'Amazing opportunity': Ex-NFL kicker makes Illinois high school coaching debut against Pekin

PEKIN — Robbie Gould had a reason for launching his high school football coaching career, and it wasn't just for kicks.

The former Chicago Bears and NFL kicker made his debut as a high school football head coach Friday, bringing his Rolling Meadows team to Memorial Stadium, where host Pekin beat them, 28-14, in the season opener for both teams.

"I was just taking it all in," Gould said after the game. "It’s an amazing opportunity to show these kids how to play, and maybe change their lives. … (Joking) You sure don’t coach high school football for the money.

"Watching them come back in this game, though, seeing them battle and show heart and spirit -- that's why I took this job."

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An NFLer on the sideline

Gould is 41 now, his 18 NFL seasons behind him, including a run with the Bears from 2005-15.

The former first-team All-Pro kicker, included by the Bears on their list of 100 greatest players all-time, made 447 field goals in his NFL career. He retired last December with an 86.5% field goal accuracy rate — ninth-best in NFL history — and without ever having missed a field goal or extra point in a playoff game. He finished 10th all-time in scoring in the NFL after playing in 266 games for Chicago, New York Giants and San Francisco.

"I've had a lot of great coaches during my career over the years," Gould said. "Kyle Shanahan, Lovie Smith, guys who were great people, too. I want to pass down to my players what I've learned."

How 28-14 happened

It was a weird first quarter, as Rolling Meadows took the opening kick, punted, recovered a Pekin fumble on the kick, put together a second-chance drive and missed a 32-yard field goal.

That chewed up all but the first 2:52 of a scoreless opening quarter.

Pekin built a 14-0 lead in the second quarter, though, getting a bull rush from the 2 by Landon Erxleben for 7-0 on the first play of the quarter.

Rolling Meadows punted on all three of its possessions in the quarter. Another weird moment arrived when Pekin punter Owen Gorden downed his own punt. The senior launched a high end-over-end kick that traveled only 13 yards and fell to the turf behind the kick coverage. Gorden jogged up and grabbed the ball to end the play.

The Dragons went up 14-0 with 4:05 left in the half when junior quarterback Brogan Benassi hit receiver Dylan Anderson with a 50-yard TD pass down the left sideline.

Pekin rolled to 21-0 with 5:52 left in the third quarter when Erxleben rambled 24 yards up the middle to the Rolling Meadows 8, then three plays later bulled across from the 2.

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Rolling Meadows launched an inspiring comeback, shifting into a hurry-up tempo and getting on the board with a 9-yard run up the middle by wildcat receiver Shea Wells with 2:26 left in the third quarter.

The Mustangs stopped Pekin with an interception on a tipped ball at their 17 by defensive back Arman Lepuzanov.

They slugged out a 12-play, 64-yard scoring drive over the next 5:35 and closed to within 21-14 when Wells caught a 3-yard TD pass with 5:13 left.

Pekin, meanwhile, held off Rolling Meadows on a late fourth-quarter drive that included a gutty fourth-and-2 call. The Dragons converted on a deep shot down the right sideline, a 29-yard pass from Benassi to senior Peyton Hess.

Running back Ty Jackson finished off the game with a 5-yard TD run after that to cap a nine-play, 61-yard scoring drive.

"I'm proud of the way you guys played," Gould told his team in a postgame huddle. "We didn't play bad football. We have a chance to be something special."

The view from the other sideline

Pekin junior running back Ty Jackson ran 25 times for 150 yards and a touchdown. Benassi was 6 of 13 passing for 147 yards, one TD and one INT. Pekin's Dylan Anderson led all receivers with three catches for 84 yards and a TD.

"Our guys were ready to battle four quarters," Pekin coach Doug Nutter said. "We have some things to clean up, and I'm sure Rolling Meadows would say the same thing. Robbie (Gould) did fine over there. His kids played hard and physical, they kept coming at us."

Rolling Meadows receiver Shea Wells forced three pass interference penalties, caught three passes for 40 yards, and had a touchdown by air and by ground. Mustangs quarterback Joe Brigham was 14 of 26 for 126 yards and one touchdown and one interception.

The Dragons exited Week 1 with a win. They head to Belleville East in Week 2, while Rolling Meadows is at Conant.

What advice would Nutter pass along to his rookie coaching counterpart?

"There's not much I could tell him, really. He's a football guy, so he knows the game and knows what he's doing," Nutter said. "Coaching high school football is all a matter of patience. You're dealing with 16-, 17-year-old kids and you have to let them grow. That's always the case in high school."

Coaches need time to grow, too. Gould and his Rolling Meadows team didn't get a win, but they looked like a team in the second half that will win games.

"One of the coaches here on our team, we coached flag football together," Gould said. "He told me about this job. I went in for the interview just to see what it was all about.

"People will judge you by your wins and losses. But teaching these kids life lessons, guiding them to do something special with academics, that's all part of it, too. I'm in this because I want to give something back."

Dave Eminian is the Journal Star sports columnist, and covers Bradley men's basketball, the Rivermen and Chiefs. He writes the Cleve In The Eve sports column for pjstar.com. He can be reached at 686-3206 or deminian@pjstar.com. Follow him on X.com @icetimecleve.

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: 'Amazing opportunity': Ex-NFL kicker makes Illinois high school coaching debut against Pekin