First place: A different angle, clean background and great faces made it the winner. Second place: Sharp, good color, peak action and driving rain separated this from the other routine football entries. Third place: Debated for a while because of how tight it is. We assumed that it was shot this way. The alternate if it were cropped tighter would have elevated it.
Judges:
Robert Hanashiro/USA Today, Keith Birmingham/Southern California News Group
Judges Comments
First place: A different angle, clean background and great faces made it the winner. Second place: Sharp, good color, peak action and driving rain separated this from the other routine football entries. Third place: Debated for a while because of how tight it is. We assumed that it was shot this way. The alternate if it were cropped tighter would have elevated it.