'She's a Fighting Tiger': Williams steps in as Ironton kicker

Dec. 1—IRONTON — Evan Williams's sporting calendar was already pretty much chock-full.

The Ironton senior, twice named All-State honorable mention in basketball, also plays volleyball and runs track and field for the Fighting Tigers, in addition to competing in travel soccer.

So what's another sport? Not to mention the one with the most intense magnifying glass in the famously football-crazy Buckeye State — and one whose schedule overlapped with two sports for which she'd already signed up?

"Sports is kinda my stress reliever," Williams said. "Don't get to think about anything else (while competing), so I wouldn't want it any other way."

Neither would Ironton, which was in need of a steady presence on placements — and found it, in the form of Williams, more or less by happenstance.

'Honestly a no-brainer'

Tigers coach Trevon Pendleton happened this summer upon Williams practicing kicking with her father, Jeremy, who is also Ironton's girls basketball bench boss.

"He was like, 'She's interested in kicking,'" Pendleton said, "and I'm like, 'Absolutely.' We're never gonna turn anybody away."

Williams went on to earn the placekicker's job. She didn't score against Wheelersburg in Ironton's season opener, but booted three extra points a week later at Jackson and converted four PATs at Fairland in Week 3.

"We saw her more and more in practice and this summer doing some stuff, and realized she was very accurate, very consistent and had a very good leg," Pendleton said. "She's made them from 45 in practice situations. It was honestly a no-brainer."

Williams believes herself well-suited to handle the pressure inherent with placekicking. She has played a pivotal role for the Tigers basketball team since her freshman season.

"We were a solid team. We were 22-4 and (in the) district finals," Williams said, recalling Ironton's 2019-20 club that reached the Division III district title game before falling to North Adams.

"That's a pretty big stage, so I feel like, nerve-wise, I've been in similar situations. Kicking's pretty high-pressure, but it's not anything I can't handle."

'Welcoming with open arms'

When Ironton meets South Range in a matchup of 15-0 teams at 10:30 a.m. today in Canton in the Division V state championship game, Williams hopes to become the third girl to score in an OHSAA football final.

Carly Gregory of Springfield Shawnee kicked two extra points against Youngstown Cardinal Mooney in the 2011 Division III final.

Anna Sanders converted six points-after for Chagrin Falls Kenston in the Division III title game versus Kettering Archbishop Alter.

Williams is excited at the prospect of joining that exclusive club. Otherwise, though, both Williams and Pendleton said her gender — a female in a sport that has long linked toughness to masculinity — has been a non-issue as far as Ironton is concerned.

"It's all new to me, but the boys have been welcoming with open arms," Williams said. "I couldn't have asked for a better group of guys."

Concurred Pendleton: "I tell people all the time, she's one of us. She's a Fighting Tiger, and that's all that matters. Our kids treat her no differently. They love having her around. She's as big a part of this as anybody."

Female kickers, though not especially prevalent, are also no longer a novelty. Nineteen years after Katie Hnida became the first woman to score in an NCAA Division I game, Williams is one of at least three girls who kicked this fall in the Tri-State alone, joining Rock Hill's Hazley Matthews and Cabell Midland's Olivia Charles.

And Mia Rouse booted 26 extra points for Hazard this season, including two against Raceland in the third round of the postseason.

Williams still encounters some, she said, less open to the idea, which she addressed graciously but matter-of-factly.

"Of course, you have your (opposing) guys here and there that won't shake my hand after the game," she said. "But it's new to them too, probably. It's new to everybody. It's OK, though."

'Anything for my team'

Like most placekickers, regardless of gender, Williams isn't exactly itching to get into the physical fray on the gridiron. She said her dad has jokingly advised against blocking on botched snaps or holds, which he confirmed with a grin.

That situation actually came to pass in the region final against Harvest Prep, when Tigers quarterback/holder Tayden Carpenter had to scoop up a snap and throw into the end zone.

"It helps having our quarterback as the holder," Williams said. "He knows what to do in high-pressure situations, so I just try to stay calm and stay still."

But Williams doesn't shy away from contact on the hardwood — even on state football championship game week.

Ironton's girls basketball team's season tipped off Saturday, even if there is football business left to conduct, so Williams was with her roundball mates on Monday when the Tigers hosted Fairland in their Ohio Valley Conference opener.

Williams hit the deck a couple of times, once while driving the lane and another time trying to take a charge in transition.

Protecting herself from injury wasn't a concern in that moment, she said.

"That's out the window," Williams said. "Anything for my team right now. Getting this (basketball) win would've been great."

That didn't happen. The Dragons, which have won six of the last seven OVC titles and are regarded again as the bar in league play, prevailed by a 52-10 decision in the Conley Center.

Williams was disappointed and drained after the game — she was on the floor for almost all 32 minutes, which even with a running clock was an early-season challenge — but eager for another opportunity for a win today.

"My fellow classmates have been in the state championship twice, and as a school we haven't quite finished the job," she said, "so I'm really hoping to see the look on their faces when we win Friday."

(606) 326-2658 — zklemme@dailyindependent.com