Morstead is the star in Saints' Super win

NORTH East Lincolnshire joined New Orleans in celebration yesterday as Thomas Morstead kicked his way into Super Bowl folklore.

The 23-year-old New Orleans Saints' punter became the star of Super Bowl XLIV when his audacious kick at the start of the second half turned the game on its head, and helped his team to their first ever Super Bowl win.

As reported by the Telegraph in the build-up to the 'greatest show on earth', Morstead has his roots in the Grimsby area and was introduced to sport with an oval ball when he went along to a training session at Market Rasen & Louth Rugby Club as a youngster.

And the connections with North East Lincolnshire don't end there – Morstead's mum, Isobel, was raised in Beelsby, where his grandparents Don and Rosalie Fenwick still live, and dad John attended Hereford School.

With the Saints trailing the Indianapolis Colts 10-6 at half-time at Miami's SunLife Stadium, and more than 100 million TV viewers watching, New Orleans' coach Sean Payton told Morstead to surprise their opponents by opening the third quarter with an 'onside' kick – a high-risk play where the kicking team aim to retain possession of the ball.

The bold move marked the first time the play had ever been used in a Super Bowl before the fourth quarter, and was even more impressive given that Morstead had not attempted an onside kick in a game in his life and had never practiced onside-kicking until 12 days before.

Explaining his emotions when the call was made, Morstead said: "I wasn't worried, I was terrified.

"They had a meeting and he (Payton) came out and told me. Like it wasn't a big deal, he said it in passing.

"He told me with 20 minutes left in the half-time. I wish he would have told me at the end."

The Texas-born player, who is in his rookie year with the Saints, added: "When coach called that play, it made sense to me.

"My special teams coach in college, who passed away this past year, used to always say be more aggressive than the opponent. I was terrified and excited at the same time.

"I was praying that it would go 10 yards and hoped for a fortunate roll and bounce."

Morstead's prayers were answered as the ball bobbled the 10 yards required and bounced off a Colts' helmet straight into the hands of a Saints player. Shortly after, New Orleans took their first lead of the game and went onto to win 31-17 in thrilling style.

Fellow Saints kicker Garrett Hartley was quick to pay tribute to Morstead after the historic game, saying: "We had that planned. We had been working on that for weeks, and we executed it at the proper time.

"Thomas made an amazing kick, and it shifted the whole momentum of the game."