By Jim Lockwood
Staff Writer

The opening round of the NFL Pepsi Punt, Pass and Kick competition at Mountain View Middle School included, front row from left, Nick Barnard, Conor Harrison, Matt French and Brandon Dugay of Weare; plus, back row from left, Brandon Walton, Jeff Liptak, Sam Winslow and Billy Dugay of Weare. (Jim Lockwood Photo)

GOFFSTOWN – Every athlete who participated in the 2005 NFL Pepsi Punt, Pass and Kick competition at Mountain View Middle School on Saturday, Aug. 27, arrived at the event with different football backgrounds.

Some of the participants played organized youth football. For others, the only football they played was in their backyard or at school.

Still, according to all the athletes, ranging from 8 to 12 years old, the fun factor was off the charts.

“It sounded fun,” said Hopkinton’s Matt French, 9, of the reason he wanted to test his skills. “It’s a little different than a regular football game.”

French finished third overall in the 8- and 9-year-old division with a total of 139-feet, 5-inches. He tallied 51-1 on the punt, 52-11 on the pass and 35-5 on the kick.

Weare’s Billy Dugay, 11, placed first in the 10- and 11-year-old division with a total distance of 152-3. His punt was 52 feet, along with a pass of 57-11 and a kick of 42-4.

Brandon Walton, 12, came out on top in the 12- and 13-year-old division with a total distance of 131-9.

Walton’s punt went 45-2, his pass traveled 71-5 and his kick went 17-2.

Sam Winslow, 9, won the 8- and 9-year-old division with a total distance of 163-10.

Winslow’s distances included a punt of 39-9, a pass of 59-6 and a kick of 64-7.

As a result of finishing first in their respective divisions, Dugay, Walton and Winslow earned invitations to the sectional competition at the Nashua/Merrimack YMCA on Oct. 8.

Winslow started with a solid kick in the competition. He recorded his greatest distance, which quickly put him in the lead.

But in the punting portion of the contest, Winslow said he thought he’d do better than the results actually indicated.

Entering the final event – the pass – Winslow admitted he felt some pressure. However, he made an accurate toss to secure the win.

“I thought I could throw it straight and get it close to the line (used to determine distance),” Winslow said.

Dugay, who had no experience with organized football coming into the competition, had kicking contests with his friends on the playground at school.

“I like kicking the ball because it’s more fun than throwing,” Dugay said of his favorite part of the competition. “When you’re kicking, you don’t know where the ball is going to go. When you throw, you try to aim it.”

Like Dugay, Bedford 8-year-old Nick Barnard doesn’t play organized football. However, the event provided this soccer, basketball and baseball player with a new challenge.

Barnard finished second in the 8- and 9-year-old division with a total distance of 151-7. His punt traveled 41-8, along with a pass of 54-10 and a kick of 55-1.

Fellow Bedford resident Conor Harrison, 8, plays Mitey Mites football for the Bedford Jaguars. The kicking aspect of the competition gave him a chance to try something he wants to do at the Jr. Pee Wee level for the Jags, since punting isn’t done at the Mitey Mites level.

Harrison’s punt went 54-4, his passed traveled 25-10 and his kicked went 9-1.

Other competitors included Weare’s Brandon Dugay, 8, who had a punt of 39-10, a pass of 46-5 and a kick of 32-1.

Jeff Liptak, 10, finished second in the 10- and 11-year-old division with a total distance of 94-2. He punted the ball 14-10, passed it 41-4 and kicked it 38-0.