“Coach Strickland said just said run out there and 8,000 people will tell you whether it's good or not. ” – Josh Harris A s a sophomore on the Gaffney football team, Josh Harris found himself in a pressure situation.

Penciled into the starting lineup, the lanky Harris stepped toward the tee and matter-offactly kicked the ball between the goalposts.

“I was real nervous,” Harris said. “When I went out there, Coach (Phil) Strickland said just run out there and 8,000 people will tell you whether it was good or not.”

Since then, Harris has heard mostly cheers after kicks from the 8,000 fans.

When Josh needs advice or has a question, he knows he can turn to older brother Justin for help. And that’s just off the field.

On the field, Josh can lean on big brother Justin’s three years of experience as the Indians’ field goal kicker.

Justin handled the placekicking chores for the Indians from 2003 until 2005.

“My brother got me interested in it,” Josh said. “During Christmas break my freshman year, we went out together and kicked at the old Reservation.”

Josh remembers booting one from 35 yards during that first practice session with his brother.

“That showed me that I could do it,” he said.

But after that first instep-to-instep practice session, Josh said he’s basically been left alone to develop his own kicking habits and style.

“(Justin) just said watch me and do the opposite since he was left footed and I kick with the right. But I just figured it out on my own,” Josh said.

Josh admits the brothers have a bit of a friendly sibling rivalry when it comes to kicking.

“I always just mess with him when I tell him that I’m better than he is,” Josh said.

But Josh said Justin also is one of his biggest fans.

“Justin always texts me before games wishing me good luck.”

A season ago, Josh was 41 of 47 in extra points. He made four of his nine field goals, including a 40-yarder against Nation Ford.

In addition to kickoffs and field goals, he added punting to his list of kicking chores last season.

“It’s something that I really wanted to do,” he said. “It’s a little different. You just have to practice it.”

Thanks to sessions in the weight room, Josh has added distance to his kickoffs each year, making him even more valuable.

On some teams, kickers perform in relative isolation, wanting to being left alone on the sidelines. Not Justin. He prefers to stay involved in the game by chatting with teammates and coaches.

“It’s my way to keep my head in the game,” he said. “I just think about the game and nothing else.”

Although he has accomplished much as the team’s kicker for the past three seasons, there’s still one goal he has yet to achieve - kicking the game-winning field goal.

“It’s something that every kicker thinks about,” he said.

But, for now, he’s content knowing that he’s a vital part of this year’s Indians’ football team.

“I just try to do my best,” he said. “I know that kicking is an important part of the game.”