33 finalists will be narrowed to five distinguished scholar-athletes who
will be honored at the NFF Annual Chapter Awards Luncheon 
presented by Under Armour in New York City on Dec. 10

DALLAS, Aug. 22, 2013 – The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFF) announced today the names of the 33 finalists for the 2013 NFF High School National Scholar-Athlete Awards, which will honor one young man from each of the country’s five regions as the best and the brightest for their accomplishments as athletes, scholars and citizens at the high school level. The five winners, who are now playing college football but are being recognized for their previous accomplishments in high school, will be announced the week of Oct. 9.

“The NFF Chapter Network continues to grow and excel, and their work this year has allowed us to identify these exceptional 33 scholar-athletes who have clearly established themselves among the best in the nation,” said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. “It will be a difficult task to select one from each region as the absolute best. Each possesses incredible talent in all facets of their lives, and it is a tremendous honor for us to highlight their accomplishments.”

With 120 chapters and more than 12,000 members, the NFF Chapter Network impacts more than 500,000 student-athletes at 4,800 high schools in 47 states each year. The centerpiece of their efforts are the annual chapter awards banquets, which recognize more than 3,500 of the nation’s top scholar-athletes and distribute more than $1 million in scholarships. From this pool of 3,500 scholar-athletes, the chapters have nominated 33 individuals in 2013 as finalists for the highly sought-after NFF High School National Scholar-Athlete Awards. During the week of Oct. 9, a national committee will select and announce the five winners, one from each region, of the 2013 NFF High School National Scholar-Athlete Awards.

The five winners will travel to New York City to be honored during the NFF Chapter Awards Luncheon, presented by Under Armour, on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2013, at the Waldorf-Astoria.  First bestowed in 1991, the NFF National High School Scholar-Athlete Award has become one of the most prestigious high school honors in the country.  Criteria for the award include but are not limited to academic achievement, athletic accolades and community involvement.

East Region Nominees
· Kyle Adams from Roxbury High School in Succasunna, N.J. Nominated by the NFF Morris County Chapter and currently playing at Harvard University.
· Scott Carpenter, Jr. from Gonzaga College High School in Washington, D.C. Nominated by the NFF National Capital Chapter and currently playing at Princeton University.
· Adam Greene from Broadneck High School in Annapolis, Md. Nominated by the NFF Greater Baltimore Chapter and currently playing at the University of Maryland.
· Caleb Johnson from Northern Lehigh High School in Slatington, Pa. Nominated by the NFF Lehigh Valley Chapter and currently playing at Harvard University.
· Brian Schoenauer from West Windsor-Plainsboro South High School in Princeton Junction, N.J.  Nominated by the NFF Delaware Valley Chapter and currently playing at the University of Pennsylvania.
· Francis Walsh from Archbishop Wood High School in Warminster, Pa. Nominated by the NFF Philadelphia Chapter and currently playing at Villanova University.

Midwest Region Nominees
· AJ Day from Lancaster High School in Lancaster, Wis. Nominated by the NFF Wisconsin Chapter and currently playing at the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse.
· Cole Johnson from Avon High School in Avon, Ind. Nominated by the NFF Central Indiana Chapter and currently playing at Northwestern University.
· Duncan Mercer from Southeastern High School in South Charleston, Ohio.  Nominated by the NFF Springfield Chapter and currently playing at Centre College (Ky.).
· Dylan Newcomb from Waynesville High School in Waynesville, Mo. Nominated by the NFF Tom Lombardo/St. Louis Chapter and currently playing at Washington University in St. Louis (Mo.).
· Samuel Schrader from Mishawaka High School in Mishawaka, Ind. Nominated by the NFF Moose Krause Chapter and currently playing at Butler University.
· Zachary Strittmatter from Batavia High School in Batavia, Ill. Nominated by the NFF Chicago Metro Chapter and currently playing at Washington University in St. Louis (Mo.).
· Trenton Tanking from Holton High School in Holton, Kan. Nominated by the NFF Sunflower Chapter and currently playing at Kansas State University.

