Kicking An Extra Point

KICKING AN EXTRA POINT rarely excites the crowd. But in 2001, Jacksonville State’s backup kicker drew a standing ovation.

Second-year football coach Jack Crowe sought a reserve kicker and some extra attention for his Jacksonville, Alabama, team that moved from Division II to Division I-AA. After hearing from one of his assistant coaches about Ashley Martin, a midfielder on the women’s soccer team, he invited her to spring practice. She earned her position on the football squad by connecting on 20 of 22 extra point attempts against a full-scale rush.

Martin learned the basics of football before coming to Jacksonville State. She kicked for Georgia’s East Coweta High, where she was also voted homecoming queen.

In the Gamecocks’ first game against Cumberland University, Crowe sent in the 20-year-old psychology major following Jacksonville State’s second touchdown. With her ponytail hanging out of her red helmet, Ashley swung her right leg and sent the ball through the uprights. The crowd of 11,312 cheered, and her mother, Stacy, received high fives from more than 30 family members and friends.

Ashley booted two more extra points in the 72–10 victory, and Crowe awarded his kicker the game ball. The following morning the first female football player to score in a Division I-AA game flew to New York and appeared on Good Morning America.

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POINT The Gamecocks won, but Ashley got the glory because she achieved something no other woman had accomplished. She scored in an NCAA Division I-AA football game. She proved that her gender could contribute to a gridiron victory.

In the Bible, another woman proved herself. God chose Deborah to lead Israel. King Jabin of Canaan cruelly ruled God’s people for 20 years. The Lord told Deborah to prepare Barak to lead the Israelites against Jabin’s General Sisera. When Barak hesitated and would go only if Deborah went too, she warned him that he wouldn’t receive the glory. A woman would. Nevertheless, he insisted, and God did as he said.

GOAL! Come up with some first-time accomplishments by women. You may want to check out the Internet or go to the library. Praise God that he uses both males and females in his work.