Rogers Middle School students recently discovered that cheering for their hometown sports teams can pay off.

Workers recently finished building a quarter-mile walking path using a $10,000 prize the school won for showing the most enthusiasm for the St. Louis Rams.

"There was no place for the kids to walk on the campus," School Nurse Kathy Beezley said. "Hopefully, we'll be able to put in exercise stations for them, too."

Rogers Middle, 7550 MacKenzie Road in the Affton School District, was the lone school in St. Louis to win the 2011 Back to Football Friday contest, sponsored by the National Football League. Throughout the country, just 34 winning schools were picked in the 32 NFL markets.

Participating schools sent in photographs of students showing their enthusiasm for their local NFL team. Rogers Middle students entered the contest, including a photograph that had all 500 students forming the word RAM. It was good enough to win the contest.

Installation of the walking trail is part of a continuing effort to teach good exercise and eating habits to the Rogers students.

In 2010, the school received a $3,000 grant from the Fuel Up to Play 60 program of the Midwest Dairy Association. This program urges schools to teach good health and exercise. The school bought five interactive Wii video-game systems. These games involve exercise by playing video versions of tennis, bowling and other sports.

The dairy association's program is a "close cousin" to the NFL Play 60 Super School program, which also emphasizes healthy choices for students, Beezley said.

"After we found out about the NFL contest, we decided to apply for Back to Football," Beezley said.

Rogers Middle recently received a $4,000 grant from the Midwest Dairy Association. The school is using some of the money for yoga classes.

"I'm on a crusade right now," Beezley said. "We want to send a good message to these students."