Written during the 2017 Carolina Sports Journalism Camp @ UNC-Chapel Hill
By Christian Clark
The mind of a kicker. Exalted when you drill it, despised when you shank it. "You're in," yelled Coach Pridgen."What do you mean, I'm in?" said young sixteen-year-old, Harrison Larner. With his team, Wesleyan, up five touchdowns over crosstown rival, Our Lady of Mercy, it was time to give the less experienced players a chance to shine under the Friday Night Lights in Atlanta. Harrison had been given the chance to impress his team as he had been gifted kicking duties for the entire second half with his squad already in full command of the game.
It had already been a whirlwind of a night for Larner. Not only was he the second-string kicker, having being called up from his JV team, but he had already missed a 46-yard field goal earlier in the contest which had already shook his confidence. In addition, he had shanked five to six kicks during warmups, seemingly dooming his chances of seeing the field come game time. Now Harrison was called up to make a kick that he had always dreamed of making in live action since he began watching football.
Harrison had always believed that he could make it in college football since day one. Having watched Northwestern Wildcats punter, Hunter Niswander shank a punt and costing his team valuable field position, Harrison always thought that, "I can do better than that." His journey to become a clutch placekicker and become "better than that" started in high school football. He stepped into a fantastic situation with former Falcons and Giants kicker, Todd Peterson, becoming his kicking coach once he was promoted onto the varsity squad. Having graduated from the University of Georgia, it was a slam dunk for Peterson to coach a local high school team following his retirement. Learning from the best at Wesleyan, Larner had no excuse not to succeed.
Wesleyan had played about as flawlessly as one team could, placing a fifty burger on their rival. One of the counties best quarterbacks in Banks Ramsey had three touchdown passes in the opening half. The defense was no joke either, locking down the opposing offense with a impressive defensive performance for good measure. With Harrison's team undefeated, he refused to be the lone dark spot on a field full of shining stars. The seemingly meaningless kick for Wesleyan suddenly felt like the Super Bowl for Larner. The usually cool headed kicker was out of his comfort zone.
"I was terrified," he recalled. However, he did remember Coach Peterson's words to him following his disappointing first attempt in a varsity uniform. "Always make after a miss." As Harrison lined up to attempt a 46 yarder, he hoped that this kick wouldn't be his last.
The whistle blew for play to resume. Counting the kick cadence in his head, a quick jab step before the snap had seemingly done him in. "That messed up my rhythm," he explained. Even with the misstep, the show must go on. "Set, hut!" The snap from Callen Davidson to the holder, the coach's son, Zack Peterson, was perfect. It was time for Harrison's dream to become reality. It was cleat to pigskin as the ball drifted through the air.
Harrison would have to ask his teammates about the exact placement of where the ball landed. All he could remember was feeling "numb" after the kick. "I didn't want to let my team down," he explained. He happened to avoid that fallout feeling as his kick went sailing through the uprights. His teammates were right there to mob him when the ball hit the track. Jumping up and down and climbing all over him, Harrison's "meaningless" kick became the start of a new beginning. "You know you have to kick off, right?" said Coach Pridgen. As is the life of a kicker...
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