Silver Bluff's Mackey thrives under pressure
11/5/2009 11:30 PM
By NOAH FEIT
Staff writer
In the fifth overtime of a Sept. 4 game between Aiken High School and Silver Bluff High School, the Bulldogs intercepted a pass to give the ball back to the offense with a chance to win the game. Knotted in a 45-45 tie with a chance for Silver Bluff's first win over Aiken in 12 years, Bulldogs coach Al Lown didn't hesitate. He bypassed his offense, sending kicker Kyle Mackey in to attempt the game-winning field goal.
In spite of the pressure of the situation and the fact that he was playing with an ankle he sprained earlier in the game, Mackey calmly drilled the 27-yard kick through the middle of the uprights for the victory.
"It's nice to know he trusts me," the soft-spoken Mackey said of Lown's decision, more than two months after the clutch kick helped propel Silver Bluff to an 8-2 record and home-field advantage for the first two rounds of the playoffs. "He knows I'm going to do the right thing when it comes down to it to win."
Mackey has had a long time to win over his head coach's trust. The senior is a four-year letterman, kicking for the varsity team since he was a freshman. In fact, the scenario against Aiken was eerily similar to a spot Mackey was in two years ago. With time about to expire, Mackey hit another game-winning field goal for a 30-29 victory over Ninety-Six.
In spite of his success - that has resulted in several honors including being named the Aiken Standard's All-Area First-Team Kicker in 2008 - and his stature on the team, Mackey isn't an every-down player. He's a specialist. Although he spends much of practice separated from his teammates, they have faith in Mackey when the game is on the line.
"I've been here so long, they have to respect me," Mackey joked before adding, "I think they trust me, knowing the game could come down to my hands. But they probably still say I don't do anything."
While his teammates are smashing into each other under the watchful eye of much of Silver Bluff's coaching staff, Mackey is far from the action. Either by himself or with guidance from assistant coach Drew Radford, Mackey is going over the routine that's made him one of the top place kickers in Aiken County. He's also honing his skills as a punter, a position Mackey took over full-time during his sophomore season.
"He's a very hard worker," Radford said. "We're always working on steps and getting the right form. We have to stay strict on that."
"It takes a lot to get it right," Mackey added.
While Mackey said Radford will drill him on his footwork, perfecting his drops and getting his steps down, he added that he doesn't spend too much time during practice actually kicking a ball.
"We do special teams at the start of every practice. After that, I'm a ball boy when they're working on offense," Mackey said of how he stays focused.
For the time being, that focus is on winning tonight's game against Bishop England High School and advancing deep into the state playoffs. Beyond that, Mackey would like to help the soccer team in the spring before going to college, where he plans to continue playing football.
While he hasn't been offered a scholarship yet, Mackey said he's received word from some coaches that they would like to add his powerful right leg to their programs. Among the colleges Mackey is currently considering as his best options are Newberry, Furman and Charleston Southern. The do-it-all high school kicker expects to focus primarily on place kicking should he get the opportunity to play college football.
"I hope we can get him in somewhere," Radford said. "We're sending out tapes (of Mackey kicking) and will do anything we can."
Mackey hasn't decided which course of academics he'd like to pursue, however, the student who's a regular on Silver Bluff's honor roll has the grades to get into most colleges.
"I still have time to figure it out. Right now I'm not doing much besides football," Mackey said.
Even if time's running out, Mackey has shown on the gridiron he won't wilt under the pressure. Whether it's a punt with the opposing team sending 11 players to stuff the ball down his throat or a field goal attempt with the game on the line, Mackey tries to stay even keel. He's connected on 8-of-11 field goals and 41-of-44 extra points this season and hasn't had a single punt blocked.
"It's kind of difficult when you know the game is on the line and your teammates are depending on you," Mackey said of the building pressure. "When a player at another position makes a mistake, it usually doesn't cost the team the game, and a lot of the time people don't notice. As a kicker, you've got all eyes on you. You've just got to block that out. It's confidence and knowing you're going to get the job done."
Contact Noah Feit at nfeit@aikenstandard.com.
MACKEY'S SEASON STATS
Place Kicking
Opponent Date PAT Att PAT Mde PAT Pts FG Att FG Mde FG Lg FG Pts
Fox Creek 8/28 8 8 8 0 0 0 0
Aiken 9/4 7 6 6 3 2 27 6
South Aiken 9/11 3 3 3 1 1 47 3
Midland Valley 9/18 0 0 0 2 2 36 6
Strom Thurmond 9/25 2 0 0 1 0 0 0
Ridgeland 10/2 6 6 6 0 0 0 0
Wade Hampton 10/9 6 6 6 0 0 0 0
Edisto 10/16 4 4 4 2 2 42 6
Pelion 10/22 5 5 5 0 0 0 0
Barnwell 10/30 3 3 3 2 1 26 3
TOTALS 44 41 41 11 8 47 24
Punting
Opponent Date Pnt Pnt Yds Pnt/Att Pnt Lg Blk Pnt
Fox Creek 8/28 1 35.0 35.0 35 0
Aiken 9/4 5 179.0 35.8 45 0
South Aiken 9/11 2 77.0 38.5 40 0
Midland Valley 9/18 4 160.0 40.0 43 0
Strom Thurmond 9/25 6 228.0 38.0 54 0
Ridgeland 10/2 0 0.0 0.0 0 0
Wade Hampton 10/9 0 0.0 0.0 0 0
Edisto 10/16 2 61.0 30.5 44 0
Pelion 10/22 2 97.0 48.5 57 0
Barnwell 10/30 2 60.0 30.0 37 0
TOTALS 24 897.0 37.4 57 0
11/5/2009 11:30 PM
Staff writer
In the fifth overtime of a Sept. 4 game between Aiken High School and Silver Bluff High School, the Bulldogs intercepted a pass to give the ball back to the offense with a chance to win the game. Knotted in a 45-45 tie with a chance for Silver Bluff's first win over Aiken in 12 years, Bulldogs coach Al Lown didn't hesitate. He bypassed his offense, sending kicker Kyle Mackey in to attempt the game-winning field goal.
