As the Cowboys' Brandon Aubrey took the field at the end of regulation to attempt a 64-yard field goal that could send Sunday's thriller against the New York Giants into overtime, Frisco Legacy Christian senior Jack Drygas was watching intently and reveling in the moment.

"As he walked out there for that kick, I was just thinking to myself, what a cool experience it is that I kicked the exact same field goal just two days earlier as probably the best kicker in the league right now," Drygas said in an interview with The Dallas Morning News.

Aubrey made his 64-yarder, just as Drygas did in Friday's 30-7 win over Dallas HSAA. Aubrey's field goal was tied for the third-longest in NFL history, while Drygas now has the second-longest kick in Texas high school football history.

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"As I was going out there, I was just trying to remind myself that it's just like any other kick, but at the same time this is the biggest field goal attempt of my life," Drygas said. "I just had to remember to do whatever I've been trained on and remember my fundamentals. It was a crazy moment, and it's something I'm never going to forget."

This is a teenager kicking as far as a two-time Pro Bowler from Plano who has made four field goals of 60 yards or more in an NFL career that is now in its third season. And this is only Drygas' second year playing football after he gave up soccer.

Aubrey was shown the video of Drygas' 64-yarder and said, "Kickers are getting better and better -- looked smooth -- and that's a prime example. Tell him congrats for me."

There have been 43 made field goals of 60 yards or longer in NFL history, according to ESPN, with former Baltimore Ravens star Justin Tucker setting the record with a 66-yarder in 2021. In just the last two weeks, two Dallas-area high school kickers have made field goals from 60 yards or more.

Hurst L.D. Bell's Grady Matcham made a 60-yard field goal against Odessa on Sept. 5, matching the Dallas-area public school record. He tied Jaden Oberkrom, who made a 60-yarder for Arlington Martin in 2011.

That was the first made field goal for Matcham at the varsity level. The senior was on the junior varsity squad last year.

"It's definitely my snapper [David Hackworth] and holder [Brendon Gleim]. They have been really good," Matcham said. "On top of that, I have hit the weight room a lot during last offseason, and I stopped playing soccer and focused on football."

Matcham's kicking was the difference in last week's 35-28 win over Keller Timber Creek, as he made field goals of 44 and 47 yards and converted all three of his extra points to help L.D. Bell start 3-0 for the third time in four years. His work with his personal kicking coach, former NFL kicker Scott Blanton, has paid huge dividends.

"When he started kicking, he will be the first one to tell you that making a PAT was a challenge. He had never really kicked seriously until he got to high school," L.D. Bell coach TJ Dibble said. "But he is a great example of a kid that stayed with us, was in offseason, lifted weights, ran, did everything. He was one of the most improved kids in our program in the strength and conditioning aspect.

"He has gone from a kid that had some leg talent to a legitimate Division I prospect."

The Dallas area has produced exceptional kickers over the years, including Pro Bowlers Matt Stover and Phil Dawson from Lake Highlands. Southlake Carroll has been kicker U, with Super Bowl champion Garrett Hartley and Kris Brown kicking in the NFL, Joe McFadden (Nevada), Tyler White (Texas A&M as a punter) and Kyle Lemmermann (TCU) currently kicking in college and Duke pledge Gavin Strange rated the seventh-best kicker in the nation in the Class of 2026.

But what Drygas and Matcham did this week was historic. And their kicks were both with no wind.

Going into this season, there had been only six field goals of 60 yards or more made by players at UIL schools in state history. The public school record is 62 yards, shared by Midland's David Leaverton in 1995, El Paso Irvin's Ralph Heaten in 1992 and Odessa Permian's Russell Wheatley in 1975.

Dave Campbell's Texas Football, which tracks state records, doesn't include private school players in its record book. But the state record, as recognized by MaxPreps, is 67 yards by Dallas Christian's Russell Cowsert in 1987.

Legacy Christian coach Doug Hix thinks Drygas should be considered the record holder.

"In my opinion, he has the longest kick in Texas, because the 67-yarder was back when they still approved kicking tees [for field goals]," Hix said. "He has the longest kick without a tee."

Drygas' kick almost didn't happen. Legacy Christian was setting up for a 59-yard field goal but got a delay of game penalty, so Hix sent out his punt team. Luckily for Drygas, he is also the team's punter and was able to change his coach's mind.

"Jack is looking at me from the field," Hix said. "He is putting praying hands together, saying, please coach, I can do it. So the punt team is still out there, and Jack is still giving me these praying hands, like let me take a chance, so then I call a timeout, pull the punt team off and put the field goal team back on and then he kicks it. I was so happy for him, because he was so confident."

Drygas was a longtime soccer player and said he decided to try football because he wanted to help his team and be part of that school culture, and "you don't get it just sitting in the stands watching the game." He admits that he didn't really know how to kick a football when he first started and that while he could kick far, "they would go nowhere near the field goal."

But he started working with kicking coach Sean Riley, he has been to college camps around the country, he has put in the time in the weight room and he has modeled his kicking after Tucker, a seven-time Pro Bowler who went to high school at Austin Westlake.

Drygas made a 56-yarder in a game last year, and he has kicked a 65-yarder in practice. He credits holder Andrew Wetzel and snapper Keller Walters for a lot of his success, and after his 64-yarder, Washington, Oklahoma and other colleges have expressed interest.

Both Drygas and Matcham have also changed their coaches' thinking on how often to go for it on fourth down as opposed to trying a field goal.

"I've been on a lot of football teams where kicking a field goal from anywhere past 35 yards wasn't an option," Dibble said. "We feel with confidence that Grady can go out there and hit a field goal. What an asset to have."

Hix added: "If that ball gets to the 40, we're pretty confident we can get three points. More importantly, it makes it easier on kickoffs, because we can put freshmen out there and not worry about anyone returning a kick, so we can rest guys."

Staff writer Joseph Hoyt contributed to this report.

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Brandon Aubrey's 64-yarder? This Frisco Legacy kicker beat him to the punch by two days