There were 11 seconds remaining in the state quarterfinals game, and the Pioneers trailed Rockwood Summit by one. The entire varsity football season came down to this one kick. But as Andrew Phillips made his way to the huddle, he had one thing on his mind: mechanics.
“Any tiny little thing could go wrong,” Phillips, senior extra point and field goal kicker, said. “Fundamentals are everything.”
Phillips said anything from the steps taken towards the football or foot placement could potentially ruin a kick. But Phillips has had plenty of chances to perfect his mechanics. In his senior season alone, Phillips has kicked 46 extra points.
However, due to a low snap, Phillips got under the football, making it a slow looping kick rather than a line drive. “Normally I don’t see the football after I kick it,” Phillips said.
“I kinda went, ‘Wait, I’m still watching this’ as it flew through the air.”
Though the kick did not have as much power on it as he would have liked, Phillips’ kick sailed through the uprights. The kick was Phillips’s fourth field goal of the season. It gave the Pioneers a 33-31 lead.
With the season on the line, Phillips said he felt little pressure from his coaches and teammates.
“I knew what I was supposed to do,” Phillips said. “It’s my job