In spite of the pressure of the situation and the fact that he was playing with an ankle he sprained earlier in the game, Mackey calmly drilled the 27-yard kick through the middle of the uprights for the victory.
"It's nice to know he trusts me," the soft-spoken Mackey said of Lown's decision, more than two months after the clutch kick helped propel Silver Bluff to an 8-2 record and home-field advantage for the first two rounds of the playoffs. "He knows I'm going to do the right thing when it comes down to it to win."
Mackey has had a long time to win over his head coach's trust. The senior is a four-year letterman, kicking for the varsity team since he was a freshman. In fact, the scenario against Aiken was eerily similar to a spot Mackey was in two years ago. With time about to expire, Mackey hit another game-winning field goal for a 30-29 victory over Ninety-Six.
In spite of his success - that has resulted in several honors including being named the Aiken Standard's All-Area First-Team Kicker in 2008 - and his stature on the team, Mackey isn't an every-down player. He's a specialist. Although he spends much of practice separated from his teammates, they have faith in Mackey when the game is on the line.
"I've been here so long, they have to respect me," Mackey joked before adding, "I think they trust me, knowing the game could come down to my hands. But they probably still say I don't do anything."
While his teammates are smashing into each other under the watchful eye of much of Silver Bluff's coaching staff, Mackey is far from the action. Either by himself or with guidance from assistant coach Drew Radford, Mackey is going over the routine that's made him one of the top place kickers in Aiken County. He's also honing his skills as a punter, a position Mackey took over full-time during his sophomore season.
"He's a very hard worker," Radford said. "We're always working on steps and getting the right form. We have to stay strict on that."
"It takes a lot to get it right," Mackey added.
While Mackey said Radford will drill him on his footwork, perfecting his drops and getting his steps down, he added that he doesn't spend too much time during practice actually kicking a ball.
"We do special teams at the start of every practice. After that, I'm a ball boy when they're working on offense," Mackey said of how he stays focused.
For the time being, that focus is on winning tonight's game against Bishop England High School and advancing deep into the state playoffs. Beyond that, Mackey would like to help the soccer team in the spring before going to college, where he plans to continue playing football.
While he hasn't been offered a scholarship yet, Mackey said he's received word from some coaches that they would like to add his powerful right leg to their programs. Among the colleges Mackey is currently considering as his best options are Newberry, Furman and Charleston Southern. The do-it-all high school kicker expects to focus primarily on place kicking should he get the opportunity to play college football.
"I hope we can get him in somewhere," Radford said. "We're sending out tapes (of Mackey kicking) and will do anything we can."
Mackey hasn't decided which course of academics he'd like to pursue, however, the student who's a regular on Silver Bluff's honor roll has the grades to get into most colleges.
"I still have time to figure it out. Right now I'm not doing much besides football," Mackey said.
Even if time's running out, Mackey has shown on the gridiron he won't wilt under the pressure. Whether it's a punt with the opposing team sending 11 players to stuff the ball down his throat or a field goal attempt with the game on the line, Mackey tries to stay even keel. He's connected on 8-of-11 field goals and 41-of-44 extra points this season and hasn't had a single punt blocked.
"It's kind of difficult when you know the game is on the line and your teammates are depending on you," Mackey said of the building pressure. "When a player at another position makes a mistake, it usually doesn't cost the team the game, and a lot of the time people don't notice. As a kicker, you've got all eyes on you. You've just got to block that out. It's confidence and knowing you're going to get the job done."
Contact Noah Feit at nfeit@aikenstandard.com.
MACKEY'S SEASON STATS
Place Kicking
Opponent Date PAT Att PAT Mde PAT Pts FG Att FG Mde FG Lg FG Pts
Fox Creek 8/28 8 8 8 0 0 0 0
Aiken 9/4 7 6 6 3 2 27 6
South Aiken 9/11 3 3 3 1 1 47 3
Midland Valley 9/18 0 0 0 2 2 36 6
Strom Thurmond 9/25 2 0 0 1 0 0 0
Ridgeland 10/2 6 6 6 0 0 0 0
Wade Hampton 10/9 6 6 6 0 0 0 0
Edisto 10/16 4 4 4 2 2 42 6
Pelion 10/22 5 5 5 0 0 0 0
Barnwell 10/30 3 3 3 2 1 26 3
TOTALS 44 41 41 11 8 47 24
Punting
Opponent Date Pnt Pnt Yds Pnt/Att Pnt Lg Blk Pnt
Fox Creek 8/28 1 35.0 35.0 35 0
Aiken 9/4 5 179.0 35.8 45 0
South Aiken 9/11 2 77.0 38.5 40 0
Midland Valley 9/18 4 160.0 40.0 43 0
Strom Thurmond 9/25 6 228.0 38.0 54 0
Ridgeland 10/2 0 0.0 0.0 0 0
Wade Hampton 10/9 0 0.0 0.0 0 0
Edisto 10/16 2 61.0 30.5 44 0
Pelion 10/22 2 97.0 48.5 57 0
Barnwell 10/30 2 60.0 30.0 37 0
TOTALS 24 897.0 37.4 57 0
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