High schooler 'Bringing it' on the gridiron and sideline
If you think cheerleading is all about pom poms and short skirts, meet Armand Fernandez-Pierre.
Tell him to "Bring It On" and you'll get a 335-pound nose tackle in your face.
Fernandez-Pierre stars on both the gridiron and the sideline for the Episcopal School of Dallas. As reported by Fox (KDFW), he started pulling double-duty last week, playing his first game on the defensive line and performing Herkie jumps on the sideline.
Fernandez-Pierre's stopped playing football after a neck injury in eighth grade, but was talked into returning to the sport by Episcopal coach Clayton Sanders.
"I met him in the cafeteria, shook his hand," Sanders said. "He liked to crush my hand, and I said, 'This kid has got to play football.'"
The 6-foot-3 Fernandez-Pierre's size and strength have already attracted attention from college football recruiters. He's so strong, Sanders has instituted the "Armand Rule" – he's only allowed to go full-speed against the blocking sled in practice, otherwise he might injure a teammate.
Fernandez-Pierre agreed to give football another try only after he received assurances that he could continue cheering.
"[Cheer] is about encouraging each other and moving forward as a group and a team," Armand said. "When it comes to football I love being able to be, I guess - how could you say it - brutal."
Cheer coach Eric Laboa was reluctant to share Fernandez-Pierre, the only male member of the school's cheer squad.
"Obviously his massive strength and his size is really what helps us," Laboa said. "The girls feel really comfortable with him. He's the big brother of the entire team. He never lets anybody fall, never lets anybody hit the ground."
Scholarship opportunities were the deciding factor in allowing Fernandez-Pierre to put on a helmet and pads again. Schools such as Notre Dame, Miami, North Carolina and UCLA have requested video of him, according to The Dallas Morning News.
Fernandez-Pierre divides his time between football and cheerleading at games, practices and pep rallies.
"Believe it or not, cheer is one of the most physical sports that I've ever done, and I've done a wide range of sports, including lacrosse and wrestling," said Fernandez-Pierre, who also participates in choir, theater, powerlifting and works part-time.
He's also the only player who can make the claim of having his own cheer squad. The actual cheer squad.
"The girls go crazy whenever he makes a tackle," cheer coach Laboa said. "The girls go crazy whenever they call his name on the loudspeaker."
A star on the field and on the sidelines. Not a bad deal for any 17-year-old.
"Right now I'm just enjoying what I thought was impossible," Fernandez-Pierre said.
Follow Keith Whitmire on Twitter: @Keith_Whitmire