Victoria hosts Punt, Pass & Kick competition (Video)
Ezequiel Martinez, 14, prepares to throw the NFL Punt Pass and Kick competition on Saturday at Riverside Stadium.
As of Sunday, September 30, 2012
The City of Victoria and the NFL present Punt Pass and Kick, a free competition for boys and girls ages 6-15 at Riverside Stadium Saturday.
For someone who has never played a down of football in his life, Jacob Wells sure knows how to punt the ball.
The 9-year-old Mission Valley resident was one of 40 boys and girls that participated in a local NFL Punt, Pass & Kick competition Saturday.
Jacob's 57-foot punt helped him win the Boys 8/9 year-old-competition. It was a high kick that wasn't a spiral, but certainly enough to get the attention of his fellow competitors and other parents.
His mother, Betsy Ledwig, said she and her husband play football with Jacob all the time. She was touched to see not only her son do well, but the parents in attendance cheer anytime there was a spectacular throw or kick.
"He loves football," Ledwig said. "He has three older brothers who played football in high school. His dad played in high school. He likes to tackle. I haven't put him on a team and I should. He can catch, throw and kick."
Saturday's competition at Riverside Stadium was the first step in a nationwide skills competition that the National Football League has sponsored since 1961. An estimated three million boys and girls, ranging from 6 to 15 years old, participate.
The competition was on the right field foul line. Overnight rains meant the field was soft. After a few kicks there was a divot on the field from where the 40 competitors planted their leg in the ground.
The kicks and throws were judged by feet, and accuracy. Any throw to the right, or left, of the tape measure had distance deducted.
Almost all the participants wore sneakers. Some, like Jacob, wore jerseys of their favorite football players. Others wore T-shirts representing their middle school and a couple appeared to have come straight from their CYFL game because they wore their pants and hip pads while kicking.
Jakub Rozsypal just wore a T-shirt, shorts and a black Houston Texans hat Saturday. The 13-year old Vanderbilt resident is a quarterback and cornerback on his football team and plays shortstop on his baseball team.
"You get to make contact and you get to hit people, make plays and be popular for making big plays," Jakub said about why he prefers football.
Jakub said he loves competing and showed why Saturday when he unleashed a 96 foot pass to win the 12/13-year-old boys competition. His 57 foot punt and 53 foot kick allowed him to finish with 206 total points, well ahead of second place, 134 points, and third place, 103 points.
The best finishers from Saturday advanced to the sectional round of the Punt, Pass & Kick competition in Corpus Christi. Should someone do well there, they would qualify for the Houston Texans team championship later this fall, and the national finals in early 2013.
That means there is hope for Jason Bitterly. The sophomore at Victoria West won the 14/15-year old competition over two others with 298 points - 134 passing, 90 kicking, 74 punting.
"It looked interesting and it was fun,' said Bitterly, ". I participated when I was 12 and I really liked it. It was fun (Saturday)."
