Junior Eddie Chipple will lead the Liberty County Panthers' special teams unit as the returning starting kicker and punter. The all-around athlete, who also plays soccer and baseball, has hit the target all summer, and football head coach Kirk Warner thinks he can count on the junior to give them extra points.
"He's been consistently kicking it from 35-40 yard out," Warner said. "That means if we get inside the 25-yard line we have a legitimate chance of getting points on the board."
Chipple is also the team's punter and Warner said his style of kicking is effective in pinning opponents back.
"We will use his soccer style kicking technique to pin them back," Warner said. "He doesn't have a strong leg but he can give us 35-40 yards on the roll out style kick. We are hoping Chipple doesn't get hurt at least long enough to find a backup."
Therein lies the Panthers weak area. The coach said he is working on finding back up players to help with the kicking and punting but realizes the skilled position is difficult to fill.
"Right now, we may
just have to go with our best athlete back there which would be JaQuel Roberts or one of the DB types," Warner said.
But what the Panthers lack in kickers they make up for on the return team.
"That is going to be one of our strong suits," Warner said. "We got Roderick (Jones) of course. We have Mike Rodriguez, Artavious Frost, who returned a kick against Burke County last season. Demetrius Stinson has shown improvement so we have about four or five guys. I think we are pretty strong in that area."
"He's been consistently kicking it from 35-40 yard out," Warner said. "That means if we get inside the 25-yard line we have a legitimate chance of getting points on the board."
Chipple is also the team's punter and Warner said his style of kicking is effective in pinning opponents back.
"We will use his soccer style kicking technique to pin them back," Warner said. "He doesn't have a strong leg but he can give us 35-40 yards on the roll out style kick. We are hoping Chipple doesn't get hurt at least long enough to find a backup."
Therein lies the Panthers weak area. The coach said he is working on finding back up players to help with the kicking and punting but realizes the skilled position is difficult to fill.
"Right now, we may
just have to go with our best athlete back there which would be JaQuel Roberts or one of the DB types," Warner said.
But what the Panthers lack in kickers they make up for on the return team.
"That is going to be one of our strong suits," Warner said. "We got Roderick (Jones) of course. We have Mike Rodriguez, Artavious Frost, who returned a kick against Burke County last season. Demetrius Stinson has shown improvement so we have about four or five guys. I think we are pretty strong in that area."