Dean Herrington won his first game as football coach at St. Bernard last week, but the story you had to see to believe was the 6-foot-9 kid who came in to boot extra points.
Garang-Garang Macham is a basketball player from Sudan who joined the football team as a kicker. Soccer is the most popular sport in Sudan, so it’s no surprise he knows how to kick a ball with his big leg. He made two PATs in his first game.
“He wanted to kick last year but couldn’t,” Herrington said.
The question is, was there a uniform for a 6-9 football player?
“The extra large pants fit him,” Herrington said.
And what about trick plays using his height?
“I asked him, ‘You want us to throw the ball up at the goal line and you can outjump them?’ He told me he can’t catch.”
Basketball coach Bernard McCrumby was skeptical of his kicking ability. “Coach, I can kick,” he said.
Now McCrumby and his basketball teammates are out there cheering him on.
“I’m nervous every time he gets out there, but he loves it,” McCrumby said.
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.