Ten touchdowns combined were scored between North Pike and Franklin County Friday night, but the game came down to special teams. Sophomore Trent Coleman, in his first season as the No. 1 kicker for North Pike, answered the call with a 27-yard field goal to give the Jaguars a 38-35 home win in double overtime.
Coleman was also 5-5 with PATs and his performance earned him the Enterprise-Journal Player of the Week.
“Without my holder and my snapper, I really couldn’t do anything by myself,” Coleman said. “Thanks to my offense, my defense. They’re the ones who got the touchdowns for me. It’s pretty much just stay focused. You don’t want to get too nervous. Just get the job done. Do it for your team.”
Conner Travis is the holder and Jack Kelly is the snapper.
“He had a good night,” North Pike head coach Chris Smith said. “He was 5-5 at extra points. He made the big field goal in overtime to win the game. That’s his job. That’s what we ask him to do. He did a good job with it. You’ve got to give credit up front with blocking.
“You’ve also got to give credit to Jack Kelly with the snapping and Conner Travis with the hold. We don’t get the snap, we don’t get the hold, we don’t get it to the kicker.”
It was Coleman’s first field goal attempt for the Jaguars (2-1) and one he will not soon forget.
“It felt great,” Coleman said. “I’m not going to lie. I loved it when the team came and jumped on me, but without my team, none of it would be possible.
“It means a lot. I was doing my job. That’s what I’m here to do is kick, try to do the best that I can every day.”
Coleman said the a key to handling the pressure was maintaining concentration.
“I was kind of nervous because the snap could be bad, the hold could be bad or something could go wrong, but I just try to stay focused for it,” Coleman said.
Coleman has been a kicker since he was in seventh grade and first learned the skill from playing soccer.
“I love to play soccer, so I have an advantage I could say,” Coleman said. “I like to kick. I like the pressure.”
Coleman is a left forward and midfielder in soccer. He had also played wide receiver, linebacker and cornerback in football, but stuck with being a kicker to avoid injuries that would hurt his ability to play soccer.
Coleman said his longest field goal in practice is 43 yards.
“Before high school is over, if I can make a 45-yard field goal, that would be great,” Coleman said.
Smith said Coleman has potential to keep improving.
“He’s going to continue to get better,” Smith said. “He’s working at it. I think he’s finally realized he could be pretty good at it if he practiced at it a little bit. He’s been doing that. He’s talking to some kicking coaches about some camps and stuff like that. That’s the big thing. He’s going to get stronger with age and I think he realizes it’s a job he can do and do well. We’re proud of him.”
However, Coleman’s first priority is the team.
“I would love to see our team come together and play as a family and just have a winning record, maybe get a ring,” Coleman said. “That would be great winning a state championship. That would be great for our seniors.”
Since the Jaguars practice field does not have a goal post, Coleman and Reagan Ivey, who handles kickoff duties prepare at Southwest Mississippi Community College, which is right by to the high school.
“We have a holding piece,” Coleman said. “Somebody holds the ball. Somebody will catch it for us and throw it back. Their kickers are usually over there and they help us a lot.”
Coleman said sophomore Bears kicker Reed James has helped him a great deal.
“He’s showed us some stretches and we’ve talked to him a lot about kicking,” Coleman said. “He’s obviously really experienced and he helps a lot.”
Coleman said he would like to attend a junior college and then earn a scholarship to LSU. He hopes to continue playing football and soccer. He added he wants to be a physical therapist or play professional sports.
“It’s one dream, but every dream can come true,” Coleman said.
