Jerry’s foot boots historic feat

Last spring after a junior high track practice, there was a football on one side of the gym near Adilee Jerry.

Coach Tony Wood asked Jerry, then an eighth grader, to toss it over to him.

Instead of picking up the football and throwing it to Wood, Jerry flicked it up with her feet only.

A soccer player since she was 4, the feat was somewhat routine for Jerry, but Wood was impressed.

The defensive coordinator was in football mode when he asked Jerry to try actually kicking a football.

“So I did and it went pretty far in the gym,” Jerry said.

The Wildcats were between football seasons, but Wood knew the team was without a kicker going into 2021.

“After that, the coaches asked if I wanted to be on the football team,” Jerry said.

Fast forward about four months to last Friday night in Perry.

Cashion’s Ben Harman found Landon LaGasse for a 24-yard touchdown strike in the second quarter.

It was their second TD hookup in what would turn out to be an epic night for both and it gave Cashion a 27-7 lead over the Maroons.

That’s when Jerry made history.

The Cashion freshman made her own history when she became the first female to ever score a point for the program as she booted through the extra-point attempt.

“I was very excited and relieved that it went in,” Jerry said. “(The team) were happy and excited for me.”

Jerry had previously missed an extra-point try in the game.

“I had stuttered before and leaned back,” she said of her approach to the ball.

She also missed one after. That “was completely my fault from unfortunately kicking the tee,” she said.

“I still keep my head up no matter what because we all make mistakes,” Jerry added.

Head coach Lynn Shackelford understands.

“It’s an entirely different feeling out there during a game when someone is running at you,” he said.

Fortunately for Cashion, the extra-point misses weren’t costly.

The Wildcats rebounded from their season-opening loss to bury the Maroons under a pile of passing yards.

Harman threw for 427 yards and six touchdowns.

“He had time to throw it and he was just improved from our first game,” Shackelford said.

Harman completed 20 passes.

LaGasse caught 13 of them for 286 yards and five of the touchdowns.

“He was having one of those nights,” Shackelford said. “It was pretty incredible.”

LaGasse hauled in TD passes of 53, 24 and 6 yards in the first half.

He added scores of 60 and 17 yards in the third quarter.

Before LaGasse torched the Maroons, Mason Manning added an 18-yard scoring catch in the first quarter and Nick Nabavi scored on a 56-yard run.

Bryson Hogan kicked the extra-point after Cashion’s first TD. When coaches inquired with Jerry about playing football, it wasn’t known that Hogan would play this season.

Jerry said the coaches’ interest was only half-hearted at first. However, sincerity grew on both sides.

She practiced and even attended a kicking camp at the University of Oklahoma “to start getting used to being around football players and to get better.”

But, a female playing football, though not unprecedented, is still rare.

“Of course I was nervous about how she would be accepted from the team and the potential of getting hurt, emotionally and physically,” said Adilee’s mom, Jennifer Jerry, a third grade teacher at Cashion.

“But the benefits and opportunity to do something new and challenging far outweighed the fear.”

Fitting in hasn’t been an issue.

“At first it was pretty scary, but the boys and coaches made me feel comfortable after a while,” Jerry said. “It feels normal once you get used to being around them.”

That’s been the case even from a parent’s perspective.

“(She) has had the support she needs from the team and especially the coaches,” Jennifer said.

With Hogan on the team, Shackelford has had the opportunity to give both kickers a try and not force Jerry into action.

He gave Jerry her first attempt at history in Week 0 against Rejoice Christian when he called her name for an extra-point try.

“I wasn’t really nervous,” she said. “I was very focused and couldn’t hear really any of the background noises.”

However, her kick was blocked.

In her first attempt at Perry, Jerry said her “lean” caused the ball to hit the crossbar.

The next one sailed through.

“I booted it really far,” she said.

Perry never challenged after tying the game at 7-7 in the first quarter.

Cashion answered with four straight TDs.

The Maroons did, however, run for nearly 200 yards.

“Defensively we’ve still got some things to figure out,” Shackelford said. “I think we’ll probably make a switch to some things that better suit our personnel going forward.”

But the Maroons never stood a chance, mostly due to the epic nights of Harman and LaGasse.

There was also that single point that made history, one that makes Jerry’s mom beam from the stands.

Even if there’s a hint of apprehension as Adilee shares the field with 250-pound brutes.

“I want her to know that she can do hard things,” Jennifer said. “And I’m so proud of her for being brave and paving the way for others when given the opportunity to do something different.”