Bradshaw Christian kicker Jennifer Lawson has the chance to become much more than just the best female kicker in high school history. She's on pace to challenge the California record for most extra points in a career.
Photo by Rhonda Piper
According to luckyshow.org, which compiles kicking and scoring exploits of female athletes, 50 girls have scored at least one point in a high school game this year. They include players such as Julie Constantini of West Mecklenburg (Charlotte, N.C.) and Jenni Goethe of Tecumseh (Okla.), both of whom have kicked game-winning field goals for their teams this year.
But who are the greatest female kickers to ever play high school football? Based on the research of P.S. Luchter at luckyshow.org, here is a list of the Top 10 greatest female kickers in high school football history.
1. Heidi Garrett, King (Riverside, Calif.)
Garrett holds the female record for the longest field goal with her 48-yarder in a 24-14 win over Paloma Valley (Menifee, Calif.) in 2004. She also had a 42-yarder in her career, as well as a 36, a 33, a 32 and a 31. She was 26-for-27 on PATs with three field goals in 2003, 24 of 25 on PATs with three more field goals in 2004 and 35-for-35 on PATs with three field goals in 2005. She had 112 career points with nine field goals and 58 straight extra point kicks. Garrett went on to play soccer at UC Riverside and also played in the Women's Premier Soccer League.
2. Tonya Butler, Riverdale (Ga.)
Butler became the first female to kick a field goal at any level of college football when she made a 37-yarder for West Alabama College in a 37-17 loss to Delta State in 2003. As a high school player at Riverdale, she converted 7 of 12 field goals and 64 of 65 extra points in 1998 with a long field goal of 39 yards. She is the second all-time leading female scorer in NCAA history with 87 points, including 13 field goals and 48 extra points.
3. Ashley Martin, East Coweta (Sharpsburg, Ga.)
While Katie Hnida holds the record for the first extra point kicked by a female at the NCAA FBS level, Martin is the first to kick an extra point at any Division I level, as she booted an extra point for Jacksonville State in a 72-10 win over Cumberland in 2001. Jackonsville State was a Division I-AA (now FCS) team at the time. The NCAA no longer distinguishes between I-A and I-AA. In high school, Martin made 2 of 4 field goal attempts and connected on 79 of 92 extra points.
4. Snow Brenner, High Point Central (N.C.)
Few female kickers have booted as many field goals as Brenner, who had three field goals as a freshman at High Point Central in 1994. She was named team MVP three times and finished with nine field goals her senior year. She went on to play soccer at Duke.
5. Katie Hnida, Chatfield (Littleton, Colo.)
Besides having a great career as a high school kicker at Chatfield (1999 graduate), with 4 of 5 field goal attempts and 83 of 87 career extra points, Hnida also went on to kick at the college level. There, she earned the distinction of becoming the first female to kick an extra point at the Division I-A level as the kicker for the University of New Mexico.
6. Brittany Ryan, Easton (Pa.)
The all-time leading female college kicker with 100 career points while at Division III Lebanon Valley College (2007-2010), Ryan scored 52 points in 2006 while at Easton, converting 46 of 53 extra points with two field goals.
7. Jackie Kecskes, Granada Hills (Calif.)
With 110 career points, Kecskes booted 11 field goals in her career, including seven as a senior in 2003. She also had 99 career extra points and was the first female to ever score a point in the Los Angeles City Invitational championship game.
8. Jennifer Lawson, Bradshaw Christian (Sacramento, Calif.)
Only a junior, Lawson is well on her way to becoming the most prolific extra point kicker in the state of California, male or female. Lawson had 71 extra points as a freshman at Bradshaw Christian and 66 last year. So far this season she has 21, giving her 158 for her career. With the remainder of the 2012 season and her senior season still to go, Lawson should threaten the state record of 206 extra points, according to Cal-Hi Sports, held by Gio Podesto of Central Catholic (Modesto, Calif.).
9. Angie Mickel, Sequoyah (Canton, Ga.)
Holder of the second-longest high school field goal by a female at 43 yards, Mickel holds the distinction of kicking three field goals in one game and two field goals in another. She had 48 total points for Sequoyah in 1992. Mickel has also kicked in a women's football league and a men's minor league.
10. Kassy McCarthy, Waunakee (Wis.)
One of the more accurate female kickers ever, McCarthy was 68 of 68 on extra points for Waunakee during the regular season and finished with 72 extra points on the year. She also had two field goals.
Special Mention: Luverne Wise, Escambia County (Atmore, Ala.)
Wise, nicknamed "Toad," is believed to be the first female to ever score in a high school football game, kicking six extra points during the 1939 season.
