MCLENNAN COUNTY, Texas — Friday, Sept. 15, two football teams faced off at Falcon Field in Downtown Waco.
What fans weren't expecting was a catch from outside the stadium.
It was a phenomenal moment in high school football history, a kick that caught the eyes of football fans across the nation.
The kick seen around the world.
“Within 45 minutes, it's over 3,000 views and then, you know, over within, you know, an hour it's over a million views, “ Mike Reed said.
This was a viral moment leaving Central Texans in shock, even the kicker, 16-year-old Juan Cabrera couldn’t believe it.
“I thought it was gonna be a regular kick, so I’m getting ready he snaps it, run kick, and it’s good, “ Juan Cabrera said.
Cabrera is number 13 for the Gordon ISD Longhorns, and after he kicked the extra point for his team, he followed the ball and watched it land into the hands of Kennedy Irwin. Irwin is a Baylor university alumni who was in town for the game. She was the passenger in that car driving behind the Live Oak Stadium goal post on 5th Street.
“I kind of made the joke, like what if we got the field goal, but we already had like the windows down, we were listening to music. It really was not planned at all," Kennedy Irwin said.
That spontaneous thought turned into reality.
“A perfect kick, and saw it was coming towards us, it was like "Oh wait, there’s actually a chance to catch this ball," — just everything worked out perfectly.”
Cabrera's coach, Mike Reed believes the same.
“If she would have hit a yellow light 30 seconds earlier a red light and slowed down or didn't or you know or went over the railroad tracks at a different speed or went 15 miles an hour instead of 70 miles an hour," Reed said.
Brice Helton is the coach of the Live Oak Falcons, he says part of the reason they don’t have a net behind that goalpost is because of electrical lines.
“Electrical lines right above and behind that goalpost, and then below in that same areas we have to dig under a natural gas line,” Helton said.
But the lack of net created a once in a lifetime moment in high school football — and now Cabrera continues reliving that moment.
“30 minutes later, you see it on ESPN and they’re all hyped up, and high-fiving me, and they’re like, I'm famous, “ Juan said.
Irwin says after she caught the ball she gave it to one of the ball boys before driving away.
