Friday Night in the Cloud and a Kicker to Boot

Veterans and First Responders were honored before the WC/Hesperia game

Panther kicker Lacy Mey splitting the uprights

Lacy Mey is the real deal

By Ken DeLaat

Quite the weekend for sports. State and U-M won over opponents they certainly should have beaten, the Tigers took 2 out of 3 from the powerhouse Orioles to creep ever closer to a chance at a wild card bid while the Lions played a game called missed opportunities against the Bucs and fell to 1-1.

And hereabouts there were a pair of rivalry games on the gridiron including a contest at White Cloud attended by this writer. Even after having walked the sidelines during games up in the county seat for a couple of decades, there is still a special atmosphere in this stadium. Like the other schools we cover the crowd is that mix of students, staff, family members, alumni and the occasional citizen just interested in the game. And of course the fence folks who are  made up  mostly of men who seem to have had coaching and/or refereeing experience (though most likely the coaching experience was primarily from owning a team in a fantasy league).

On this night the school honored local veterans, firefighters and first responders before the game as a tribute to the lives lost during 9/11. With the group taking their place in front of the home bleachers there was a moment of silence, an appreciative applause, and the band did a fine rendition of the Star Spangled Banner before the honored guests marched off the field. Later, the band did itself proud at halftime with a clever show based on Wide World of Sports.

As always, it was good to see WC Supe Ed Canning along with some other familiar folks and it was my first face to face with Near North Now photo contributor Bobbie Cruzan who took some great shots of the contest. Later I saw Girls Hoops Coach Caleb Wilk volunteering in the concession stand and shouted out a congrats to him on his recent marriage to another former standout WC athlete, Paige Foster, now known as Paige Wilk of course.

Then there was the game. A high scoring free for all with a pair of talented quarterbacks and some big plays on both sides of the ball. What drew my attention the most, however, was the work of the freshman kicker for the Panthers, Lacy Mey.
Mey handles the PAT kicking duties for the Panthers.
And boy, does she ever do it well.

I had heard about Mey, the only female member of the squad, saw her name in the stats Coach Fehler sent after previous games and looked forward to seeing her in action. White Cloud scored twice early on and the opportunity didn’t present itself until the second quarter when a Hesperia TD sent Mey onto the field. She drilled a shot through the uprights with ample length. Three more times during the game she would be called on to secure the extra point and trotting onto the field  she coolly and calmly canned each, including one that was hurriedly placed after a mishandled snap. My hopes for witnessing  a field goal attempt were dashed by the parade of touchdowns the teams put on the board, but watching her boot the ball it’s apparent that she can hit from farther than the 20 yard shots she’s been acing.

Over the years there have been a few female gridders on  high school teams as well as on college squads, but it is still a rarity. And while Ms. Mey might attract some attention due to being a girl, it should not detract from the fact that this is a top shelf  kicker with poise to go with her skills.
And yes, she is only a freshman.

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