College Football History: Female Student-Athletes Play In FCS, Division III Games
Saturday's slate of games had two women to make college football history — one with Jackson State and the other at Shenandoah. Freshman placekicker Leilani Armenta became the first woman to play football in Jackson State University's program history. She is a defender on the JSU women's soccer team. An injury to the placekicker forced Coach T.C. Taylor to add Armenta to the roster for Saturday's game against Bethune-Cookman.
Safety Haley Van Voorhis (Shenandoah) and Placekicker Leilani Armenta (Jackson State)
Armenta played soccer and served as a kicker at St. Bonaventure High School in Ventura, California. She successfully made 98 out of 105 extra-point attempts during her career and was perfect in all five field goals. She was recognized as First-Team All-Marmonte League in 2021 and received an honorable mention in 2022.
Haley Van Voorhis played safety for the Division III Shenandoah Hornets and became the first female non-kicker to appear in a college football game at the NCAA or NAIA level.