Looking for a way to add some stress to a midweek special teams practice, Tyner football coach Christian Mainor told his players the amount of extra running they would do afterward would depend on whether kicker Lucas Thomas could make a 27-yard field-goal attempt Wednesday.
The freshman went 0-for-2, meaning the entire team had to run.
Friday night, though, the only extra running the Rams did was to meet the 6-foot, 290-pound Thomas on the field and celebrate after he booted a 26-yarder in overtime to upset TSSAA Class 2A’s fourth-ranked Marion County 31-28 in Jasper.
“I’m really happy for that kid,” Mainor said of Thomas, who was also 4-for-4 on extra-point attempts. “He’s a JV lineman and has been good on extra points for us this season. When we trotted him out there, I knew how big of a moment it was for a kid who has never kicked a field goal in a game before.”
The 3A Rams (4-3) carried a 28-14 lead into the fourth quarter, but Marion (5-2) rallied to force overtime and had a chance to win it in regulation before missing a 33-yard field-goal attempt in the closing seconds.