Remember the name – Brenden Bartholomew.

Football fans will likely hear the name again – and again – as the 2025 Alabama high school football season progresses. And they may hear it again in the playoffs. And again during recruiting by the colleges. And at the college level – who knows?

At Friday night’s high school football game, Brenden kicked the ball 80 yards through the uprights. Was it a record-breaking field goal? No. It was a kickoff but still went through the upright goal posts. If it had been on a field goal attempt, it would have been an unheard-of 70-yard field goal.

The result was a huge reaction from the Straughn team and fans and a touchback for the receiving team.

There is not an 80-yard-line on the football field, so how do we figure that Brenden’s kick traveled 80 yards? He kicked from the opposite 40-yard line, so the ball traveled 60 yards in the field of play. Then it went 10 yards through the end zone to reach the uprights. Then it went over 10 more yards beyond the goalposts. 60 plus 10 plus 10 equals 80 – even with Common Core math.

Brenden kicked off four times for four touchbacks, contributing to the Straughn Tigers’ 22 to 19 win over Dale County. He made the opponents start on their own side of the field.

As close as the game was, this may have been one of the few (or only?) times that the kickoff man was the MVP of the game.

Brenden is a senior and stands 5’8” weighing 180 pounds. He is on track to graduate in May 2026.

Straughn High School is in the Andalusia area and is part of the Covington County School System. They are the cross-town rival of Andalusia High School.

Brendan has completed kicking camps during his summers. The highly regarded Chris Sailer Kicking program gave this analysis of Brendan’s performance in the 2025 camp:

Brenden is an outstanding high school kicking prospect. He is a great-looking athlete with a live leg. Brenden does an excellent job on field goals, a strength. He hits a pure, accurate ball off the ground and has 55+ yard range. His kickoffs are solid. He drives the ball into the endzone with good hang time. This is where he needs to hit that next level to jump to a 5-Star rating. Brenden is a competitor who thrives under pressure. He has a bright future at the college level with continued hard work. Look for Brenden to dominate his senior season, impressing college coaches across America. He is a fine young man who is always a great pleasure to work with. Excellent prospect.

Jim Zig Zeigler is a contributing writer for Yellowhammer News. His beat includes the positive and colorful about Alabama – her people, events, groups and prominent deaths. He is a former State Auditor and Public Service Commissioner. You can reach him at [email protected].