A big week – and a historic week – for kickers in North Carolina

Yes, Quarterbacks, running backs and receivers grab most of the headlines. And defensive players inspire us with their sheer strength and will.

But this week, kickers took center stage in a number of games involving North Carolina college football teams. Yes, those quirky kickers.

Here are some notable kicking feats (pun very much intended) to highlight as we wrap up Week 5:

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Game-winner No. 1

Appalachian State experienced heartbreak a couple of weeks ago at Wyoming. Lining up to try a field goal late in the game to increase the lead to eight, the Mountaineers instead had the kick blocked. The Cowboys scooped it up and raced the other way for what would be the winning touchdown.

This past Saturday, in the conference opener at Louisiana-Monroe, App State turned the tables on that script. Trailing by two points, Michael Hughes booted a career-long 54-yarder as time expired for a pleasing 41-40 victory.

For his efforts, Hughes earned Sun Belt Conference special teams player of the week.

Appalachian State had moved from its own 19 to the ULM 37 in less than a minute to set up the winning play.

“”I hit the same field goal in warmups from 59,” Hughes said in a story posted at AppStateSports.com (Click HERE for the full story). “The camera guy was perfect on my line. I played my line, hit the ball and game over. I knew … I immediately turned around. I forget what I did, but it was a very exciting moment — one that I’ll definitely remember. Having 500 people jump on me, I’ll never forget that.”

Hughes’ kick tied for the third longest in school history. He credits practicing kicks into the net late in the game for helping him get locked in for the winning moment.

“I usually don’t kick into the net at all, but tonight something came upon me to kick into the net,” Hughes said. “I hit a few balls into the net on the sideline, and then I just watched (quarterback) Joey (Aguilar) march the team down the field. As soon as we got into field goal range, I knew it was going to be a long one, and we practice those kicks every day in practice. I had the confidence in me that’s built up over the years.”

Hughes has made 10 field goals on the season and is averaging scoring 10 points per game.

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Game-winner No. 2

Barton saw a 14-0 halftime lead disappear against Tusculum. With the game tied 14-14 and 3:13 to go, the Bulldogs got the ball back on their own 20. A combination of clutch throws by Jaquan Lynch to Kameron Johnson, short runs from Jordan Terrell and a pass interference penalty on the Pioneers, put Barton at the Tusculum 13 with five ticks on the clock.

Enter Bear Huggins, who hadn’t attempted a field goal since making two against Chowan in the opener. The junior from Charleston, S.C., calmly knocked through a 30-yarder to lead Barton to the 17-14 win — their fourth of the season.

Huggins also had a big day punting for the Bulldogs. He averaged 43.9 yards on seven punts, with a long of 55. He put four boots inside Tusculum’s 20.

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PATs are important, too

Here’s a quirky stat from the weekend: Three kickers from North Carolina FCS teams went 7-for-7 on extra points: Western Carolina’s Richard McCollum, Davidson’s Adam Zouagui and North Carolina Central’s Adrian Olivo.

Olivo’s final PAT made the ESPN College Football Final highlight reel in the overnight hours. Central had stormed back from a 21-point deficit to force overtime against Campbell.

The Camels scored a touchdown in overtime, but kicker Caleb Dowden had his PAT attempt blocked (otherwise he would have been 7-of-7 in PATs as well – you can’t make this stuff up). Olivo booted his kick through the uprights, completing the improbable rally for the home team and sending the Eagles to 4-1 on the season.

In the process Olivo moved up to second on North Carolina Central’s all-time scoring list.

For his efforts, Davidson’s Zouagui was named the Pioneer Football League freshman of the week.

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PATs are important, too. Part 2

Johnson C. Smith spoiled Elizabeth City State’s homecoming game thanks to the familiar, but not always assured, point-after-touchdown.

The Bulls had rallied from deficits of 13-0 and 20-7. Two fourth-quarter touchdowns with successful extra points pushed JCSU to the narrow 21-20 triumph. Credit Alejandro Morillon-Garcia for booting all three of his PAT attempts to keep the Golden Bulls perfect (3-0) in conference play – the final PAT came with 2:13 on the clock.

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Historic kick

The CIAA handed out its special teams player of the week honors to a Shaw player who made just one fourth-quarter PAT in one attempt Saturday. It wasn’t to win or even tie the game against Virginia State. Shaw was behind by 20 points when the PAT happened in the final minute.

But it may have been one of the most notable kicks of the day in the conference — and in the college football landscape in North Carolina — because the play involved the first female to make an extra point in school and conference history: India Pulphus. The sophomore from Cleveland also competes on Shaw’s soccer and track teams.

To our knowledge, Pulphus is the first female kicker to boot an extra point for a North Carolina college team. We are sure she won’t be the last.

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Punters are kickers, too

Hats off to Guilford College’s Burke Nettles, who recorded a state’s best 74-yard punt on Saturday against Randolph-Macon.

Here are the top kickers and punters from around the state in Week 5, in spreadsheet form:

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Eric Lusk Publisher & Editor

Eric Lusk started NC Football News in 2023. He's an old newspaper guy with a fondness for underdogs, redemption stories and the triple-option offense. He's a proud graduate of Jesse O. Sanderson High School and UNC's School of Journalism. He's thankful for God's mercy, family and second chances.

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