Oregon transplant kicks competition
by Misty Volaski

Moving to a new place can be hard on anyone - especially on a young kid.
But for 9-year-old Jason Ordway, it wasn't so bad after all. The friendly fourth grader moved with his family from Oregon to the Ojai Valley last year.
With a year of both baseball and basketball under his belt, Jason decided to continue baseball and try flag football when he came to the valley. When he joined the Topa Topa Elementary thirrd and fourth grade flag football team, Ordway soon found he was a natural. He stood out as a part of the offensive tackling line, and showed the uncanny ability to pass the ball extremely well. His team went to the flag football "Super Bowl," and won the league and championship.
But he didn't stop there. Ordway won the Ojai Pass, Punt and Kick Contest for his age division, then went to county, where he took the top prize once again. Then, on Dec. 15, he went to Qual Comm Stadium (home of Chargers and Raiders) for the state finals contest where he blew the competition away, winning first place for his age division.
"We had to punt, kick, and pass the ball. They judged us on accuracy, and distance, and whoever had the most won," Ordway said. "I want to say thanks to my coach Dana (Smith)."
Ordway will be playing for San Antonio's fifth and sixth grade team next year, where he hopes to continue succeeding in football.

© 2002 The Ojai Valley News

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