PREP FOOTBALL: 2 GIRLS SCORE IN ONE GAME
Stop us if you’ve heard this one before. Preferably, you’re encouraged to tell us if you’ve heard this one before:
Dueling female placekickers at a high school varsity football game? And both of them scoring in the same game?
If there is an existing state or national list that meets this criteria, it’s probably not extensive. If there isn’t a list, then meet seniors Myriah Calder of Farmington’s Piedra Vista High School and Andrea Regino of Albuquerque’s Highland High School, who carved out a fascinating piece of history for themselves when both scored points in the District 1-5A
contest last Friday in Farmington between the Panthers and the Hornets.
Regino booted a third-quarter PAT, or point after touchdown, for Highland, the first point of her football playing career.
Calder scored 11 points in Piedra Vista’s 41-7 victory — five first-half PATs and a pair of second-half field goals.
“It was amazing,” said Calder, who was recognized by a local radio station as the player of the game for the Panthers, which she said was a thrill. “I’m just thankful that her team is accepting her and my team is accepting me.”
For Regino, the kick was a nice comeback. She had tried a PAT the previous week against Farmington, but a Scorpions player barreled into her on the attempt.
“I had the wind knocked out of me,” she said. “(The next day), I was just sore everywhere.”
She had never been hit like that before in her life. But she got another chance Friday. And split the uprights. “It was a roller coaster of emotions,” Regino said. “The thought of missing it ran real quick through my head, but my idea was just to kick it and if I miss, I miss.”
It was unknown if Calder and Regino are the first duo to achieve this rare feat of the feet, either in New Mexico or on a national level. When contacted Monday, both the New Mexico Activities Association and the National Federation of State High School Associations said they were not aware of a previous occurrence.
There have been numerous girls in New Mexico who have scored in a varsity game. And Katie Hnida once made headlines at the University of New Mexico as the first woman to score a point in a Division I game early in the 2003 season.
The stories of how Regino and Calder came to kick are quite
similar.
The coaches for Piedra Vista (Jared Howell) and Highand (Phil Lovato) were looking for a kicker. Both ventured first to their schools’ boys soccer program — which football coaches frequently do — looking for help.
But there were either no takers or no applicants who could fill the void.
“Well,” Lovato said, “we’ve had some injuries, and so we’ve lost some kickers.”
The second option? Ask the girls soccer team.
There were plenty of takers on both campuses.
“All the girls wanted to do it,” Lovato said.
“We didn’t think it was real,” Regino said. “I thought it was a
joke, because there’s no way football players would want girls soccer players (on their team).”
Actually, Lovato’s expedition produced two female kickers, both of them captains from the soccer team whose season ended just last week.
Regino handles the PATs, while America Aguirre kicks off. Which means last Friday, the Hornets had kicks on consecutive plays from different girls. And that might be another New Mexico/ national first.
“It’s the best feeling. We’re going through the same mindset at the same time,” Regino said of her relationship with Aguirre. Regino first appeared in uniform for Highland three weeks ago against Albuquerque High School. Even more astonishing, for a short time she was juggling three fall sports: football, cross country and soccer.
“I like the idea that (football) is not just a man’s game anymore,” Regino said. Nevertheless, this addition to her already hectic schedule was unexpected. “I never would have thought of myself as a football player.”
And, the 5-foot-5, 126-pound Regino knew nothing about the sport. She learned, for example, that football pads are heavy.
“I went to go watch them on the field, and I asked about a thousand questions,” she said with a laugh. “I was confused.”
Piedra Vista had an open audition about a month ago, after a tough 7-6 loss to Kirtland Central High School in which a missed PAT was the difference. The boys soccer program produced no kicking candidates, so the girls saved the day.
“Three girls came up. They were all better than the boys,” Howell said. “(Myriah) had the least soccer commitment, so we went with her.”
Calder said she began kicking in the Panthers’ game against Albuquerque High on Oct. 5. And,
unlike Regino, putting on pads fulfilled a dream.
“I’ve always watched football. I watched with my dad,” Calder said. “I’m like, ‘Dad, I want to play football so bad.’ So when this came up, it was like, ‘Wow, what a perfect opportunity.’”
The 5-5, 135-pound Calder had kicked a football before, she said, but only recreationally when her family had the occasional weekend field-goal kicking competition.
“I love it,” Calder said of being on the Piedra Vista football roster. “The coaches have accepted me, the team, all of them have accepted me and they’ve been nothing but respectful and kind. And they’re some of my best friends now. I wish I would have played sooner.”
Her two field goals against Highland were her first two of the season.
“It’s funny,” Howell said. “It’s kind of a cool story in that her dad loves football and she has a brother, but the younger brother has no interest in football at all. She’s actually her dad’s football buddy. She was like, ‘Heck, yeah, I want to kick.’ And she’s loving the whole experience.”
Regino and Calder did not get a chance to speak to each other on Friday, however. Regino said she didn’t know about Calder. Calder did know about Regino.
“I was rooting for her, even though she wasn’t on my team,” Calder said. She will get a chance to kick in the playoffs for Piedra Vista next month.
Regino this week will balance running — her district cross country meet is Friday — with kicking. The Hornets’ football season finale is Saturday afternoon at Milne Stadium against Gallup’s Miyamura High School.
“I’m gonna have to find a middle ground,” she said. “It’s wild. It’s been a crazy trip.”
And a journey that perhaps has never before been made.