October 12, 2019 at 09:35AM
PAW PAW, MI - The running joke between Claudia Muessig and her father, Patrick, happened every fall and involved him telling her that she should be on the gridiron kicking field goals, not on the sideline with pompoms.
It was never taken too seriously, as Muessig enjoyed cheerleading and the Paw Paw football team she supported already had a star kicker in Jose Valverde.
But that all changed when Valverde moved out of state ahead of the 2019 season, and before she knew it, Muessig found herself wearing shoulder pads and a football helmet.
On Friday, she continued her surprising and successful senior football season by converting 5 of 5 extra points through a steady rain in Paw Paw's 35-6 win over Vicksburg.
15
Paw Paw vs. Vicksburg football
Muessig is now 31 of 34 on extra points this season, and she has made a 24-yard field goal to help Paw Paw boast a 7-0 record and the state's No. 1 ranking in Division 4.
Not bad for someone who had never kicked a football until two months ago.
Her unexpected journey started in August on Paw Paw's soccer field, where Muessig was blasting shots under the crossbar to prepare for her club season with Grand Rapids-based Midwest United.
Paw Paw football coach Matt Stephens saw an athlete with incredible leg strength for someone standing 5-foot-1, so he asked if she could kick a football just as far.
As it turned out, the kicking skills that earned her a scholarship offer from the Northern Illinois women's soccer team translated just fine to the oval-shaped ball, so Stephens asked her to join the football team.
"I knew it would be something different and fun, so I thought, 'Why not do it?'" Muessig said. "It's my senior year, and it's something different, and I've loved it so far."
Emil Lippe | MLive.com
Paw Paw senior Claudia Muessig (14) kicks off to start the second half of Paw Paw's home game against Vicksburg at Falan Field in Paw Paw, Michigan on Friday, October 11, 2019.
The emotions were a little more mixed as she was strapping on her pads before the season opener against Three Rivers, a perennial power in the Wolverine Conference and a team that handed Paw Paw a 26-0 loss in last year's regular-season matchup.
"She was nervous before the first game just because she didn't want to disappoint the team," Claudia's mother, Carrie, said. "But she told us, 'I'm going out there to do this, so I have to prove it to them (her teammates) and prove it to myself.'"
As for how Claudia's parents were feeling heading into her football debut?
"Nervous, scared, excited and relieved for that first one that she made," Carrie said.
Her first successful extra point proved she belonged on the field, and her next five helped Paw Paw defeat Three Rivers 42-0.
While she missed a field goal on a slick and muddy field in Friday's win over Vicksburg, Muessig has connected from 45 yards in practice, and she gives Paw Paw a legitimate weapon in the red zone.
"She's kicking the football through the roof, and we're just happy she's on the team, and I think she's having a lot of fun kicking for us," Stephens said. "She's so accurate with her kicks, and I think that's what makes her so good is that we're not too worried about if it's a good snap or a good hold because it's going to go in the direction that she wants it to go to.
"She's done a tremendous job for us."
Senior quarterback Mason Popp, who is also the holder on field goal and extra-point tries, said he doesn't see Muessig as a girl football player, but as someone who has worked hard to help the team get off to its best start since 2013.
"I didn't really think anything about it," Popp said of having a girl teammate. "She's just another player out there on the field. She's going to work hard just like everyone else."
From her perspective, Muessig said all of her 29 new teammates have been supportive from Day 1.
"They've been amazing," she said. "They've all really encouraged me and supported me through everything, which has been amazing.
"I love the atmosphere of the football games. It's so fun knowing everyone is here cheering you on and cheering our team on, and being able to have fun with all my classmates is super exciting."
As Paw Paw's student council president, the captain of its girls soccer team and a member of the 2019 homecoming court, Muessig wears a lot of hats and had a lot on her plate before signing up for the football team, and that's what makes her journey to the gridiron so special in the eyes of her mother.
"It's exciting, and what's even more exciting is that she's a role model, not for just girls but for everybody," Carrie said. "She went out and did something totally different because it's her senior year. This is totally unexpected. For three years, she was cheering, and now she's on the football team."
