The Houston football team was clinging to a seven-point lead in its district opener when Kyle Poynter fielded the opening second-half kickoff at the 10-yard line.
“He saw that little seam between the wedges, hit it and was off to the races,” Tigers coach Chris Edwards said.
Poynter’s 90-yard touchdown sparked a string of 21 consecutive points as Houston pulled away from Willow Springs for an important 56-34 victory that led to an eventual playoff berth.
Edwards emphasized the importance of scoring on the team’s next drive in the locker room. He never envisioned Poynter doing it with one dynamic play.
“To start off that way – a 90-yard kickoff return for a touchdown – you can’t start any better,” Edwards said. “It really elevated the entire team. It sparked us in what had been a back-and-forth game.”
Poynter’s timely touchdown was one of the many big plays the transfer from Lebanon provided the Tigers. He was rewarded for his standout season last week with a selection to the Missouri Football Coaches Association all-state first team as a kick returner.
Poynter, who joined the team in Week 5, was dynamic with the ball in his hands. He averaged 31.3 yards per kickoff return to go alongside 34 catches for a team-best 636 yards and eight touchdowns at wide receiver.
His most important play was at the pivotal moment of the district opener.
“When I got out there (after halftime), I didn’t want to lose,” Poynter said. “I wanted to do anything I could to give us good field position.”
He did much more. Poynter, who returned kicks and played quarterback his freshman year at Lebanon but didn’t play as a sophomore, said it was his first-ever kickoff return for a score.
The football didn’t land in his hands one time in the Tigers’ final three games after his touchdown against Willow Springs.
“He didn’t get a whole lot of opportunities, especially after they kicked it to him a couple times,” Edwards said.
Poynter and sophomore Jacob Case teamed together to give Houston a strong return game. Their arrival, and a couple tweaks with the team’s alignment and technique, made kickoff returns a strength of the Tigers.
“A lot of times toward the end of the season, our offense was starting on the 40-yard line or near midfield,” Edwards said. “When you get a short field, it makes a huge difference.”
Poynter received the credit with his all-state selection. But he deferred to his teammates.
“I give 100 percent of the credit to the blockers,” Poynter said. “They stand in the way of guys running full speed for 40 yards. If we didn’t have them, we’d get smoked.”
