Palm Beach County Sports Commission

Brett Baer Louisiana-Lafayette	Nate Freese Boston College	San San Te Rutgers

College football’s top kicking award, the Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award sponsored by the Palm Beach County Sports Commission recognizes three of the top kickers each week from FBS division teams as the “Stars of the Week”.

There’s nothing tougher for a kicker than to have the game’s outcome riding on his leg with the game clock ticking down to zero.  Louisiana-Lafayette junior Brett Baer's 26-yard field goal as time expired lifted ULL to its first 4-1 start since 1988 as the Ragin' Cajuns fended off a late Florida Atlantic rally to secure a 37-34 victory at Cajun Field.  The Brandon, Mississippi native also connected from 47 and 46 yards and converted four extra point tries.  He tied his career mark with three field goals in the game. His 49 points lead the team in scoring.

Boston College sophomore Nate Freese kicked four field goals in vain Saturday, as the Eagles still fell 27-19 to Wake Forrest in ACC action in Chestnut Hill, Maryland.  Freese connected from a career-long 52 yards, as well as from 45, 36 and 32 yards out.  The Strongsville, Ohio native is 5-for-6 on kicks from longer than 40 yards this season.  No Boston College kicker has been successful from as long as 52 yards since Brian Lowe in 1989.  Freese began the season as a member of the Lou Groza Award preseason watch list.

Rutgers University rode the talented leg of senior placekicker San San Te to a 19-16 victory over Syracuse in the Big East Conference opener for both schools on Saturday.  Te’s 47-yarder in the second overtime decided the game.  The Conover, North Carolina native set a career mark of four field goals in a game by also scoring from 33 yards out and twice from 27, adding the extra point after the Scarlet Knights’ only touchdown as well.   His 54 career field goals rank fifth in Big East Conference history.  Te’s 10 field goals this season are tied for the second-most in the nation.

The Lou Groza Award will be presented as part of The Home Depot College Football Awards in Orlando, Florida on Thursday December 8th.  The three finalists will be honored at the 20th Annual Lou Groza Awards Banquet on Tuesday December 6th at the Kravis Center in West Palm Beach, Florida.  For more information on the Groza Award and the Palm Beach County Sports Commission, visit www.palmbeachsports.com.

National College Football Awards Association

The Lou Groza Award is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA). The NCFAA was founded in 1997 as a coalition of the major collegiate football awards to protect, preserve and enhance the integrity, influence and prestige of the game’s predominant awards. The NCFAA encourages professionalism and the highest standards for the administration of its member awards and the selection of their candidates and recipients. For more information, visit the association’s official website, ncfaa.org.

About the Palm Beach County Sports Commission

The Palm Beach County Sports Commission is a private, not-for-profit organization contracted by Palm Beach County to promote and market the County as a sports and sports tourism destination. The Commission brings sporting events and activities to the County, enhances economic impact, stimulates bed tax revenues (primarily in the off-season), and maximizes utilization of County facilities. The Commission offers a full range of event service support, corporate partnerships, sponsorships and a local membership program that support its goals. Local, regional, national and international marketing efforts are ongoing by the Commission with sports organizations and event owners. The Commission also produces sports-related programs for the residents of Palm Beach County including the annual Lou Groza Awards program, the Palm Beach County Sports Hall of Fame, the Kids Fitness Festival of the Palm Beaches and awards the annual Sam Budnyk Student-Athlete Scholarship. For more information on the Palm Beach County Sports Commission go to www.palmbeachsports.com.

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