Five local kids Seattle bound
<p>From left, Eric Dolence, Zeke Misa, Micalann McCrea and Chloe Davis, all of Ronan, will compete in the NFL Punt, Pass & Kick Team Championship in Seattle in early December.</p>
MISSOULA — Five Lake County children will travel to Seattle on Sunday, Dec. 1 to compete in the NFL Punt, Pass & Kick Team Championships during halftime at the Seattle Seahawks game against the New Orleans Saints.
Chloe Davis, 8, Eric Dolence, 11, Zeke Misa, 13, and Micalann McCrea, 14, all from Ronan, and Izabel Evans, 7, from St. Ignatius all won their respective age groups at the Missoula sectional contest and scored high enough to qualify for the Team Championship.
“The four qualifiers from Ronan are believed to be the most ever from a single Montana town to advance to the NFL regional level,” said Missoula sectional coordinator Don Davis in a press release.
McCrea will be making her third appearance at the Team Championships in Seattle, which she won in both 2010 and 2012.
The 7-year-old Evans will be going for the first time. She placed third in last year’s sectional competition.
“My kick saved me. … My punt was kind of off, then my throw was a little good, but my kick was really good,” said Evans, who totaled 46 feet to place first in the entire northwestern region.
Evans’ mother, Lisa, wasn’t terribly surprised that her daughter shined.
“She’s taller and bigger,” Lisa Evans said. “She’s always been athletic, I guess.”
The Missoula sectional is sending nine children in total to Seattle, and four more eastern and central Montana children qualified for the Denver Team Championship.
Winners at the Team Championships can qualify for the National Championship round, which will be held at an NFL postseason game in January.