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North Penn's Kelly Macnamara Garnering National Attention For Her Highlight Tackle

LANSDALE, Pa. (CBS) -- North Penn High School's Kelly Macnamara has landed some jaw-dropping kicks in her varsity football career, but it was a defensive play that thrust the female kicker into the national spotlight.

Central Bucks East wide receiver Wes Verbit looked pretty unstoppable on a kick return Saturday, until he encountered Macnamara.

"I just did my job," she said. "I knocked him out of bounds."

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Though Kelly is humble about it, her dad Ray said it was definitely a memorable play.

"I thought it was pretty cool," he said. "We kind of saw it developing and I thought she might just push him out of bounds, but she didn't. She hit him. The sidelines and the bleachers just went nuts. It was just a really great moment."

It earned her the admiration of the opposing team, who chose her as their honoree of "Hammer Hit of the Week." Fittingly, Verbit was the one to deliver the honor.

"She made a great play," Verbit said. "She's a football player. It's about respect and all my respect goes to her."

Once the clip hit the internet over the weekend, Macnamara became an overnight sensation. She's fielding interview requests from local and national media alike.

"It's really overwhelming," she said. "Today I walked out to practice and there was three cameras and usually it's just me out on the field. I'm not used to anything like this. It's crazy."

As North Penn's first female football player, Macnamara said she didn't set out to be a trailblazer, but she doesn't mind being considered one.

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"Cause it's something I enjoy," she said. "And it's definitely a plus, but this is definitely something that I'm doing for myself more than anything else."

Macnamara, a junior, is beginning to look at colleges now and said she would love to continue kicking.

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