Leilani Armenta, who made history when she became the first female to play football at Jackson State, achieved another milestone.
The current JSU women’s soccer player became the first female to score a point in a Division I HBCU football game when she kicked an extra point Saturday against Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
Armenta converted an extra point following a Jackson State touchdown in the second quarter. Her score gave the Tigers a then-23-0 lead.
Armenta made history when on Sept. 23, she handled the opening kickoff against Bethune-Cookman after Jackson State suffered several injuries to the team’s kickers.
“We did not know it was going to happen, and we are super excited,” Leilani’s mother, Brandy Armenta, told The Clarion-Ledger. “We all started yelling because we had no idea. My daughter had no idea she would be kicking in the game today. We are beyond ecstatic.”
Leilani Armenta's (@LeilaniArmenta) first extra point to make HBCU D1 History as seen on ESPN+🏈🏈
She made her XP debut after an early JSU missed PAT, and kicked every XP from there on, nailing all three of her tries. #TheeILove
Bad day for a certain crowd. pic.twitter.com/FSBLANR5dd
— Bradley Davis WAPT (@DdavisBradley) October 29, 2023
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.
She was the second female to score in an HBCU football game this season, joining Shaw kicker India Pulphus scored against Virginia State.
