Alex McPherson Kicks Record Field Goal to Land in AHSAA Prep Football Spotlight

MONTGOMERY – Fort Payne High School place-kicker Alex McPherson was just a freshman in 2017 when he served as the holder for the Wildcats’ special team unit anchored by his older brother Evan McPherson.
   The highlight of that season was the brothers’ teamwork leading to a state-record 60-yard field goal kicked by Evan versus Brewer High School for the longest boot in AHSAA history from a snap, hold and kick. Sage Ledbetter of Auburn High School beat that kick by one yard with his 61-yard field goal on a free kick following a fair catch in 2015.
   Roll forward to 201 and Evan is still kicking – albeit with the Cincinnati Bengals in the NFL after a phenomenal college career with the Florida Gators. And Alex, well, his strong leg earned him the AHSAA Football Spotlight for Week 10 as he kicked four field goals in a 32-7 victory over North Jackson, including a 61-yard field goal from a snap, hold and kick to break his brother’s record by one yard. The kick also tied Ledbetter for the longest field goal in school history.
     McPherson will be ready for action again Friday when the Wildcats head to Briarwood Christian (9-1) for a first-round Class 6A football contest as the 2021 AHSAA State Football Playoffs get underway. Two games are scheduled for Thursday night with G.W. Long (8-1) visiting B.B. Comer (8-2) at Sylacauga in Class 2A and James Clemens (10-0) hosting Oak Mountain (6-4) at Madison City Stadium. Executive producer Vince Earley announced last weekend the AHSAA TV Network/WOTM TV will be broadcasting the 2A game at Sylacauga live tonight and will also broadcast live from Legion Stadium on Friday night the Class 5A playoff contest featuring Andalusia (6-4) and Sylacauga (7-3). Both games will also be available over the NFHS Network as well as tonight’s 7A battle tonight will be live-streamed over the NFHS Network.
    A large number of playoff games will be live-streamed Friday night as well. Check www.nfhsnet.com for more details. Also, more than 120 games are scheduled to be broadcast live audio over radio or internet affiliates. A complete log will be posted at www.ahsaa.com by Friday morning.
   McPherson told reporters he contacted his older brother Evan immediately after the game. 
“It was a lot of fun to tell him I broke his record,” he said.
   Alex, who is committed to Auburn and was selected to punt and place-kick for the Alabama All-Stars the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Classic set for Dec. 11, also led the Wildcats of Coach Chad Elmore with four successful field goals of 39, 52, 55 and 61 yards in the win over the Chiefs. Earlier in the game, he lined up to try another 61-yard kick but an illegal shift penalty pushed it back to 66 yards. He just missed a 70-yard try earlier this season.
    His four field goals in a single game ties 16 others for second most in a single game. And his three field goals over 50 yards in a single game set a new AHSAA record. His older brother Logan held the mark with two with kicks of 56 and 57 yards versus Boaz in 2012. Cade Stinnett of Enterprise also had kicks of 51 and 50 yards in a 2013 41-34 loss to Smiths Station, and Kevin Gentle had kicks of 59 and 51 yards in a 1993 win over Scottsboro.
    Tied for most field goals in a single game (5) are Crosby Gray of Spain Park (2015); Ledbetter (2013); Josh Woodard of Decatur (2001); Tim Rogers of Mountain Brook (1990); and Ricky Beck of Geneva (1970). The last previous place-kicker to four field goals in a game was Daphne’s Diego Guajardo (2018). His in the Trojans’ 40-6 win over B.C. Rain was a 53-yarder on his first kick of the night.
   Evan McPherson finished his college career with 302 kicking points with 51-of-60 on field goal tries ad 149-of-150 extra point kicks. He currently is 10-of-13 on field goals for the Bengals this season with a long of 53 yards. His longest kick at Florida was 55 yards.
    In high school, Evan also had an 84-yard punt in the same game as his 60-yard field goal in 2017, and finished his prep career with 207 kicking points – coming on 30 field goals and 117 extra points.   
    The AHSAA’s strong kicking legacy was first established with Philip Doyle of Huffman setting the national record with 22 in a single season in 1985. That record is still the AHSAA’s best, but was been tied by Park Crossing kicker Jake Lane in 2016. Doyle’s national record was broken and is now 25.