Tyler Legacy kicker Christian Baxter reflects on kicking 49-yard field goal to force overtime in win over Tyler

Published 2:56 pm Wednesday, September 7, 2022

Christian Baxter said it himself that he often gets “antsy” when he steps onto the field to kick a field goal.

So a 49-yard field goal to force overtime against your crosstown rival would definitely amp up the nerves, right?

“I had the utmost confidence I ever had in myself in that moment,” the Tyler Legacy senior kicker said. “Normally when I go out for a kick, I’m kind of antsy a little bit. But I was locked in. I was completely ready for it.”

With the Red Raiders trailing the Lions 27-24 in the final seconds of regulation on Friday at Christus Trinity Mother Frances Rose Stadium, Baxter calmly put the 49-yard attempt through the uprights to send the game to overtime — a moment that will likely rank highly among Baxter’s career highlights.

“Probably up there,” he said, “probably No. 1.”

That was the final time Baxter would see the field the remainder of the game as overtime rules limit the option for kickers. There are no kickoffs in overtime. You an attempt a field goal in the first two overtimes, but you can only attempt an extra point kick in the first overtime. In the second overtime, you must go for two points following a touchdown. Starting in the third overtime, it’s only two-point conversion attempts the rest of the way.

“When I hit that field goal, everybody was celebrating,” Baxter said. “I was like we’ve still got to go win the game, the game is not over. I feel like it kind of switched the momentum for the game. And then I kind of turned into a fan. I was just wanting us to win.”

In the fourth overtime, Ladarius Yarber scored on the winning run to give Legacy a 29-27 victory — the fourth straight for the Red Raiders in the series.

“It was insane,” Baxter said. “I’ll be honest, I wasn’t 100 percent sure of the rules of overtime, so I was just kind of sitting there waiting for everybody to celebrate. It was awesome.”

Tyler Legacy head football coach Joe Willis said there was no hesitation in setting up for a field goal on that final play.

“Christian is a three-year varsity player for us, so I’ve got a lot of confidence in him,” Willis said. “I can remember when we played in Longview his sophomore year, him going out there and nailing a kick right before halftime. I think they called a mystery timeout on the field, but he’s been doing it a while. He’s proven himself every Wednesday in practice, which is our field goal day. We work situational kicks, and we put him in high pressure situations. The whole team gets around him on a 50-yarder, and he’s hit those. So I really had no hesitation at all. I knew we were in his range. And quite honestly, that would’ve been good from 55 at least.”

Baxter came up to the varsity as a freshman and made some extra points late in the season. As a sophomore, he made two field goals and 39 extra points. As a junior, he made three field goals and 46 extra points.

Baxter has made three field goals already this season — a 47-yarder against Lufkin in the opener and kicks of 46 and 49 yards against Tyler.

Baxter is also a midfielder on the soccer team at Legacy.

He said on the football field, he played cornerback briefly as an eighth-grader.

“I played a little bit of corner in eighth grade, but it didn’t go too well,” Baxter said. “I’ll let them do my job and I’ll do mine.”

Baxter will look to continue to make big kicks when the Red Raiders (1-1) host No. 1 Longview for homecoming at 7 p.m. Friday at Rose Stadium. Baxter made a 42-yard field goal against the Lobos last season.

“I think if we just trust in ourselves, we will be fine,” Baxter said. “Nobody is expecting us to win, so we just have to go out there with a chip on our shoulder and get the job done.”