PAW PAW, MI - The running joke between Claudia Muessig and her father, Patrick, happened every fall and involved him telling her that she should be on the gridiron kicking field goals, not on the sideline with pompoms.
It was never taken too seriously, as Muessig enjoyed cheerleading and the Paw Paw football team she supported already had a star kicker in Jose Valverde.
But that all changed when Valverde moved out of state ahead of the 2019 season, and before she knew it, Muessig found herself wearing shoulder pads and a football helmet.
On Friday, she continued her surprising and successful senior football season by converting 5 of 5 extra points through a steady rain in Paw Paw's 35-6 win over Vicksburg.
15
Paw Paw vs. Vicksburg football
Muessig is now 31 of 34 on extra points this season, and she has made a 24-yard field goal to help Paw Paw boast a 7-0 record and the state's No. 1 ranking in Division 4.
Not bad for someone who had never kicked a football until two months ago.
Her unexpected journey started in August on Paw Paw's soccer field, where Muessig was blasting shots under the crossbar to prepare for her club season with Grand Rapids-based Midwest United.
Paw Paw football coach Matt Stephens saw an athlete with incredible leg strength for someone standing 5-foot-1, so he asked if she could kick a football just as far.
As it turned out, the kicking skills that earned her a scholarship offer from the Northern Illinois women's soccer team translated just fine to the oval-shaped ball, so Stephens asked her to join the football team.
"I knew it would be something different and fun, so I thought, 'Why not do it?'" Muessig said. "It's my senior year, and it's something different, and I've loved it so far."
Emil Lippe | MLive.com
Paw Paw senior Claudia Muessig (14) kicks off to start the second half of Paw Paw's home game against Vicksburg at Falan Field in Paw Paw, Michigan on Friday, October 11, 2019.
The emotions were a little more mixed as she was strapping on her pads before the season opener against Three Rivers, a perennial power in the Wolverine Conference and a team that handed Paw Paw a 26-0 loss in last year's regular-season matchup.
"She was nervous before the first game just because she didn't want to disappoint the team," Claudia's mother, Carrie, said. "But she told us, 'I'm going out there to do this, so I have to prove it to them (her teammates) and prove it to myself.'"
As for how Claudia's parents were feeling heading into her football debut?
"Nervous, scared, excited and relieved for that first one that she made," Carrie said.
Her first successful extra point proved she belonged on the field, and her next five helped Paw Paw defeat Three Rivers 42-0.
While she missed a field goal on a slick and muddy field in Friday's win over Vicksburg, Muessig has connected from 45 yards in practice, and she gives Paw Paw a legitimate weapon in the red zone.
"She's kicking the football through the roof, and we're just happy she's on the team, and I think she's having a lot of fun kicking for us," Stephens said. "She's so accurate with her kicks, and I think that's what makes her so good is that we're not too worried about if it's a good snap or a good hold because it's going to go in the direction that she wants it to go to.
"She's done a tremendous job for us."
Senior quarterback Mason Popp, who is also the holder on field goal and extra-point tries, said he doesn't see Muessig as a girl football player, but as someone who has worked hard to help the team get off to its best start since 2013.
"I didn't really think anything about it," Popp said of having a girl teammate. "She's just another player out there on the field. She's going to work hard just like everyone else."
From her perspective, Muessig said all of her 29 new teammates have been supportive from Day 1.
"They've been amazing," she said. "They've all really encouraged me and supported me through everything, which has been amazing.
"I love the atmosphere of the football games. It's so fun knowing everyone is here cheering you on and cheering our team on, and being able to have fun with all my classmates is super exciting."
As Paw Paw's student council president, the captain of its girls soccer team and a member of the 2019 homecoming court, Muessig wears a lot of hats and had a lot on her plate before signing up for the football team, and that's what makes her journey to the gridiron so special in the eyes of her mother.
"It's exciting, and what's even more exciting is that she's a role model, not for just girls but for everybody," Carrie said. "She went out and did something totally different because it's her senior year. This is totally unexpected. For three years, she was cheering, and now she's on the football team."