Jackson State was in a pinch.
Leading up to its game against Bethune-Cookman, the Tigers sustained an unexpected rash of injuries to their kickers.
Without Matt Noll and Gerardo Baeza, JSU coach T.C. Taylor and the special teams unit were in a desperate situation.
“Our back was against the wall, and I had to find somebody,” Taylor said. I talked to Dr. Ted (Flogaites), our championship (women’s) soccer coach, and they had a young lady we call now ‘L.L.’
Leilani Armenta, a freshman defender on the women’s soccer team, was called upon to step in. Armenta, however, wasn’t familiar with playing football. While at Saint Bonaventure High School in Ventura, California, she handled placekicking duties for the football team. In her varsity career, Armenta made 98 out of 105 PAT attempts and made all five of her field goal attempts. She also tallied a total of 3,552 kickoff yards, including two touchbacks and three onside kick recoveries. Her skills earned her five county kicking records.
“I talked to her the first day I got her out there for practice,” said Taylor. “She understood the responsibility. I also talked to her parents. They were very excited. She loves the game of football.”
Things we love to see 🔥@GoJSUTigersSOC‘s Leilani Armenta is filling in at kicker tonight for @gojsutigersfb 👏 #ThatsaW pic.twitter.com/xs3d4qpmpl
— espnW (@espnW) September 23, 2023
When Armenta appeared on the field for Jackson State on Saturday, she became the first woman to suit up for the Tigers in program history.
“It means a lot to me,” she said. “It opens up opportunities for girls at other schools to show what they can do.”
She handled several kickoff attempts, though never was called to try an extra point during the Tigers’ 22-16 win over B-CU. Armenta was eventually replaced on kickoffs by backup running back Emari Matthews.
Thank you 🙏 JSU fans, coaches and teammates for all of the love and support! This was one of my first kicks last week, 10 months post ACL surgery. I have played for 4 years with my senior season being played on a torn ACL. Grateful and Thankful! ❤️🐯 pic.twitter.com/uEuwNG9l6E
— Leilani Armenta 🌺 (@LeilaniArmenta) September 24, 2023
Taylor appreciated Armenta for her willingness to help the team on short notice.
“She loves football, and she wanted to try and help this football team,” he said. “We’ll see where it goes going forward. It was a deal that she hadn’t kicked in a while. We tried her out there this week, and I didn’t want to put too much on her plate in an atmosphere like this, so we’ll see how it goes.”
