Cape Coral native Kevin Parza gets the chance of a lifetime at the Southeastern Conference football championship game on Dec. 4 in Atlanta.

Parza, 19, responded to a Dr. Pepper promotion on the University of Florida campus where he is a freshman pre-med student. The promotion called for participants to submit a video detailing why they deserved a shot at Dr. Pepper’s Million Dollar Tuition Giveaway.

Parza, a 2010 graduate of Bishop Verot High School, submitted a rap video as his entry. His entry was selected as a finalist for the football toss competition in Atlanta.

“I really entered on a whim,” said Parza, son of Medi and Leo Parza of Cape Coral.

Participants get 10 chances to throw a football from five yards away into a two-foot hole in an oversized Dr. Pepper can replica. The fan successfully tossing the most footballs into the hole in 30 seconds wins a grand prize scholarship of $123,000.

“That would be very beneficial for me,” Parza said. “I want to get into med school. With grad school and all I’m looking at eight, nine years. It would help my parents not worry about my tuition expenses.”

Parza has a background in athletics, but not football.

“I did cross country and track in high school, but not football,” he said.

Parza will have five weeks to practice his football throwing form and accuracy.

“I toss a ball around with my friends,” he said, “and my dad made a target out of PVC pipes in the back yard at home where I practice when I go home on the weekends.”

Parza is one of thousands of fans who entered the contest nationwide. A panel of judges, including Hall of Fame coach Lou Holtz, helped evaluate the entries and select the finalists.

Five finalists will compete in a preliminary contest on Dec. 3 in Atlanta. The top two then advance to the finals to compete head-to-head during halftime of the nationally televised SEC Championship game at the Georgia Dome.

Parza’s video can be viewed online at http://bit.ly/905ST0.