Madilyn Boyer nearly punted, passed and kicked her way across the country.

She fell one foot and nine inches short.

Boyer, 9, a fourth-grader at South Butler Intermediate Elementary, finished fifth in the country in the girls 8-9 division of the NFL Punt, Pass & Kick competition recently. The top four scores advanced to Denver for the AFC Championship Game and national competition.

While Madilyn’s combined score of 172 feet — 56 punting, 58 passing and kicking — was good enough to win the state title, she was beaten out nationally by girls representing the San Diego Chargers, Atlanta Falcons, Tennessee Titans and Dallas Cowboys.

“I was disappointed,” she said of missing out on the national finals. “But I made it this far and that made me happy.”

Madilyn’s father, Bill Boyer, admitted that “I was more upset than she was. I was looking forward to making that trip.

“Each NFL team would post its final Punt, Pass and Kick results on different days. I kept checking team websites and Madilyn was sitting in fourth place with the Giants and Cowboys the only teams yet to post results,” he said. “Then that girl from Dallas bumped her to fifth.

“I’m proud of Madilyn. That’s a tremendous accomplishment.”

This was Madilyn’s first time as a participant in NFL Punt, Pass & Kick. She competed as part of gym teacher Steve Hunka’s program at school.

A school can serve as its own district competition if it gets at least 100 participants. Hunka had more than 300 kids involved.

“The NFL encourages schools to run their own competition. This is the 21st year we’ve been doing this and no one has advanced as far as Madilyn,” Hunka said. “Her scores continually got better with each competition.

“That’s a big stage to be on as a kid advances through and a lot of kids will give in to the growing pressure. She thrived on it.”

After winning her school’s district title, Madilyn claimed the sectional championship in Sewickley and earned the opportunity to compete in the Pittsburgh regional at the Steelers’ training complex on the South Side the morning of Dec. 8.

Upon winning that, she got to appear on the field during the Steelers-Miami Dolphins’ game later that day at Heinz Field.

“It was snowing and my hands were cold ... I didn’t throw a very good pass,” Madilyn said of her exhibition toss in front of the Heinz Field crowd. “It was cool being on the scoreboard, though.”

Hunka said Madilyn became the third youngster from the South Butler program to win a Punt Pass & Kick regional title. Jake McTighe — an eventual linebacker at Lafayette College — won in 2002 and Zack McMillan won two years ago.

McTighe finished 18th in the country, McMillan 28th.

Though she enjoys passing a football, it is far from Madilyn’s sport of choice. She plays on an under-12 soccer team, was the first overall player picked among her school’s fourth and fifth-graders for its co-ed elementary basketball league and is showing the ability to switch-hit in softball.

“She’s maybe 65 pounds soaking wet,” her father said. “She just enjoys sports.”

During her school’s lone fundraiser — Laps for Learning — Madilyn walked 55 laps around the track one evening, the equivalent of 13.7 miles.

“Madilyn is fantastic,” school principal Rich Caverett said. “Academically, personality, how she treats others ... I’m just proud to be her principal. What she’s accomplished is amazing.”

“She’s just a very talented girl,” Hunka said.

And an unselfish one.

“I like passing the ball and watching someone else score,” she said of soccer and basketball.

But she won’t pass on another opportunity to do Punt, Pass & Kick.

“I’ll be back to try it again next year,” Madilyn said.