As best can be determined, Bryan County High School’s Haley Thomas is the only girl in Georgia currently playing on two high school football teams.
Thomas is a senior kicker on the boys team for Coach Cherard Freeman and plays quarterback for Coach Kristen Barnhill’s flag football team. When it comes to overlapping sports, she may be the busiest athlete in the state in that she also ran cross country this fall.
Thomas also excels on the soccer field where she is a key player for the vastly improved Redskins program. Last spring she was a key component and one of the team’s leading scorers on Barnhill’s third team which set a school record for wins (10), tied Metter for first-place in the region standings, hosted a state playoff game for the first time and got the school’s first ever playoff win.
Flag football is in its infancy at Bryan County. The Redskins played a practice schedule last year but this season the games count. They picked up the first win in school history this past Thursday when they beat Windsor Forest, 6-0.
Thomas scored the game’s lone touchdown on a 3-yard run following a 45-yard punt return by Deonnie Dorsey.
And it’s not all sports.
Thomas was a senior attendant in this year’s Homecoming court which led to a neat picture in which she was in her football uniform while Homecoming Queen G’Auni Smith and fellow senior attendant Reece Raeburn were in their finery. Raeburn, incidentally, and Thomas are teammates in both flag football and soccer.
The pigtailed blonde will be one of 17 seniors who will be playing their last high school game Friday night when the Redskins (4-5, 3-4) take on No. 9 Metter (7-1, 6-0) who clinched the Region 3A-DII championship last Friday night with a 20-9 win over Jenkins County.
So, in addition to being busy with all of these other sports and activities, why add to the workload with boys' football?
“I just want to motivate people and show them that girls can do it, too, and that you don’t have to be tied down to one sport,” Thomas said. “I love seeing the smiles on little girls' faces like, ‘Wow, there’s a girl playing football.’ I love seeing those smiles.
“What really helps, too, is my teammates really motivate me,” Thomas said. “They don’t put me down, they don’t make me feel like I don’t fit in.
“I don’t have to stand out on my own. They encourage me and if I make a mistake, they let me know it. I get it.”
Freeman said Thomas playing football was the result of Coach Sean Coburn seeing her kicking a football in a physical education class. The fifth-year coach has continually been looking for a kicker since he arrived at Bryan County plus he has always been open to giving anyone who wanted to play an opportunity to do so.
“The boys have been great towards her,” Freeman said. “They have accepted her and they treat her with respect. She is tough and a hard-working athlete. She comes to work every day and the boys treat her just like she’s one of them.”
It also helps that most of the Bryan County kids have grown up together and have known one another all of their lives. Regardless of the sport, they are a close-knit group and supportive of one another.
“She’s a real special person,” quarterback Trevor Lanier said. “She’s been a good addition to the squad. This is her first time kicking and she’s had to work on it. She’s a real good soccer player and Coach Freeman loves to recruit soccer players.
“She’s got a real strong leg and she fits in really well. We’re all glad to have her on the team. We all respect her because she is such a good athlete and we trust her.”
As the quarterback and punter in flag football Thomas has a hand in every offensive play. She also plays safety on defense which is the team’s strength as it gets down pat the nuances of playing offense.
Thomas said Lanier has been a big help to her when it comes to playing quarterback.
“Being a quarterback is having to read the entire field and lead your team,” Thomas said. “At practice (boys) I watch Trevor and it helps me to learn how I need to move and how I need to encourage my teammates.
“I talk to him about playing quarterback and I’ve learned if I make a mistake, I’ve got to move on because there’s a next one (play) coming up and I can make it up.”
“Haley is a good athlete,” Barnhill said of the left-handed Thomas. “She throws the ball well. She’s kind of afraid of making a mistake. She just needs to step into it more and let it fly. We haven’t had much practice but we’re starting to sort things out.”
