Melissa Dantic was thrilled when she witnessed her 31-yard field goal attempt sail through the uprights.
“I screamed and jumped up and down and celebrated with the guys for a bit,” said Dantic, a junior kicker for the Labette County Grizzlies. “I even bumped shoulders with the coaches when I got to the sidelines.”
But Dantic’s excitement wasn’t because her 31-yarder is believed to be a school record or even because she is one of only a few females to make a field goal in state history.
For Dantic, it was more about the personal achievement of making her first field goal during a game.
“I’m totally thrilled that I broke the school record, and I hope to do so again one of these days because I know I can kick it farther than that,” Dantic said. “But for me, it was that I finally got over my jitters and made one.”
Dantic was 1-for-1 on extra-point attempts and 1-for-2 on field goals during the Grizzlies’ 41-10 loss to Independence on Friday night in Altamont.
As a sophomore, Dantic was 8-for-10 on extra points and missed two or three field-goal attempts.
“Her physical strength has improved, and she’s really worked hard,” Labette County coach Jesse Ybarra said.
A long-time club soccer player from Owasso, Okla., Dantic started attending Labette County schools as a freshman.
Midway through her freshman season, Ybarra approached her to see if she’d consider kicking for the football team.
“I asked her during winter conditioning workouts if she’d consider being a placekicker for us next year,” Ybarra said. “After she got over the fact she thought I was joking, she started coming to our winter workouts and conditioning.”
Without a soccer team at Labette County, Dantic was excited about having the opportunity to show her skills.
However, there was some hesitancy from Melissa and her parents, Jason and Becky Dantic.
“I had all summer to think about it,” she said. “I was very nervous. I didn’t know what was going to be standing behind those doors when I walked through them. I was very nervous, and I almost didn’t do it. But my parents convinced me, and I kind of convinced myself. I’m glad I did.”
She said it didn’t take too long to fit in with her teammates.
“You’re a little leery at first,” Dantic said. “It took a little while to get used to the idea. But they always treated me like they treated any of the other guys on the team. I was never treated differently. This year, I really feel like they are my brothers now. They truly are. We’re one big family, and that’s an awesome feeling.”
It helps that she has served as a valuable asset to the team.
Ybarra said Dantic’s range is about 40 yards or so.
“When we talk about sending her out for a field goal, it’s not one of those deals where we’re rolling the dice and she might make something happen,” Ybarra said. “We’re pretty confident that if we get a good snap and a good hold, she’s probably going to strike it well.”
“If we stall out somewhere close, we feel pretty confident that we can at least put some points on the board and come away with something on the drive. In high school football, that’s a rarity almost.”
Dantic’s field goal before halftime cut Independence’s lead to 21-3. Ybarra, who has been at Labette County since 1981, said he believes the mark of 31 yards is a school record. Rossville's Alyssa Howard and Topeka High's Anne Shafer each made field goals during the 2005 season.
However, Ybarra said he expects the junior kicker to have even more success in the future.
“It’s so exciting, because she’s only going to get better,” Ybarra said.
Labette County travels to face Osawatomie on Friday.
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