Hennie-Thing Is Possible: Inside Showboats' Kick Six

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UFL Memphis Showboats

Hennie-Thing Is Possible: Inside Showboats' Kick Six

April 27, 2025 - United Football League (UFL)
Memphis Showboats News Release


BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - On Nov. 30, 2013 a 16-year-old Isiah Hennie was watching the Iron Bowl. With less than a minute left in the game, Auburn's Chris Davis returned a missed field goal for 109 yards to lift Auburn to victory.

"To this day I was like if I ever get the opportunity to do that I hope I take advantage of it," Hennie said after Friday night's 24-20 overtime victory for the Memphis Showboats over the Birmingham Stallions.

In Friday's game, Hennie indeed got that opportunity. And he did indeed take advantage of it.

With Hennie's Showboats leading 11-3 late in the second quarter, the Stallions lined up for a 63-yard field goal. Hennie immediately headed for the end zone.

"As soon as they said they were going (for a) field goal, I didn't even wait for it," Hennie said. "I just ran onto the field because I knew (the coaches) were going to do a kick six."

Birmingham kicker Harrison Mevis left the kick short and Hennie fielded it 8 yards deep in the end zone. He started toward the left hashmark, then cut back to the right, toward the Showboats sideline. Eli Walker and Izayah Green-May got him to the sideline with a pair of blocks inside the 20-yard line. Hennie made a Birmingham defender miss at the 35-yard line and from there, he had a convoy. He split a pair of Stallions at midfield. From there, no Birmingham defender was within five yards of him and Hennie cruised to the end zone to give Memphis a 17-3 halftime lead.

"All it is is being faster and being more athletic than the tall guys, the big guys on the field," Hennie said. "Running to our sideline and we have a convoy. My whole thing is making sure that I don't get tackled by a one-off. If I make a move that's against what (my teammates) already believe is about to happen, that's how a lot of defensive players ... make tackles because they just sit on one side and hope that the returner makes the wrong decision. For us, it was just trusting the guys. They keep telling me to stay on a certain plane, certain path and I kind of trusted that."

Hennie knew what the call was going to be as Birmingham put the field goal team on the field, because the Showboats plan for the potential return of a long field goal attempt.

"It's something we've practiced," Hennie said. "It's something we went over and then we just executed it. It's kind of a one-off play, so not a lot of teams practice it, but we have. Everybody did their job and we made a play and that obviously helped us win the football game."

Hennie said his experience as a kick returner in the game helped him with his record-breaking return. His knowledge of the weather and its impact on the play even surprised his teammates.

"I was out there for a couple of kick returns, so I knew which way the wind was blowing," Hennie said in the postgame press conference.

Linebacker Steele Chambers was in the press conference with him and looked at him incredulously.

"You read the wind?" Chambers asked him.

"Yeah, That's our job back there man," Hennie said matter-of-factly.

While Hennie made one of the biggest plays of Week Five in the UFL, he has experienced a Kick Six from the other side - ironically against the Showboats.

"Derrick Dillon did it to us," Hennie said. "I was playing for the (USFL's Pittsburgh) Maulers back in 2023 and they did it. Same exact thing, right before halftime. I know how game altering that play can be, so it was cool to be on the other side of that."

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