Not his best numbers, but Lorenz places fourth on memorable day

Preferring to be an athlete rather than a spectator, Kody Lorenz wasn't planning to stay for the duration of his first St. Louis Rams football game.

He had a soccer game to play Sunday night.

Lorenz, 11, a sixth-grade student at Jackson Middle School, competed in the NFL/Pepsi Punt, Pass and Kick Rams Team Championship event Sunday morning at the Edward Jones Dome prior to the Rams game with the Washington Redskins.

Lorenz finished fourth in 10- and 11-year-old boys age group, posting a total score of 196 feet. He fell a little more than 41 feet short of his sectional total that qualified him for the event.

"I messed up my kick off the tee," Lorenz said.

He booted the ball 59 feet, 7 inches off the tee. He added a punt of 56-9 and a throw of 79-8.

Lorenz was in the same group on one half of the field with another competitors in his age group, runner-up finisher Kyle Eaton, whose total was 232-6.

On the other half of the field, Dalton Keene of Jacksonville, Ill., racked up the winning 305-7 total with a punt of 89-4, a throw of 111-10, and a kick of 105-5. Last year, only three 10- and 11-year-old boys in the nation topped 300 feet in the team championship events.

"I wasn't nervous," Lorenz said after the competition and before the game while the stadium was still filling with fans. "I felt pretty relaxed. I'll probably be nervous at halftime," when each of the competitors make a throw in front of the packed house.

"Just getting to first step on the field was pretty cool," Lorenz added. "It's bigger than I expected."