What a Debut!!

                   

           

    What a Debut!!

Boerne High School freshman place kicker Hunter Lawrence was standing on the sideline watching the game between the Boerne Greyhounds and San Antonio Jefferson at the Alamodome.  He had no idea he was about to start a career that would take him to the highest level of college football and to the NFL.  Coach Tommy Bludau told special teams coach Pete Padilla to send Lawrence in to attempt his first varsity field goal. Emotion of surprise turned quickly into confidence. As the ball went over the crossbar no one in the Alamodome that day could imagine the significance of one lone field goal.

       Lawrence went on to set a Texas state high school record of 20 field goals in one year.  He became only the second high school place kicker to earn a scholarship offer from The University of Texas during Mack Brown’s seventh season there.   

As a true freshman he handled the kick-off duties for the Longhorns and as a junior led the team in scoring with 90 points. He was named the Lou Groza star of the week after connecting on 3-of-3 field goals and 4-of 4 point after attempts against No. 1 Oklahoma.  

 His senior year Lawrence led the Big 12 in overall scoring and was the leading kicker in the nation in scoring. He earned a semifinalist spot for the Lou Groza award, which is presented to the nation’s top kicker. He is only the third Longhorn to do so. He tied the school record of 22 field goals in a season.

December 5, 2009 turned out to be Lawrence’s high water mark. It was the Big 12 championship game. With Cowboy Stadium as the back drop he nailed a 46-yard field goal as time expired to beat Nebraska 13-to-12. The kick, with one second left, gave Texas the Big 12 Championship and a chance to play for the National Championship in the Rose Bowl in Pasadena California. In 2009 he had eight field goals of 40 yards or more but none compare to the one that mattered most. And it all started with the picture taken in the Alamodome in November, 2002.  In 2010 Hunter signed to kick for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFL.