By BARBARA GREEN
editor@bowienewonline.com
Kyler Dunn has been kicking a soccer ball since she was barely able to walk, but today the 15-year-old also is kicking the pigskin through the goalposts for the Saint Jo Panthers.
While girls have been playing male-dominated sports for years, in small town Texas it’s still not that common in Friday night football. This perky freshman athlete first tried kicking last year when she was in junior high, but as she moved into high school she earned her spot on the varsity maroon and white. The Panthers play their first playoff game at 7 p.m. on Nov. 12 against Leverett’s Chapel at Savoy.
The daughter of Charlie and Brandi Dunn, and the big sister to Reese, age 12, Kyler is a well-rounded athlete. She has been playing soccer virtually all her life and plays forward for the North Texas Celtic select soccer team.
“I don’t remember not playing soccer. I like you can get rough with people because you have to fight to win. I like that aspect. We practice at Corinth and play games at the University of Dallas,” explains Dunn.
It was a Saint Jo coach who heard about a junior high girl with soccer skills. The idea sparked a tryout for the football team that was in need of a kicker.

Read the full feature in the mid-week Bowie News and follow the Panthers’ playoff action in our sports section.

CORRECTION – The kicking photo in the Wednesday paper that was with the story on Kyler was incorrectly identified as her. We apologize for this error.