FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. – Lynn Lerner, 14, already is a star on her travel soccer team. So when she arrived at North Farmington High School she thought, "Why don't I try out for the football team?"
"I knew a football kicker is usually a soccer player, so I thought why shouldn't it be a girl?" Lerner said. "So at orientation, I signed up."
And just like that, she signed up for the team, and we're not talking about Powder Puff.
"When I met her, I wasn't worried," said Raiders JV football coach Scott Fifield. "There was a little anticipation because she looked like a girly-girl."
Lerner is far from a girly-girl. She said she'd rather get her hands dirty than get a manicure. She'd rather suit up in football pads than wear a dress. So to her, playing with the boys was no big deal. But, what did the boys think about it?
"I've played football for awhile, and we've never had a girl on the team," said Jared Fish, Raiders JV quarterback. "No one knew what to expect, but watching her, we knew she would help us out."
Lerner said it wasn't easy to break onto the team.
"At first you could tell they didn't want a girl on the team," Lerner said. "They thought I couldn't do the job."
While the boys chirped, Lynn let her foot do the talking for her.
"She took her soccer style and had some training to perfect her kick," said Fifield.
Lerner is batting 1,000. She's made every extra point she's attempted. Then came the real test: With the game on the line a few weeks ago, she was called upon to kick a game-winning field goal.
"I was really nervous," Lerner said. "When I knew I would have to go in, my legs were shaking."
Fish let her know the team had her back.
"I just told her before the kick to calm down, we were on her side of the field," Fish said.
In the end, Lynn's field goal won the game for the Raiders. It was in that moment that she instantly became one of the guys.
"She won the game for us," said Fifield. "Now the varsity coaches are looking at her for a position possibly for next year. She's definitely here to stay."