Veazie teen-ager New England champ in Punt, Pass & Kick Eighth-grader joins competition at Foxboro Stadium

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Nick Payson enjoys playing football because of “the intensity of the game.”

And it doesn’t get much more intense than competing in Foxboro Stadium.

Payson, a 13-year-old eighth-grader at Veazie Community School, not only competed in that NFL venue – he defeated all the rivals he faced there to win the ages 12-13 boys division of the New England Regional Punt, Pass & Kick competition on Dec. 9.

The competition was held on the field prior to the Patriots-Cleveland Browns game.

At halftime, all the competitors participated in a skills demonstration.

“Going to the Patriots game was pretty awesome,” Payson said. “The best part was being able to go out on the field. [The stadium] is huge.”

Payson was selected for the regional team competition by amassing one of the five highest scores at the sectional level. Payson won his sectional at the University of Maine on Sept. 29.

A group of 27 boys and 27 girls from all over the state competed at the sectional in eight age divisions. There were 10 boys in Payson’s division.

Payson said he wasn’t nervous about competing in Foxboro Stadium because “I didn’t really think about it that much.”

The NFL’s Punt, Pass & Kick program is open to boys and girls ages 8-15. Competitors receive scores based on the distance and accuracy of one punt, one pass and one placekick.

For example, if a competitor passes the ball 100 feet, but it lands 30 feet to the right of the measuring tape, 30 feet is deducted to make the score 70 feet.

A participant’s final score is the cumulative total for the punt, pass and kick.

Participants have the chance to advance through the local, sectional, regional and national levels.

The competitors for the national championship were determined by selecting the four players with the highest scores from among the 29 regional winners.Payson’s total of 300 feet, 10 inches placed him 15th on the list of 29 regional winners. He punted 83 feet, 5 inches; passed 131 feet, 7 inches; and kicked 85 feet, 10 inches.

The top scorer among the regional winners was Stephen Paskorz, who won the Pittsburgh Steelers region with 346 feet, 11 inches. Paskorz and three others will compete for the national title at an NFL playoff game in January.

Payson said he loves football, and his favorite team is the St. Louis Rams.

His favorite players are Terrell Davis of the Denver Broncos and Deion Sanders, who recently retired.

Payson also plays hockey, basketball, baseball and golf.

Payson played Bangor Youth Football from fourth grade to seventh grade.

This year, he was a running back and linebacker for an Orono Middle School team that earned a 5-1 record.

Payson participated in the Punt, Pass & Kick competition at the urging of Veazie Community School physical education teacher Mike Smart.

Smart staged a local competition for the Veazie students after a lunch break at school.

“Most of my friends were doing it, so I did it, too,” Payson said. Smart said he has organized a local competition for the past four years.

The NFL sent a brochure to the school describing the program, which does not require the children to pay an entry fee and supplies participating organizations with free footballs and tees.

Smart said he remembered participating in Punt, Pass & Kick with the Bangor Recreation Department during the 1960s, but area organizations had stopped participating in the program until several years ago.

This year, Veazie sent boys and girls to the sectional competition in seven of the eight age categories.

Last year, Morgan Chasse won the sectional in the ages 8-9 girls division and competed in the regional at a Patriots’ game, as well.

Smart said he was confident that Payson would perform well at the regional.

“I knew he had the ability, but I think I was pleasantly surprised [that he won]. I knew that under the right conditions he had the skills to win,” Smart said.

Payson has participated in the local competition for the past four years, and he competed at the sectional in 1999. This year, he knew what he had to work on if he wanted to be successful.

“I had to practice the things I was not really good at, like punting,” Payson said.

Payson enlisted the help of older brother Ben, a member of the Bangor High football team, for help on his punting.

Payson’s parents, Vicki and Dennis, accompanied him to Foxboro Stadium.

Vicki Payson said the family enjoyed watching the game together, and seeing Nick and the other children on the field for the halftime skills demonstration.

“It was neat – they gave us three tickets to the game and they gave the kids jerseys, sweats, hats and a plaque for winning,” she said.

“When all the kids came on the field there was a little girl about 3 feet tall,” she recalled, “and she heaved the ball in a perfect spiral. The crowd went ballistic – no one expected her to be able to throw the ball like that.”

Smart added that Payson’s success highlights the value of the Punt, Pass & Kick program.

“Just going there and competing and having fun,” Smart said, “and having the chance to meet other kids from around the state and New England is a great experience.”

Four local youths also won the sectional competition and participated in the New England regional: Rachel Lovely of Dedham (third in the 8-9-year-old girls division at the regional), Josh Curtis of Hermon (third in the 10-11 boys), Cassandra White of Hermon (second in the 12-13 girls), and Loretta Cantwell of Hermon (third in 14-15 girls).