@DawsonHighSchl, Twitter
Talk about having a good month. Pretty hard to top being named Homecoming Queen one week then kicking the game-winning field goal the next. Which is exactly what happened to Claire Jeffress, a senior at Glenda Dawson High School in Pearland, Texas.
With the teams tied at 35 and 4:14 left in the game, Dawson drove from their own 28-yard line down to the to the Pearland 13-yard line setting up a fourth-and-three.
Eric Wells, the Eagles head coach, said he had no hesitation when it came to what to do next, reported the Houston Chronicle.
“Claire is something – she just doesn’t get rattled,” the Eagle head coach said. “There wasn’t even a question that she was going to kick it.
“Homecoming queen knocks it through, Dawson wins. You have to love that.”
The game winner! pic.twitter.com/8Grl3qI0Vm
— Dawson Eagles (@DawsonHighSchl) October 21, 2017
Jeffress ended up with eight point in the victory, also converting all five of her PATs.
“I just wanted to do what I’ve always done and not think of it as any big deal,” said Jeffress of her game-deciding kick. “My team had faith in me, and they were going to block for me, and the snap and the hold were going to be good, so I just had to do my job.”
Jeffress said previous experiences in clutch situations helped keep her composed for the kick. Two weeks ago, Jeffress kicked a 25-yard PAT that was the difference in a 14-13 Dawson win over George Ranch.
“That helped, and having played in the Pearland game last year helped, too,” she said. “I’ve kind of learned how to block everything out and just focus on what I do. If it’s 32 or 33 yards or less, I feel confident.”
Homecoming queen last week. Game-winning kick this week for Dawson's @Ccj_09
Eagles def. Pearland 38-35#txhsfb pic.twitter.com/BeiU4e84sq
— Houston Chronicle High School Sports (@HoustonChronHS) October 21, 2017
Yeah, no big deal. Gotta love this girl. However, it was such a big deal that even the first woman to play D-1 football, Katie Hnida, sent her congratulations.
https://twitter.com/KatieHnida/status/921818479384190976
OMG I CANT BELIEVE YOU SAW THIS!!! I am so thankful that you paved the way for me to have this opportunity! Thank you so much!! 🏈💗
— Claire Jeffress (@Ccj_09) October 21, 2017
https://twitter.com/KatieHnida/status/922139827406913536
Yeah, I’d say it was a very big deal, and so did many others…
Story of the night: Pearland Dawson beats Pearland 38-35 on Homecoming Queen @Ccj_09 (Claire Jeffress) 30-yard FG Game Winner !! WoW pic.twitter.com/Otw6GDPMQY
— Ric Renner (@TheRicRenner) October 21, 2017
https://twitter.com/emilyguenther_/status/921619229195030528
Is there anything @Ccj_09 can't do???? https://t.co/jfFl0PlPmN
— Maddie Scaffidi (@MaddieScaffidi) October 21, 2017
Nice work Claire. Just showed your game winner to my 7-year old daughter. Keep inspiring.
— Craig Kates (@The1YouTrust) October 22, 2017
AWESOME!
Homecoming queen & senior kicker Claire Jeffress drills a game-winning 30-yard field goal for Dawson (TX). (via @DawsonHighSchl) pic.twitter.com/POpBZVfg9V
— Sunday Night Football on NBC (@SNFonNBC) October 21, 2017