NORTH AUGUSTA — In football, special teams often get overlooked in favor of exciting offensive and defensive plays, but for North Augusta, they're the team’s secret weapon.
The work that the Jackets have put into developing their kickers and long snappers over the years has paid off as they continue to give them an edge each week.
Head coach Richard Bush said he understands how much of a game changer talented kickers and long snappers can be for a high school football program, so they prioritize them in training sessions as much as the other phases of the game.
“ A good special teams unit is very, very important at the high school level, or really any level, but especially high school level,” he said. “It's a third of the game. We always say we need to win special teams each and every week. We spend a lot of time on our special teams, watching film, practicing it, preparing it, putting game day emphasis on it. And we stress it to our kids, and our kids understand the importance of special teams from our kickers to the individual guys that are on each and every special team. Like I said, we spend a lot of time on it throughout the week, so it's very important to our program.”
Most recently, it was senior kicker Jacob DeGennaro’s late-game field goal that helped propel North Augusta to a 10-7 victory over South Aiken on Oct. 16. It was a poetic ending to the game for DeGennaro, who missed a field goal on the opening drive that would have given the Jackets an early lead.
He said he approaches every kick the same way no matter if it’s to win the game or a routine kick after a touchdown. Kickers and punters only get a couple of times each game to go out and prove themselves, so they have to make the most of it.
That’s what he loves about football; every time he takes the field, the stakes feel a little higher.
“ I think the one-shot mentality is really important,” he said. “I love that every rep has to count, and if you don't do your job when it's time on a Friday night, it doesn't matter if you get your number called, you’ve got to do it.”
DeGennaro and punter Landon Sweat started on the soccer team like most high school kickers before finding their way to the football team, making them teammates in two different sports. For DeGennaro, it was his dad, who was the soccer coach for North Augusta at the time, that recommended him for the team when they needed a new kicker.
Heading into his senior season, he had an 82% success rate in field goals and made 126 point after touchdown kicks out of 129 attempts.
Sweat has continued to develop and has found his stride during his senior season, making several punts that have pinned opposing teams to their own end zone to start drives this season, including during big wins against South Aiken and Irmo.
The last piece of the puzzle for the pair is long snapper Keaton Middlebrooks, who is also the starting center for the team. His job is to consistently snap the ball to Sweat or DeGennaro without missing their hands or fumbling it. He said he enjoys playing the position because it’s such a specialized skill set compared to others.
“ It can change a game,” he said. “I have looked at college, and special teams is so important because not a lot of people can do it. It's so special. It's like golf. You're just out there by yourself, but when the time comes, you better be able to do your job, that one-shot mentality. And so that's why it's so important because it can literally flip a game.”
The difference between this trio and others not only comes down to their development on the field, but also their dynamic with the rest of the team. Sweat said the level of communication they have with each other and the rest of the offense sets them apart from other high school programs he’s seen.
“ I just think our operation,” he said. “Our connection with all three of us, we just have a great connection, and just when we're in game time it just really affects everything.”
And during practices, Middlebrooks said there’s always someone else willing to help out if anyone has something specific they want to work on ahead of a game. Their philosophy as a group is just to take everything one day at a time as they work towards their goals.
For DeGennaro, the reliability of everyone in the special teams unit makes it possible for him to go out and execute each week.
“ I think that we have the most talent and want to of any three that are in our region or even in the state,” he said. “And I mean, I couldn't ask for a better group for these two guys. They make my job tremendously easier, and we just put work in day in and day out.”
Alums from past North Augusta special team units have found profound success in recent years, including Drew Stevens from the Class of 2022, who recently made his first start in the National Football League for the Washington Commanders on Sept. 13. Before the big leagues, he played college football at the University of Iowa, breaking several program records as a four-year starter, including total field goals made and some of the longest field goals in school history.
After he departed for college ball, it was his younger brother Jack Stevens who took over for him for the Jackets, and later he would pass the baton to DeGennaro after his departure in 2024. Jack played at South Dakota State for a season before transferring to Washington State in 2025, where he is now a redshirt sophomore.
Bush said both former players have remained a big part of the program and serve as role models for the younger kickers.
“ Drew and Jack Stevens spent a lot of time with these guys,” he said. “Kicking with them, teaching them different fundamentals, teaching them different things to do and work on. So they spend a lot of time with them, and they've given back to this program, and they've continued their careers for the Commanders and Jack at Washington State. So both those guys are doing well. But they're sort of part of our program still, and they do a good job working with them, and those guys do a good job of listening too and helping each other. And then Coach Quinn and Coach Johnson spend a lot of time on special teams too.”
For Middlebrooks and DeGennaro, seeing the Stevens brothers find so much success after high school helps them visualize what’s possible for them too.
“ The Stevens brothers paved the way,” Middlebrooks said. “And now we're just, I personally want to take it to the next level. I know Jacob does, too, and Landon wants to go to soccer. So, that's just how our mindset is to not only be good here on Friday nights, but then take us to college and, and past that.”
Sweat said seeing how their hard work is paying off this season has even made him think more about continuing to pursue football at the college level as well. He said it was his game against Irmo that started to change his mind about what he could achieve as a punter after high school.
“ I came in here not even trying to punt at all or go to college at all, but now that I'm thinking about it,” he said. “After the game two weeks ago against Irmo, now I think I could do something like that.”
All three of them understand the importance of passing on their knowledge to the next generation of special teams players too, especially with this being their final season on the team. DeGennaro said it comes down to learning the balance between meshing with the team and developing as an individual when it comes to kicking.
“ You just have to pass on what I already know, and I think it's really about pushing these guys,” he said. “Because in special teams, it's the third phase of the game, but it gets overlooked a lot, and nobody's going to be there to push you all the time, so you have to have someone with you to do it, and if they're not there, you have to know how to do it yourself.”
North Augusta has two more games in the regular season and sits comfortably at the top of the Region 5-AAAA standings with a 4-0 record. As the Jackets start to look towards the postseason and the chance at bringing home a state championship, the special teams unit is ready to continue doing their jobs each week.
For them, special teams may be overlooked at times, but that's exactly how they like it.
“ [Coach Kyle] Stelter, he always says with special teams, it's so important to go unnoticed because you don't need it until you need it,” Middlebrooks said. “And me, as a long snapper, don't get put in the paper or anything like that, so it's good to go unnoticed. It's good to just have that perfect snap because if you mess up, that's when people start talking about you, so it's good to go unnoticed. You do your job, you go unnoticed, and that's ultimately the goal.”