PHOTO BY NEWMAN LOWRANCE/ST. LOUIS RAMS Rams' rookie quarterback Keith Null lines up under center in his NFL debut last Friday night. The former Badger threw a 13-yard, fourth-quarter scoring strike to Sean Walker to secure a 23-20 victory over the New York Jets. Every kid dreams of having the ball in their hands with the game on the line.

Last Friday night, Lampasas product Keith Null's dream came true as he tossed the game-winning touchdown in his NFL debut to give the St. Louis Rams a 23-20 victory over the New York Jets in both teams' preseason opener.

While the touchdown pass was not the first time Null engineered a come-from-behind victory, it likely will go down as one of the most memorable for the NFL rookie.

"I think with every player, you get out there and you're just playing football again, just like you always have," Null told the Belleville News-Democrat, a newspaper that serves southwestern Illinois and the St. Louis region. "That's what it was like for me."

In his senior year alone, Null threw 48 touchdowns, helping West Texas A&M University to a 10-1 regular-season record.

Null's first pro appearance occurred with 9:41 remaining in the fourth quarter after Brock Berlin suffered a sprained MCL.

In addition to being rushed into the game suddenly, Null took over when the momentum was fully behind the home team.

The Jets opened the fourth quarter with a 50-yard touchdown hookup between Erik Ainge and David Clowney that gave New York a 20-16 advantage with 10:27 remaining inside Giants Stadium.

On the following possession, Berlin was injured on an incomplete pass, but Null stepped up and delivered a short, threeyard strike to Chris Ogbonnaya on a third-and-eight play. The Rams were forced to punt, but the Jets muffed the catch, and St. Louis recovered the ball at the New York 24-yard line.

After a pair of Ogbonnaya runs, Null completed his second and final pass of the game to Walker for the go-ahead score.

"It was crazy," Null told the Illinois publication. "It was the first time I had been on the field in a stadium that big. For the first time walking out for a pro football game, it was unbelievable."

After the game, Rams starting quarterback Marc Bulger rewarded the sixth-round draft pick with the game ball.

"That pass looked like a 10-year veteran," Bulger told the St. Louis Rams' official Web site. "He saw the match-up, and he's been studying and working hard, and it paid off."

Null and the Rams return to the field Friday night in their preseason home opener against the Falcons.