By Blake Hudson
Early in the third quarter of the 27-24 win over Hendrix College on Oct. 17, Berry kicker Mitchell Blanchard had a rare misfire, missing on his first extra point in 15 tries.
Mistakes have been far and few between for Blanchard, a junior finance major from Suwanee, Ga. An All-State punter and placekicker in high school, Blanchard came to Berry expecting to be the starting punter. Now in his third year as the starting punter, Blanchard is also handling field goal and kickoff duties.
Doing three jobs and doing them well has made Blanchard one of the 6-1 Vikings’ most valuable players, a description not usually endowed to kickers. But Blanchard is special; when nobody else is there to make a play, he seems to find a way to make something happen.
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| Blake Hudson, columnist |
Case in point: The opening kickoff in the first home game of the year.
The stands were filled, the crowd cheering for shiny new Valhalla’s first kickoff ever. LaGrange’s kick returner streaked by the Berry defense, tamping the home crowd’s fervor. Just as the crowd believed the runback would lead to seven points, Blanchard appeared to drill the returner out of bounds into the Berry sideline.
The Viking faithful erupted, relieved that the new stadium’s historic first play wouldn’t go into the books as an opponent touchdown.
And Berry Football’s first touchdown more than two years ago came on a 47-yard run by Blanchard, which came on a fake punt against Rhodes College.
Doing it all
Despite the increase in workload this season, which has limited his practice snaps for placekicking, Blanchard’s punting success has continued.
“Generally when a kicker does all three (punting, kickoff and field goals), one of the areas will become stronger then the others,” said head football coach Tony Kunczewski. “We have not seen this with Mitchell, who has kept up his production in every area.”
But Blanchard is used to a heavy workload.
As a freshman he punted 67 times, 13 more then the next closest total in the Southern Athletic Association. During his sophomore year, the load did not lighten much; he punted 65 times.
Through seven games this year, Blanchard is averaging 38.6 yards per punt, a half-yard better than his freshman year average of 38.1, which earned him a first-team spot on the all-SAA team.
On top of that Blanchard is 16-for-17 in PATs and 8-for-10 in field goals. His longest field goal of 41 yards came against LaGrange, and at a critical time in the game. His boot knotted the score at 13 and forced overtime during which Blanchard ended it on a game-winning 38-yard field goal.
When asked to describe Blanchard in one word, Kunczewski said, “clutch.”
The field goals against LaGrange, a fourth-quarter kick against Washington University, and 40-yard field goal against Chicago to force overtime have earned Blanchard this reputation.
“He relishes those opportunities,” Kunczewski said. “He wants to be in those high-pressure situations.”