By Adam Carrington
Marietta Daily Journal Sports Writer
CLARKSTON - Highly touted kickers like Adam Shreiner are going to miss a field goal or two every once in a while. But they are known for nailing the ones that matter most.
Shreiner's foot is the main reason Walton will be playing in the Georgia Dome next Saturday. After missing two field goals in the first half against M.L. King on Friday night at Hallford Stadium, he couldn't have been more on target when he made a 37-yarder as the final seconds ticked away to give his team a 20-19 win.
"I knew once he kicked it, it was gone," said quarterback Ray Rayburn, who also serves as Shreiner's holder on his kicks. "That boy's a heck of a kicker."
Once the Lions scored a touchdown to take a 19-17 lead, it gave the Raiders just over a minute to answer. The game was likely going to be won or lost on Shreiner's foot.
The Raiders successfully moved the ball downfield and a clutch pass from Braden Theobald to Chase Thomas for 12 yards, followed by a 5-yard Theobald run, put the Raiders on the M.L. King 20 with 8 seconds left. Shreiner then took the field for his chance at the game-winning kick.
"If I could help my team out and redeem myself, it would be the best thing in the world," Shreiner said.
Shreiner said he was also thinking about the thousands of field goals he made at practice during the season, which helped take the pressure off. The snap and hold was routine and Shreiner's kick was high and sailed through the center of the uprights with plenty to spare.
"I was the happiest that I've ever been in my life," Shreiner said. "The kicking coach (Jeff Imperial) kept saying, 'How many times have you kicked it at practice all season?' If I kept my head down and followed through, everything would be fine."
The game didn't start out fine for Shreiner. The Lions jumped to a 13-0 lead, and Shreiner missed kicks from 43 and 33 yards out to keep the Raiders behind. The game would have been tied at 13-13 at the break had Shreiner delivered.
Shreiner's first kick early in the second quarter had the distance, but the ball hooked left. Even though Shreiner missed it, neither he nor his teammates panicked.
"I didn't talk to him at all," said Rayburn after Shreiner missed the 43-yard attempt. "I trust him, and the whole team trusts him because he's the best kicker in the state."
Shreiner's second miss late in the second quarter wasn't even Shreiner's fault, according to Walton coach Ed Dudley. It was a miscommunication between the center and the holder.
"We talked before the game, and we don't expect him to make every field goal," Dudley said. "The second (miss) was an operations problem. It didn't involve the kicker. It happens."
Even though Shreiner missed two field goal attempts in the opening half, his team refused to give up on him. He was called upon to hit a 40-yarder in the third quarter and came through.
It's his game-winner with seconds left in the final quarter that both teams and their fans will likely remember the most.
acarrington@mdjonline.com
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What can I say, Great young man, who is also an outstanding kicker! Gpa
go raiders!!