Fitzgerald will chase state record when Pack faces North Gwinnett
MOULTRIE — When Colquitt County’s Brett Fitzgerald converts after the next Packer touchdown, he will become Georgia’s all-time leader in career extra points.
He also has a shot at two other state records that are currently owned by his brother Ryan.
Brett, the Colquitt County senior kicker who has held the job since he was a freshman in 2021, broke the Colquitt County extra point record, held by Ryan, last year and had 177 successful conversions heading into this season.
He tied the state record of 190 when he kicked the extra point after Ja’Mari Stokes scored the Packers final touchdown in the fourth quarter of last Friday’s 52-14 win over Monroe.
It was Brett’s 13th conversion of the season.
The two-time MaxPreps All-American and No. 21 ranked place-kicker in the nation could break the record in front of the fans on Tom White Field at Mack Tharpe Stadium when the Packers play host to North Gwinnett at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
Also within reach for the 5-foot-11, 190-pounder are Ryan’s state records of 324 career kicking points and 51 career field goals.
With 13 extra points and two field goals this season, Brett now has 301 points, just 23 behind Ryan’s state record.
Brett also has 37 career field goals and needs 14 to tie his brother’s state record.
The younger Fitzgerald has been a model of consistency in his career.
In extra points, he was 49-for-51 as a freshman; 61-62 as a sophomore; and 67-for-68 last year.
Remarkably, he has missed just seven of his 44 field goal attempts as a Packer and four of those came in his freshman season.
He was 7-for-11 as a freshman; 13-for-14 as a sophomore; and 15-for-17 last year.
He has converted on both of his field goal attempts this season, a 48-yarder against West of Utah and a 36-yarder against Monroe.
He most certainly will be kicking at the next level in 2025.
Brett has been a worthy successor to Ryan, one of the top high school kickers in the nation before he left Colquitt County after the 2018 season.
His 22 field goals as a senior is still the record in Georgia and ranks No. 4 in the nation.
Ryan’s 51 career field goals rank No. 3 in the country. He also had seven career field goals of 50 yards or longer, including a 60-yard successful free kick against Archer in 2017.
The older Fitzgerald is building on his high school career by having an outstanding collegiate career at Florida State.
Ryan, a red-shirt senior, was named the ACC Specialist of the Week after kicking 52- and 59-yard field goals in the Seminoles 24-21 loss to Georgia Tech last Saturday in Dublin, Ireland.
The 59-yarder came on the final play of the half and tied the game at 14-14.
It was the longest field goal in a conference game in ACC history.
Ryan had just one 50-yard field goal at Florida State before the game against Georgia Tech, a 53-yarder in 2021.
He is now just the second Seminole with multiple 50-yard field goals in the same half.
And with 306 career points, he ranks ninth in Florida State history.