Youth football: Jackson kicks to win

Tom Jackson of Newport Beach placed first in the 12- and

13-year-old boys division of the 2001 NFL Gatorade Punt, Pass & Kick

championship at Qualcomm Stadium during the San Diego Chargers football

game against the Oakland Raiders.

Jackson won in earlier rounds against local competitors from Orange

County and Los Angeles County.

The competition in San Diego featured the top five qualifiers from 11

regional contests in California, Hawaii and Nevada. The top four

finishers nationwide will compete for the national title at an AFC

playoff game in January.

Jackson was a quarterback on the Newport-Mesa Junior Midget Seahawks,

which defeated the Carson Colts in the Junior All-American Super Bowl on

Dec. 3.