By Eugene Jolley

Courier Sports

ejolley@thepccourier.com

PICKENS — When Pickens senior kicker Matt Gravely takes the field Saturday in the 2015 Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas at Gibbs Field in Spartanburg, not many will understand the long journey it took to get there.

You see, the game itself will be the capping to a road of redemption, forgiveness and finally triumph.

After two successful seasons kicking as a freshman and sophomore, Gravely, the brother of former Blue Flame and North Greenville standout kicker Justin Gravely, had a junior season in which the world around him was seemingly crashing down around him.

The summer before his junior season, he and some teammates were suspended for the first three games of the season. Then, after playing in two games, Gravely was suspended for the rest of the season after another off-the-field incident.

“That was just a real low moment for me,” Gravely said. “I really messed up. I’m really proud of where I came to now and from where I can go to from here.”

Schoolwork wasn’t a picnic either, as he was failing every class.

“A year ago, he was suspended the first three games,” Pickens coach John Boggs said. “He comes back and gets kicked off the team at the end of the year making some poor decisions. We sat down back in January when I got hired, and he was one of the first kids I talked to. I told him ‘The slate is clean. Here is what you need to do to get back on this football team.’ I laid it out for him. Every single thing that I’ve asked of him, he’s done. Maybe not with flying colors, but he’s cleared the hurdles.”

“That was a big deal for me when he did that,” Gravely said of Boggs. “He came up to me personally and called me into his office. I knew I was the first person he talked to, player-wise. He really helped me through being a friend and helped me through coming back this year being the best I could be. “

But, the light turned on. Gravely saw the light just as bright as Saul on the road to Damascus. Suddenly, the grades began to change.

“It was like something smacked me in the face,” he said. “I needed to get my act together.

“Everything bad turned to good when that wakeup hit me.”

Boggs said Gravely busted his tail in the classroom.

“In December, he was failing every class, and then come May, he ended up passing everything,” Boggs said. “At one point in December, we didn’t know if he would be eligible to play. We’re proud of what he’s done academically to get himself eligible.”

“I slacked off in the classroom a lot, and I know I do and people get on to me for it,” Gravely said. “This year has been really different. I’ve really been nose-in-the-books, grinding hard and trying to get those good grades so I can pursue other things.”

Still, there was a lot of work to do to get back on the playing field and the question of whether he would be accepted by his coaches and teammates.

Spring workouts began, and there was Gravely. Every summer session, nobody worked harder. Entering the pre-season, there he was, not only back booming kicks with his powerful right leg, but now the golden-cleated athlete was starting at outside linebacker and making plays.

“That’s real fun. It keeps me loose and I stay in the game,” Gravely said. “I get to hit people, which is really fun. I have fun doing it, too.”

Defensively, he tied for the team lead with three interceptions and was third in tackles with 59, eight for losses. He broke up two other passes, forced one fumble and recovered another.

“He’s been one of our leaders in the offseason,” Boggs said. “He does a great job in the weight room. He works extremely hard. And look at the job he does on defense, too. He’s just a heck of a kid that goes out and plays his tail off.”

And for the Gravely family, he joins his uncle — and special teams coach — Harold Alexander as a Shrine Bowler.

“He’s family on the field and off the field,” said Gravely, the son of Bill and Tonya Gravely. “He is my mom’s brother. It’s great having him around. I used to go at 5:30 in the morning and work out with him every morning at the YMCA. He’s been working with me since seventh grade. Just as much as Justin, he’s got me here. I’m really thankful for him being there for me, on and off the field. “

Alexander made the 1988 Shrine Bowl before going to Appalachian State, followed by a long NFL career as a punter.

“Obviously, he’s worked very hard to get to where he is,” Alexander said. “This past offseason, in the summer, he really started to focus in on some things, doing what he needed to do, so that he could get back on the field and do what he loves to do, which is obviously play football. It’s been a great ride so far. I can’t be more proud for what he has achieved and going to the Shrine Bowl. That’s a great accomplishment, and it really just shows how much work he has put into playing this year. Not only that, but also at outside linebacker. Whatever position he is playing, he’s giving it 100 percent. He works hard in practice.

“Coaching him has been a pleasure over the past three years. He works on everything we work on, and the little things we talk about, he’s more than happy to try the things I ask him to try. He’s just one of those guys that work hard all the time.”

“It’s fun for me to see him getting to kick in the Shrine Bowl, which is what I got to do as well,” Alexander added. “That is just neat. It’s a great experience. Seeing who he’s going to see and being around who he is going to be around, the atmosphere, I couldn’t be more proud of him.”

For the season, Gravely finished 27-of-27 on extra points, 36-of-52 on touchbacks on kickoffs, and 11-of-19 on field goals, with a long of 49 yards. As the Blue Flame punter, he punted 44 times this season for 1,867 yards, good for a 42.4 average.

As for colleges, right now, there is not a lot of attention, with the Shrine Bowl likely to change that.

“Right now, it’s not a whole lot,” Gravely said. “We’ll see after the Shrine Bowl where life takes me.”

The selection is special for his brother Justin as well, who had a great career at Pickens and at North Greenville, but didn’t get selected for any all-star games following a senior season where the state was blessed with many great kickers.

“It really motivated him after he went through high school, and now that I’m in the position he was and I made the Shrine Bowl, it’s really thanks to him for being my role model and my go-to guy when I’m struggling on the field and at home, too,” Gravely said. “I really appreciate him being there for me. I’m really glad that I made the Shrine Bowl as well.”

Gravely is the first Blue Flame to make the Shrine Bowl since offensive lineman Wilson Norris made the team in 2006.

“I just want to see what happens and go through the motions and practice like I practice here at Pickens,” Gravely said. “I just want to keep everything the same and see how I do.”

“I will go up there several times to check him out and be part of it, and if he needs anything, I will be happy to,” Alexander said. “I will definitely be there at the game.”

So when he kicks off, or makes that first punt, understand that the journey to the Shrine Bowl wasn’t just about the mileage from Pickens to Spartanburg. It was longer. But for Gravely, it was all worth it.