ROCKINGHAM – Freshman football player Billy West has been named the Official Richmond County Male Athlete of the Week, presented by HWY 55.
The Richmond Observer will each week highlight one male and one female student-athlete from Richmond Senior High School based on his and her respective performance to help their team.
On his college debut last Wednesday against Union Pines High School, West entered the Richmond record book by setting the program record for most points after attempts in a single game.
This is West’s first professional recognition as an Official Richmond County Male Athlete of the Week.
Sporty profile
Age: 14
Birthday: October 16, 2006
Year: newcomer
Autumn sport: football
Position: kicker
Years at university: 1 year
Height and Weight: 5-6, 115 pounds
Experience: 4 years
BETWEEN THE POSTS WITH BILLY WEST
A rare Wednesday night soccer game gave West an opportunity to score extra points for the Raiders against Union Pines when senior kicker Alex Medina traveled with the soccer team.
West answered the call and made 9 out of 10 PATs in a 69-6 win over the Vikings, helping the Raiders improve to 6-1 overall and 3-0 against Sandhills Athletic Conference.
His nine extra points connected him to Wesley Jackson (1998) and Cody Threadgill (2008) for the most in a single game in program history.
West missed his first PAT after teammate Javares Stanback took the opening kick 70 yards and sent the kick just under the bar. But on the following nine hits, West voted with senior quarterback Kellan Hood as the keeper.
After a 44-yard pass touchdown from Hood to Stanback at Richmond’s first game of Scrimmage, West stood up and shared the uprights for the first time in his college career with 9:36 in the first quarter.
Before he was called to university, West had acted as the junior university team’s kicker.
Behind a running clock in the fourth quarter, West set the record with just over six minutes left after senior running back Nasir Crumpton scored his third and final rushing touchdown.
Billy West (86) is preparing to kick his first successful PAT in the first quarter of Wednesday’s victory. (Kyle Pillar / The Richmond Observer)
FAST ANSWERS WITH BILLY WEST
ROSports: Describe what it was like to make your university debut on Wednesday and how it felt to break the PAT all-time record as a freshman.
West: “There was some nerve and Alex (Medina) has been a good kicker so far, and that was a high level. But after the first kick, it was easier for me to get out of there.
“It’s an honor to set the record and it means a lot to me to do it in my first game. There were a lot of good footballers in Richmond and it was really special that my brother Mack was there and that I was following in his footsteps. “
ROSports: What goes through your head when you kick a PAT and what is the most important thing to stay consistent?
West: “I mainly focus on my contact and follow the ball. I also have to focus on my approach and how I take my steps and swing my leg. It also helps to follow the downfield and give it 110 percent.
“I practice a lot to be consistent and I stay after training to get 10 or 12 extra points. I’ve been doing it all season and if I treat it like a game scenario it definitely helps me stay focused. “
ROSports: Your older brother Mack West played in Richmond and is now competing in Coastal Carolina. How did he help you in your rise as a kicker?
West: “He’s helped me in a lot of ways, especially when it comes to kicking. Mack taught me the correct form, different ways to kick the ball and play it from certain angles. He also taught me how to do punt and kickoffs.
“Mack told me that distance comes with strength and that my focus should be on accuracy and good altitude. I look up to him and was inspired by his perfect PAT record as a tenth grader and the highest punt average of his senior year. “
ROSports: If you could only eat one type of food for the rest of your life, what would it be and why?
West: “It should be orange chicken and white rice because it’s really good and the best that Panda Express has to offer.”
ROSports: What goals do you hope to achieve in high school in the next few years?
West: “I want to keep my status in the beta club, always be ahead of the Ace and I also want to have the highest GPA in the football team.
“I’d also like to break the PAT record, or one of Mack’s records, or Trevor (Moss’) touchback record.”
The Richmond Observer will publish two more Official Richmond County Athletes of the Week next week.
