McGee honing his skills this year

McGee honing his skills this year

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Madison-Ridgeland Academy kicker Landon McGee said he has much to look forward to and a lot of expectations for his senior year with the Patriots this season.

“Our first game of the year was against Greenville Christian, and they were much better than we expected them to be,” said McGee of the team’s 58-32 season-opening loss to Greenville Christian two weeks ago. “We did much better during our second game, and I feel like we just had some first-game jitters.”

The Patriots rebounded last week with a 56-7 road win over Cathedral in Natchez.

Ridgeland Mayor Gene McGee, Landon McGee’s grandfather, said he is “very proud of” his grandson’s “great” performance at Cathedral last Friday.

“His kickoffs were in the endzone and his extra points looked good and clean,” Gene McGee said, adding that his grandson is a young man of character. “He is a kind-hearted young man. He has his head on correct and is the kind of young man you can be proud of.”

 Gene McGee said Landon's father, Wint McGee, was also a kicker at MRA his senior year and he lettered in football, track, baseball and soccer.

Landon McGee, Gene McGee said, has worked hard in both football and soccer.

“We are just excited for him. His hard work has paid off,” Gene McGee said. “He has worked hard in both football and soccer, and I think that is going to pay off when he is looking at colleges.”

Landon McGee, who has started as the kicker for the Patriots since his 10th-grade year, said he has enjoyed playing, and he likes his coaches. 

“They are more than coaches,” Landon McGee said. “They are our mentors.”

Landon McGee said one of his favorite moments of playing football for the Patriots was last year during the team’s first game of the season against Trinity Christian of Dallas, where he kicked an extra point to win the game. 

“That was probably the best moment of playing for them,” Landon McGee said. “Being able to play a crucial role for the team is a great feeling.” 

Landon McGee is graduating from MRA in May, and while he isn’t sure where he’s going to college, he said he dreams of going to Mississippi State University and playing college ball there.

“My goal is to play football wherever I decide to go, even if it isn’t MSU,” Landon McGee said. “I do hope to go to MSU, though, and play there.”

Landon McGee said he plans to major in business and do something like his father does, which is lending and mortgaging homes. 

Along with being the kicker for the football team, Landon McGee also plays soccer for MRA and has played since he was in the eighth grade. His motivation to become the kicker for the football team came one day when he went out to kick a soccer ball around with his father and realized he was decent at kicking the ball a long way.

Landon McGee’s favorites:

• Favorite foods: Steak, any kind of Mexican food, and chicken from Cane’s or Chick-Fil-A.

• Favorite vacation spot: The beach, any kind of beach.

 Favorite video game: Madden. 

While not playing football, Landon McGee loves to hang out with his friends, play golf, take a boat out on the reservoir, and go to church at Colonial Heights in Ridgeland. Additionally, he works part-time for Ridgeland Parks and Recreation. 

Head coach Herbert Davis said Landon McGee is one of the most improved players on the team. 

“Landon has worked very hard in the offseason, and he’s excelled this year in his ability to kick the football,” Davis said. “He’s doing well. He place-kicked for us last year for extra points, but this year he is kicking off along with doing extra points. He’s improved in accuracy and distance. He has gone to a lot of kicking camps to improve, and he’s also gotten stronger. We’re excited about that.” 

Davis said the Patriots won the state championship in 2019 and 2020 and went undefeated last year. 

He hopes his team can once again take the state title for the third year in a row.

“This year we’ve got a great team but a lot of young players,” Davis said. “We also have a very tough schedule. We’ve played two games, and we are 1-1. Greenville Christian beat us for the first game, and we beat Natchez Cathedral. This week we’re playing a back-to-back 6A champion, Oakland High School of Tennessee. That will be broadcast on Saturday at 2 p.m. on ESPN2.”

Davis said the sooner the players can mature and grow as a team, the better the chance the team will have that state championship. 

Landon McGee also agrees that a third state championship is possible. 

“I think we can only go up from here,” McGee said. “If we’ve won two state championships in a row, I know we can get a third.”






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