STUART – This past season was a coming out party of sorts for John Connolly.
The sophomore kicker was selected in our weekly superlative poll as the Special Teams Player of Weeks 2, 6, 7, and 9. He was the only special teams player in the Treasure Coast area to win the particular honor four times in the regular season.
Let us break down Connolly’s statistics from his time at Martin County in 2022.
Here are the numbers:
•38-of-40 in extra point attempts – 11 games played
•5-of-6 in field goal attempts; only miss was a blocked field goal late in the fourth quarter of Martin County’s 14-13 home loss to Centennial in Week 6
•53 total points scored – 11 games played
•4.8 points per game – 11 games played
“He is very accurate,” Martin County head coach Rod Harris said about Connolly. “He’s a consistent kicker inside the 40.”
Connolly’s three best games as far as extra points are concerned came in Week 1 at Bartow (5-for-5 in a 35-7 win), Week 2 vs. Wellington (6-for-6 in a 42-7 win), and Week 10 at Fort Pierce Central (7-for-7 in a 51-12 win).
But as far as level of impact is concerned, Connolly went with Martin County’s 28-21 upset win at home over Vero Beach in Week 9.
In this game, Connolly was 4-for-4 on his extra point attempts. And there was something else he did in the landmark tilt.
“I would say one of my best individual moments was the recovered squib kick to start the game against Vero,” Connolly said.
For our co-Special Teams Player of the Year, he pointed out another impact moment from this past season.
“I had three of my kicks recovered against Fort Pierce Central,” Connolly said. “This is a tough one. It was both that game and the Vero Beach game for me.”
Connolly spoke on how his first full high school
football season as a kicker went at Martin County.
“I can say that my season went very well,” the 5-foot-10, 180-pound kicker said. “Coming in as a sophomore, I was nervous to see what my first varsity season would bring me. But I have been training for this past season with my dad since I was 10 years old. Also, I am grateful and blessed to have been surrounded by such a great team. I had a lot of personal growth. I’m looking forward to what the next two years of high school football brings me.”
PHOTO CREDITS: Jim Kosinski
