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The NFL record for the longest field goal made is 66 yards. On Friday night, one high school football kicker attempted to absolutely shatter than record.
Heath Huffman is in his first season as the head coach at Riverside High School in Belle, West Virginia. Huffman made himself a viral sensation on Friday night when he trotted his kicker out for a 97-yard field goal attempt just prior to the end of the half against South Charleston.
Unsurprisingly, the Riverside kicker did not have that sort of leg. Instead, the ball fell well short into the waiting arms of South Charleston’s Malcom Brown, who returned it 40 yards for a touchdown.
Play resumed with 55 seconds til the half. Riverside called all 3 timeouts.
18 seconds left, Riverside attempted a 97 yard FG. Yes. 97 yards.
SC’s Malcom Brown returned the missed FG 40 yards for a touchdown. pic.twitter.com/ME0Cqwg5RI— Joey Johnson (@joeyjohnsontm) September 28, 2024
News of the failed field goal attempt quickly went viral on Twitter and drew some hilarious reactions.
I need a 30 for 30 on this immediately. https://t.co/XMoCfEyDNW
— Adam Kramer (@KegsnEggs) September 28, 2024
Believe in yourself the way this HS coach believed in this kid trotting him out for a 97-yard FG 😤😤😤 https://t.co/ohyjiU0lMS
— Chris Vannini (@ChrisVannini) September 28, 2024
Coach forgot kicker’s previous long FG was only 96 yards https://t.co/mdDxRs27Ef
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) September 28, 2024
97-Yard High School Field Goal Attempt Had Reasonable Explanation
As it turns out, there was actually some sense to the decision. Local reporter Joey Johnson, who covered the game, attempted to explain.
“I would like to clarify what happened on that 97-yard FG attempt for the sake of people understanding why it happened,” Johnson tweeted.
“Part 1: Riverside’s first punt was a comedy of errors that lost them 15 yards and gave SC the ball on about the 10 yard line.
“Part 2: The second punt was worse and was snapped over the punters head and lost them 25 yards and gave SC the ball on about the 12 yd line.
“Part 3: The coach had no choice but to try something different. The coach/team was backed up against the wall and was simply trying to get the ball out of there. My apologies to Riverside and the deception that post created.”
Credit for trying something different. But we’re still not sure a 97-yard field goal is the best idea. As evidenced by the fact that it got returned for a 40-yard touchdown.
Now comes the twist, however.
Riverside went on to win the game against South Charleston. And it did so in convincing fashion! The Warriors blew out the Black Eagles, 56-20, to pick up their first win of the 2024 season.
So maybe coach Huffman is onto something!