Natalie Barkus of Butler and Leah Murphy of Fombell won the NFL Punt, Pass and Kick skills competition held Sunday at the Steelers' practice facility on Pittsburgh's South Side. Both were recognized during Sunday's game with the New England Patriots.

Barkus won the Girls 8-and-9 contest with a punt of 48.4 feet, a pass of 74.4 feet and a kick of 37.6 feet for a total of 160.4. Murphy won the 12-and-13 category with a punt of 82.8 feet, a pass of 72.0 feet and a kick of 84.9 feet for a total for 239.7.

Other Butler County contestants were Keara Lydon of Mars, who was fifth in Girls 10-and-11; Kory Wood of Butler, third in Boys 10-and-11; and Tyler Armagost of Boyers, fifth in Boys 12-and-13.

The Slippery Rock boys and Grove City girls soccer teams each received first-round byes in the District 10 playoffs.The Rockets will play the winner of the Fort LeBoeuf-Commodore Perry contest at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Meadville.The Eagles will play the winner of the Villa-Iroquois matchup at 5 p.m. Wednesday at Meadville.The Slippery Rock girls soccer team will play a play-in game at 5 today against Harbor Creek in Meadville.

Mike Sklarsky, a member of the Washington & Jefferson football team, recorded 12 tackles in the Presidents' 35-30 win over Waynesburg College Saturday.Sklarsky, a graduate of Seneca Valley, had two tackles for losses and one sack.Dennis Gearhart, a graduate of Freeport High School, pulled down four passes for 64 yards for Waynesburg.

Mars graduate Chris Passione, a freshman goalie for the Westminster men's soccer team, made four saves in a 2-0 shutout at Bethany Saturday.

A-C Valley graduate and Westminster sophomore linebacker Matt Knight made eight tackles in the Titans' 25-13 victory over Frostburg State (Md.) Saturday.

FCA Gems All-Star Cheerleaders competed in the Universal Cheerleaders Association Northeast Competition Series at Upper St. Clair High School Saturday and won in several categories.Pink Ice won the Mini Division for girls in second grade and under while the sixth grade-and-under Turquoise won Youth Level 1 and 2 Division and also won high points for the day in all Youth divisions.The ninth grade-and-under Tanzanites won the Junior Level 5 Division and also won high points of the day for all Junior Divisions. They also had the highest score in the All-Star Competition, which included the Senior divisions.