HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL

Getting her kicks: North Little Rock’s Melton zeroed in on football field

Not even an MCL injury last spring could derail Savana Melton’s chances of making an impact this season for top-ranked North Little Rock. Instead, the junior has played a major role in the Charging Wildcats’ undefeated run, having connected on 7 of 9 field-goal attempts and 56 of 58 extra points going into today’s game against Cabot in the second round of the Class 7A playoffs.
Not even an MCL injury last spring could derail Savana Melton’s chances of making an impact this season for top-ranked North Little Rock. Instead, the junior has played a major role in the Charging Wildcats’ undefeated run, having connected on 7 of 9 field-goal attempts and 56 of 58 extra points going into today’s game against Cabot in the second round of the Class 7A playoffs.

Savana Melton is a female football player.

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Democrat-Gazette file photo

North Little Rock’s Savana Melton has not only flourished as the team’s kicker, but she’s also found success on the soccer field, where she has 31 goals and 12 assists in two seasons.

More importantly for North Little Rock, she's one of the best kickers in Arkansas high school football.

Melton’s game-by-game statistics

DATE;OPPONENT;PAT;FG (LONG)

Sept. 2;Maumelle;4-6;0-1

Sept. 9;LR McClellan;4-4;NA

Sept. 16;LR Parkview;8-8;1-1 (38)

Sept. 23;LR Central;7-7;NA

Sept. 30;at Conway;5-5;1-2 (42)

Oct. 7;FS Southside;8-8;NA

Oct. 14;at LR Catholic;9-9;1-1 (37)

Oct. 21;at FS Northside;5-5;NA

Oct. 28;Bryant;5-5;1-1 (30)

Nov. 4;Cabot;1-1;3-3 (36, 34, 38)

TOTALS;;56-58;7-9

The junior has made 7 of 9 field goal attempts and 56 of 58 extra points, totaling 77 points, good for third on her team behind senior running backs Wynton Ruth (84) and Alex Day (78). Her longest field goal is 42 yards, which she converted against Conway on Sept. 30.

North Little Rock Coach Jamie Mitchell said he has the utmost confidence in Melton.

"She has shown me and proved to me she can make kicks under pressure," Mitchell said. "She can make kicks in clutch situations. I would not even hesitate to send her out there with a game on the line or in a big situation. When there's a field goal situation, it never enters my mind that she's a girl. It matters where we are on the field and the situation.

"We call a field goal, I never think about, 'We're sending Savana out there.' I expect her to go make the kick and get some points."

Melton joined the North Little Rock varsity football team as a sophomore in 2015, making 49 of 55 extra points and 2 of 3 field goals for North Little Rock's 7-5 squad.

She is more important to the team's success this season.

The Charging Wildcats (10-0) won the 7A-Central Conference championship and begin their Class 7A playoff run today against Cabot in the quarterfinals in North Little Rock.

"Last year was new. I was figuring things out," Melton said. "But now, it seems like I just know what's going on. I'm more aware."

Mitchell was hired by North Little Rock in May 2015, and one of the first things he did was visit with the school's soccer coaches to inquire about a kicker. Michael Klucher, the girls soccer coach, told Mitchell to look at Melton.

"At most schools, maybe your girl is your best kicker," Klucher said. "But she may be the best kicker in our conference. She is phenomenal. She's accurate. She's got good power. She's so calm. There are no nerves. She just goes and does her job."

An injury to her kicking leg could have derailed Melton's chances of playing in 2016.

Melton started the first six matches for North Little Rock's soccer team in the spring and had 11 goals before injuring her MCL. She returned with two weeks left in the season and finished with 13 goals and five assists. She had 18 goals and seven assists in her freshman season.

Missing spring football was a disappointment for Melton, but she said she's feeling good now. She isn't concerned with injuring her knee again.

"My team protects me really well," Melton said. "I don't think about it."

To help her prepare for football, Melton said she watched kicking videos on YouTube and attended camps, including the Chris Sailer Kicking Camp in Texas.

Sailer reviewed Melton on his website and said she is a talented kicker and can take her game to the college level.

"She has a strong leg for her age and makes kicks with nice consistency," Sailer wrote. "She has the most potential of any female kicker that we have ever worked with. Savana is a hard worker that is a pleasure to work with. I look forward to the next several years watching her kicking skills develop."

Melton said former North Little Rock kicker Sandy Burks, who graduated in 2015, has been beneficial to her success. Burks, who is a sophomore at Hendrix College in Conway, offered Melton simple advice.

"He just says, 'Keep kicking it,' " Melton said.

She said she didn't feel any pressure going into her career-long 42-yard kick, which capped the Charging Wildcats' 38-7 victory over the Wampus Cats.

"I was really confident," Melton said. "I just focused. I said, 'I've done it before.' I just thought about it and did it."

North Little Rock needed Melton in its final regular-season game Nov. 4 against Cabot.

Melton made three field goals, converting from 36, 34 and 38 yards to help the Charging Wildcats win 28-27. North Little Rock finished 10-0, its first undefeated regular season. Mitchell said the Charging Wildcats would not have defeated Cabot without Melton.

Mitchell had never coached a female player until Melton entered the program. He said there have been few problems with having her on the team.

"When you got 100 guys and one girl, there are a lot of things said," Mitchell said. "She's as low maintenance as you can imagine. She goes her way and does her thing. She's got a separate dressing room from the guys, but she's got a locker in our locker room. When we're together as a team, she's right in the middle of that. At practice, we don't treat her any different from the guys. She wouldn't want it any different. She doesn't want or expect any softer treatment. I hope she doesn't, because she's not going to get it if she did."

The longest field goal by a girl in high school is 48 yards by Heidi Garrett of Martin Luther King High School in Riverside, Calif., in 2004.

Mitchell said Melton will get stronger and could be better in her senior season.

"We're comfortable 40 in," Mitchell said. "She's got the potential to make them from 45, 46. I feel very comfortable from 40 in."

Mitchell said NCAA Division II Ouachita Baptist has looked at Melton as a kicker. He expects her to be on more schools' radar during the offseason and into the 2017 season.

North Little Rock has not won a state championship since Ole Main and Northeast merged in 1990.

"It's been an awesome year so far," Melton said. "We've worked for everything we've got. We're keeping our minds right on each game."

Sports on 11/18/2016

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