Jackson State uses female kicker, makes school history in NCAA football game
Jackson State head coach T.C. Taylor, in his first year in charge of the program, is full of surprises. He made school history by trotting out Leilani Armenta to handle the kickoff duties Saturday in the W.C. Gorden Classic against Bethune-Cookman.
Armenta is the first female to play in a college football game for Jackson State.
Armenta kicked a 25-yard pooch kick to the 40-yard line of Bethune-Cookman (1-2).
Jackson State (2-2) is playing its first home game of 2023, having played in Atlanta, Miami, Baton Rouge and San Marcos, Texas to start the season.
During Bethune-Cookman's first drive, JSU held and forced a punt.
Jackson State is coming off a 77-34 loss to Texas State. Special teams have been a problem for the Tigers. Against Texas State, they gave up 183 yards on six kickoffs, a 30.5-yard average. Texas State's Kole Wilson changed the momentum of the game with his 69-yard return to the JSU 25-yard line, setting up a touchdown that turned an eight-point game into a 15-pointer.
All of those returns set up touchdowns for the Bobcats, whose average starting position was their own 48-yard line.
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JSU kickers Matt Noll and Gerardo Baeza have been handling the punting and kickoff duties. Baeza was injured in the game against Texas State, and Noll was hurt in practice this week.
Anthony Frederique handled the punting duties for JSU on Saturday and punted a 39-yarder on his first attempt.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Jackson State uses female kicker, Leilani Armenta, in football game
