Tag Archives | Grant Pierce

Grant Pierce has signed a national letter of intent to play football for the Missouri University of Science and Technology (MST), formerly Missouri-Rolla.

Grant Pierce gets the area playoff game started against Euless Trinity. Following the season, Pierce was named to the all-state team. / Thad Fenton

He was selected to all-district, all-county and all-state teams for his performance as a punter and kicker on the 2009 football team. His sister, Stevie, is a softball player at Missouri State.

Pierce was recruited as a punter but will have an opportunity to win other kicking jobs. MST competes in the Division II Independent League.

Pierce was one of four District 8-5A players and the only selection from Plano to the Class 5A All-State Football Team, as selected by The Associated Press. He was pegged as the state’s second-best punter in Class 5A and became Plano’s second all-state punter in five seasons.

He averaged 38.6 yards per punt on 49 attempts, landing 17 punts inside the opponent’s 20 and six more inside the opponent’s 10. He had a 37.7-yard net average on kickoffs, a number near perfect considering a touchback is a net of 40 yards. He sent 21 kickoffs through the end zone for touchbacks and nine other kickoffs netted an opponent’s start inside their own 20. Pierce was also 31-for-33 on conversion kicks and 5-for-12 on field goals.

He was accepted academically to Baylor, Oklahoma, Texas Tech and TCU.

His parents are Tracy and Stephen Pierce.

Grant Pierce was one of four District 8-5A players and the only selection from Plano to the Class 5A All-State Football Team, as released Friday by The Associated Press.

The Plano senior was one of four punters selected to the team and pegged as the state’s second-best punter in Class 5A. He becomes Plano’s second all-state punter in five seasons. In 2005, Brian Sheffield was named to the team as a punter and kicker.

Grant Pierce should be considered among the best punters ever at Plano and his all-state selection proves it. / ThadFenton.com

Pierce was a difference-maker, as he was also named by coaches as the All-District 8-5A first-team kicker and punter. Never, in any game in which he attempted at least one punt, did he have a lesser punting average than the opponent’s punter.

Plano West’s Jackson Jeffcoat, the state’s top defensive recruit, was the only District 8-5A selection to the all-state first team. Pierce was joined on the second team by Allen’s Cedric Ogbuehi, a standout offensive lineman. Allen’s Matt Brown was an honorable mention selection at quarterback.

Pierce demonstrated a strong leg from the start of the season in both kicking phases, but his greatest asset to the team was as a punter. He averaged 38.6 yards per punt on 49 attempts, landing 17 punts inside the opponent’s 20 and six more inside the opponent’s 10. He was called upon to punt more than five times in multiple games.

Most old Plano fans wanted to draw comparisons between Pierce and Sheffield as punters. Sheffield was termed the best punter Plano ever had at the time.

It is a fair comparison. Sheffield had a 38.3-yard average on 43 punts that season, landing 19 inside the 20 and 10 punts inside the opponent’s 10. Pierce had a slightly higher average and Sheffield had slightly more punts land inside the opponent’s 20.

Mesquite’s Clark Gaddis was selected as the first-team punter and Southlake Carroll’s Cade Foster was the first-team kicker.

A case could have been made for Pierce as a selection to the all-state team as a kicker because of his execution on kickoffs.

He had a 37.7-yard net average on kickoffs, a number near perfect considering a touchback is a net of 40 yards. He sent 21 kickoffs through the end zone for touchbacks and nine other kickoffs netted an opponent’s start inside their own 20. More than half of his kickoffs left opponents starting with at least 80 yards to drive. Pierce was also 31-for-33 on conversion kicks and 5-for-12 on field goals.

See the complete Class 5A All-State Football Team, as selected by The Associated Press’ members, here.

The best weapon a team can rely upon isn’t always a strong-armed quarterback, a balanced offense or a shutdown defense.

Those all help, but often the big difference can be special teams. If a team has good special teams play, it can be a weapon of what former Plano coach Gerald Brence used to call the hidden yardage. He had a sign in his office titled “The Winning Edge” that tracked those hidden yards — or the yards not indicated in the box score.

Grant Pierce's 38.6-yard punting average makes him a candidate for all-state honors. / ThadFenton.com

There was no player better at providing those hidden yards in District 8-5A this season than Grant Pierce. The senior was named by coaches as a first-team All-District 8-5A selection as both a punter and kicker.

He demonstrated a strong leg from the start of the season in both phases.

Pierce’s greatest asset to the team was as a punter. He averaged 38.6 yards per punt on 49 attempts, landing 17 punts inside the opponent’s 20 and six more inside the opponent’s 10. He was called upon to punt more than five times in multiple games.

In an era where squib kickoffs seem the norm and many coaches won’t kick the ball away, Pierce provided a leg Plano could depend on for kickoffs. He averaged a 37.7-yard net average on kickoffs, a number near perfect considering a touchback is a net of 40 yards. He sent 21 kickoffs through the end zone for touchbacks and nine other kickoffs netted an opponent’s start inside their own 20. More than half of his kickoffs left opponents starting with at least 80 yards to drive.

Pierce was also 31-for-33 on conversion kicks and 5-for-12 on field goals.

Most old Plano fans wanted to draw comparisons between Pierce and Brian Sheffield as punters. Sheffield gained acclaim for his long punts during the 2005 season and finished as an all-state punter. He was termed the best punter Plano ever had at the time and Brence still calls Sheffield the best all-around kicker he ever coached.

Grant Pierce had 21 touchbacks and 9 other kickoffs net inside opponent's 20. / ThadFenton.com

It ends up being a fair comparison. Sheffield had a 38.3-yard average on 43 punts that season, landing 19 inside the 20 and 10 punts inside the opponent’s 10. Pierce had a slightly higher average and Sheffield had slightly more punts land inside the opponent’s 20.

When analyzing Plano’s special teams, Pierce wasn’t the only player opposing coaches noted. Brandon Bordonaro was awarded second-team honors as a deep snapper.

Bordonaro entered the season as a starting candidate at quarterback, and snapping the ball is not generally the place you want a quarterback. Connor Michelsen earned the start at quarterback and Bordonaro found a role as the deep snapper. With him snapping on punts, Pierce was able to put up big numbers and only one punt attempt was Pierce not able to field and get away.

Bordonaro also made an impact by recording 3.5 tackles, forcing a fumble and recovering a fumble on special teams.