Photo courtesy of UVa Media Relations

Peyton Thomasson (left), a student at Crystal Spring Elementary, earned the chance to play touch football with UVa athletes.

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With the cursive penmanship of a much older person -- perhaps even that of a poet -- Roanoke fifth-grader Peyton Thomasson wrote the answer to a prompt that won him an afternoon he'll remember for a lifetime.

At the University of Virginia's 2008 Spring Football Festival held April 12, Peyton turned in his essay. The contest, held by The Daily Progress and the UVa Athletic Department, asked students in eighth grade or below to write "why character matters."

"Character makes sports more fun, school more fair, and life with your friends and family better," Peyton wrote at the end of his essay, which his mom said he finished in the car on the way to Charlottesville. "Your character is your reputation, and it will stay with you your whole life."

His essay won first place in the contest, scoring him two UVa football season tickets, a computer and an afternoon playing touch football with some of the stars of the UVa football team, among them one of Peyton's favorite players, quarterback Scott Deke.

The essay contest was open to young UVa fans who physically handed their essays in, no e-mails or mail-ins allowed. Lucky for Peyton, his parents go to all the UVa games-- including the spring game-- every year.

Peyton, a student at Crystal Spring Elementary, entered the contest in 2007 but didn't win, so his mother, Beth Thomasson, had to do a little persuading to get her son to enter a second time. At the time, she just wanted him to work on his writing.

"He's in fifth grade, and one of the big things in fifth grade is the writing SOL, and I thought it would be good practice for him," she explained.

Peyton's mom says he does well in all of his school subjects, but her son said his favorite school subject is math, although he doesn't mind writing when he can use some imagination.

"I like to write fun stories," he said. "I'm not a great fan of writing with a certain prompt unless the prompt is something you can really have some fun with."

Whether or not he had fun writing the essay about character, Beth Thomasson said that this time, he reaped his rewards.

"All in all, it was clearly worth it," she said.

His five-paragraph essay was written to make an English teacher proud. With complete thoughts, detailed examples and soulful insights, the composition was SOL-ready.

Instead of getting graded, though, his essay went to UVa's Athletic Department. Director of marketing and athletics for the department, Reggie Garrett, had no doubt that Peyton's was the best of the more than 60 essays.

There were arrows on the original copy of Peyton's essay, signifying the sentences that hit home with the reader. One in particular summarizes the words of the talented young sports-enthusiast:

"Character matters, and it is something you can always control by making good decisions," Peyton wrote. "It matters whether you are poor or rich and whether you are a kid or an adult."