great, I would have been laughing so hard if I had been there and heard that. Also the way you tell the story of what happened makes the reader feel as if they were there which is impressive,
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