Falcons’ sophomore kicks back at adversity

As a freshman last season, Nation Ford kicker Skyler Delong was playing in his fourth game last year, when his world changed.

Delong, 16, was punting the ball on fourth down when he was hit by a defensive player. And he knew nearly instantly that something wasn’t right.

“I got hit on the inside of my leg, at my thigh, with the guy’s helmet,” he said.

“My leg wrapped around him and I fell to the ground. I thought my leg was pretty heavy after that and I felt a sharp pain in my knee area. I rolled over and I knew it was broke.”

Broke is an understatement. Delong’s right leg was broken in two places, near the knee and higher up on the femur.

“The injury was horrific,” said head coach Michael Allen. “But he had a great attitude and he has been progressively working since then to get back.”

The 6-foot, 3-inch, 175-pound Delong was in a wheelchair for two months and then had a brace on his leg for nearly three months. His rehab began in December last year and went until the end of May. His doctors said him being ready for the start of this, his sophomore season, wouldn’t be possible.

They were wrong.

“They were sure I wasn’t going to be able to play the first game of the season,” he said.

His speedy recovery was even surprising for family members.

“He rehabbed five days a week,” said his father, Robert Delong. “I am really surprised of how fast he came back especially since he broke it in two different places.”

Delong started kicking because of his soccer background.

“When I was younger, I could kick a soccer ball really far, so my dad was like ‘why don’t you try to kick a football?’” he said.

He started kicking in middle school and now trains with Dan Orner, who works with about a dozen pro kickers and also former Fort Mill High and current East Carolina University punter Worth Gregory.

Heading into NaFo’s game last Friday, Delong was 7-9 on extra points with a 32.2 net punting average. He was averaging 51.5 yards on his kickoffs with a 33.6-yard net return average. He had no field goal attempts after four games.

Allen said when Delong first got hit in practice this season, it was a hold-your-breath moment.

“Just going through that hit helped him,” Allen said. “He needed to go through that. I think now he is back at 100 percent.”

When Nation Ford’s first game rolled around this season against South Pointe, Delong was ready.

“I was pretty nervous,” he said. “But once I started pregame stuff, I wasn’t nervous at all.”

With two years left in high school, Delong said he hasn’t thought about what college may hold for him.

“I just worry about trying to get a win each week,” he said.

This story was originally published September 21, 2015 at 9:59 AM with the headline "Falcons’ sophomore kicks back at adversity."