Maricopa youth football player named to national all-star game

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Matthew Kudray, 10, of Maricopa has been selected to participate in the second annual Offense-Defense Youth All-American Bowl on Jan. 1 in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

Matthew, who plays center for the JPW Cougars of the Maricopa Youth Football League, will join dozens of peers in his age group nationwide in an East-meets-West all-star game in South Carolina. The game is part of a weeklong series of events leading up to the fifth annual Offense-Defense All-American Bowl, a nationally-televised all-star contest showcasing 80 of the nation’s top high school seniors.

Matthew participated in a youth football camp conducted in June by Offense-Defense Sports in Orlando, Fla. He was voted the most valuable player of his age group as an offensive lineman and later was selected to play in the upcoming Youth All-American Bowl.

“When they called his name, it was a look of shock and surprise and excitement,” Matthew’s mother, Lisa Kudray, said about his reaction to being honored as an MVP.

Matthew, who has been playing football for four years, is in the fifth grade at Kyrene de los Lagos Elementary School. He has helped the JPW Cougars win their first four games this season.

Matthew lives in Maricopa with his parents, Rob and Lisa Kudray, and his 11-year-old sister, Lauren Kudray.

Offense-Defense Sports has been running full-contact football instructional camps for the past 42 years.  More information is available at http://www.o-d.com.

Submitted photo