Ellender’s Megan Cressoine kicks her way into the records

It started out as a joke between a student and a teacher.

But Friday night, Ellender senior kicker Megan Cressoine successfully booted an extra-point attempt, becoming the first female football player in school history to score.

“It was awesome,” Cressoine said, describing her one-play appearance in the Patriots’ 43-13 loss to H.L. Bourgeois. “I just hope to get more chances to kick and score and help my team win.”

Ellender’s fans exploded in cheers as Cressoine’s kick split the uprights. Teammates slapped her helmet in approval as she returned to the sidelines.

Not bad for someone who admitted that prior to joining the team, she was not a football fan.

“Honestly, I like it, but I’ve never really stopped everything I was doing to watch a football game,” she said. “I watched it when it was on, but that’s about it.”

The 17-year-old Houma native got into the sport at the prodding of her social studies teacher, John Haslit, who is the Patriots’ wide receivers coach.

“Coach Haslit came up to me and asked, ‘Do you want to play football and be our kicker?'” she recalled. “I was like, ‘Sure. That would be cool.’ I just thought it would be really cool to be a kicker.”

“I was clearly kidding, but she clearly wasn’t,” Haslit remembered.

Cressoine certainly had the chops to try out for the team. She has played soccer since age 7 and has been on Ellender’s soccer team since her freshman year.

She made All-District first team last season. However, as a defender playing right or middle fullback, she has only scored once or twice by her count.

And although Cressoine has played soccer with boys, this is the first boys’ team she has been on.

So, how did her family react?

“It was a little scary at first,” her mother Debbie Cressoine said. “You worry about a girl being out there with a bunch of guys. But she was really excited about it, so we let her play.”

“I was scared to death,” Megan’s father, Herbert, admitted. “But she’s tough and very competitive. She doesn’t like to be beat. That’s what makes her so good on the soccer field.”

Ellender head coach Tawaskie Anderson emphasized Cressoine is treated the same as the rest of his squad.

“Other than she gets dressed last, we treat her no differently,” he said. “She runs like the guys; she works out like the guys. The only difference is she’s just a kicker. We’re happy to have her on the team because we really needed a kicker.”

Cressoine also considered kicking off for Ellender, but abandoned the idea after considering the possibility of getting tackled.

Under the guidance of kickers coach Gus Brown, Cressoine’s range has improved to 35 to 40 yards. Anderson said this is the most confident he has been in a kicker in several years.

“Obviously, we would like to score touchdowns. But if we’re in her range, I won’t hesitate to call her number,” he said.

Cressoine got her first taste of kicking against a live rush at the Jamboree Aug. 28 against the Terrebonne Tigers. She made an extra point as Ellender fans chanted her name in unison.

The instant stardom, however, hasn’t been an issue for the senior.

“She’s doing good with all the attention she’s getting,” her mother said. “We’re not shocked. We figured people would want to talk with her since she’s the first girl player for Ellender.”

Like nearly everybody else in Terrebonne Parish, Cressoine and her family – which includes sisters Emily, 11, and Skyler, 7 – has had to deal with the impact of hurricanes Gustav and Ike.

“Our home was flooded, so we had to move in with some relatives in Broadmoor,” she said.

The temporary living arrangements have not diverted her focus from helping her team win.

Her record kick came at the 2:35 mark in the second quarter of Friday’s game. Ellender would score again midway through the fourth quarter, but Anderson decided to go for two points instead of sending Cressoine out for the point-after attempt.

No matter how much attention Cressoine attracts for playing football, soccer is her first love. She is quick to admit this is a rare experience in which she felt she could do well. So far, she is perfect.

No matter what accomplishes on the soccer field, it probably won’t compare to that one moment Friday night.

“It was crazy,” she said. “It was a lot different from soccer, but I got it through. So I was like, ‘Yes!'”

Megan Cressoine, the first female football player for Ellender Memorial High School, practices her form before her debut against H.L. Bourgeois last Friday. * Photo by KEYON K. JEFF