The kicking duo of sophomore Alex Romero and freshman Ross Schexnayder has shown the Nicholls State football team results so far this season.Romero had been the starter until he suffered a groin pull that kept him out of the Sam Houston State game. Schexnayder did well in that game going 4-4 on extra point attempts and 1 for 2 on field goal attempts.

It did not take long before Romero would find himself back on the field kicking for the Colonels.

In his first game back since his injury, Romero found himself in the middle of a tied, overtime ballgame with the victory on one of his kicks.

“He hadn’t kicked in two weeks, and until game time it (Romero’s kicking) was up in the air,” head coach Jay Thomas said. “He felt pretty good, and we went with him during the game.”

Romero made the 27-yard field goal and gave the Colonels the 32-29 home win.

“It was probably one of the best experiences I’ve had in a long time,” Romero said. “Everybody had a fantastic game.”

With his mind racing, Romero recalls what was going on at the time of the kick.

“I couldn’t let the guys down,” he said. “They played their hearts out, and it came down to me. I just tried to keep my mind focused on what I had to do and put it through.”

Growing up, Schexnayder probably did not envision himself as a kicker for a college football team.

When Romero was out with a groin pull, he got in-game experience early in his collegiate career.

As a child, Schexnayder never played football and never thought about football until his soccer coach persuaded him to give the sport a shot.

“I played soccer, and the soccer coach was also the linebackers’ coach,” Schexnayder said. “He saw how far I was kicking the soccer ball one day and asked me to go out for football.”

Along with kicking he was also given a shot at being a wide receiver.

“One day I was goofing off, running around catching the ball, and they tried me out at wide receiver.”

Sticking with kicking was easy, Schexnayder said.

“Being a receiver was fun, but I knew that receivers are mostly over six feet, so size was a factor.”

Following a proven kicker like Romero, the pressure would be immense for some, however the team had faith in its new starter.

“We definitely have a lot of confidence in him,” assistant coach Jay Jones said. “He was kind of raw when he first started, but he’s come around a lot since then.”

Leaving the kicking game in the hands of Schexnayder was something that Romero didn’t have a problem with.

“We both try to help each other out as much as we can,” he said. “If I go down I trust that he is going to get the job done for us.