Northeast Region Nominees
· Peter Gerson from Daniel Hand High School in Madison, Conn. Nominated by the NFF Casey-O’Brien/New Haven County Chapter and currently playing at Yale University.
· Donald Goodrich from Chevrus High School in Portland, Maine. Nominated by the NFF State of Maine Chapter and currently playing at the University of New Hampshire.
· Tyler Grant from Exeter High School in Exeter, N.H. Nominated by the NFF Joe Yukica/New Hampshire Chapter and currently playing at Bowdoin College (Maine).
· John McCauley from Queensbury High School in Queensbury, N.Y. Nominated by the NFF Capital District Chapter and currently playing at the University at Albany.
· Joseph Paparelli from The Norwich Free Academy in Norwich, Conn. Nominated by the NFF Southeastern Connecticut Chapter and currently playing at Bryant University.
· Nick Peabody from Barnstable High School in Hyannis, Mass. Nominated by the NFF Jack Grinold/Eastern Massachusetts Chapter and currently playing at Princeton University.
· Mitchell Ryan from Gardner High School in Gardner, Mass. Nominated by the NFF Joe Mewhiney/Central Massachusetts Chapter and currently playing at Wesleyan University (Conn.).
· Jake Stalcup from Burr and Burton Academy in Manchester, Vt. Nominated by the NFF Vermont Chapter and currently playing at Middlebury College (Vt.).
· John Van Allen from Avon Old Farms School in Avon, Conn.. Nominated by the NFF Northern Connecticut Chapter and currently playing at Harvard University.

South Region Nominees
· Bennett Barton from Roswell High School in Roswell, Ga. Nominated by the TD Club of Atlanta/NFF Chapter and currently playing at Georgia Tech.
· Jacob Best from Green Hope High School in Cary, N.C. Nominated by the NFF Bill Dooley/Triangle East Chapter and currently playing at Randolph-Macon College (Va.).
· Gabriel Brandner from Heathwood Hall Episcopal School in Columbia, S.C. Nominated by the NFF Midlands/South Carolina Chapter and currently playing at Duke University.
· Grant Dawson from Ronald W. Reagan High School in Pfafftown, N.C. Nominated by the NFF Corrigan/Faircloth Chapter and currently playing at Wake Forest University.
· Jacob Schultz from Siegel High School in Murfreesboro, Tenn. Nominated by the NFF Middle Tennessee Chapter and currently playing at Vanderbilt University.
· Weston Steelhammer from Calvary Baptist Academy in Shreveport, La. Nominated by the S.M. McNaughton Chapter and currently playing at the United States Air Force Academy.

West Region Nominees
· Sean Dowling from Fallbrook Union High School in Fallbrook, Calif. Nominated by the NFF Walter Zable/San Diego Chapter and currently playing at Vanderbilt University.
· Ryan Finley from Paradise Valley High School in Phoenix, Ariz.  Nominated by the NFF Valley of the Sun Chapter and currently playing at Boise State University.
·  Zackary Golditch from Gateway High School in Aurora, Colo. Nominated by the NFF Colorado Chapter and currently playing at Colorado State University.
· Johnny Pena from Salpointe Catholic High School in Tucson, Ariz. Nominated by the NFF Southern Arizona Chapter and currently playing at Brown University.
· Nicholas Whitton from Villa Park High School in Villa Park, Calif.  Nominated by the NFF Orange County Chapter and currently playing at the University of Pennsylvania.

During the past 22 years, 96 student-athletes have been recognized as NFF High School National Scholar-Athletes, and this year will mark the 23rd class of honorees. Recent recipients include Andrew Luck (2008, former Stanford and current Indianapolis Colts quarterback), Andrew Rodriguez (2008, Army linebacker and winner of the 2011 William V. Campbell Trophy) and Bryant Browning (2006, former Ohio State and current New York Giants offensive lineman).

Other notable past recipients include Todd Helton (1992, former Tennessee quarterback and current Colorado Rockies first baseman), Jon Stinchcomb (1998, a former Georgia and NFL offensive lineman), Drew Henson (1998, a former Michigan quarterback, and professional football and baseball player) and Bobby Hoying (1991, a former Ohio State quarterback and winner of the 1995 William V. Campbell Trophy).

Five NFF High School National Scholar-Athletes have gone on to win NFF National Scholar-Athlete Awards for their accomplishments in college. They are Hoying, Eion Hu (1993, Harvard), Giovanni Carmazzi (1995, University of Pacific/Hofstra), Rodriguez and Stinchcomb (1998, Georgia).

For tickets to the Dec. 10 luncheon in New York, please contact Ron Dilatush at rdilatush@footballfoundation.com or by calling 972-556-1000.

ABOUT The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame
Founded in 1947 with early leadership from General Douglas MacArthur, legendary Army coach Earl "Red" Blaik and immortal journalist Grantland Rice, The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame is a non-profit educational organization that runs programs designed to use the power of amateur football in developing scholarship, citizenship and athletic achievement in young people. With 120 chapters and 12,000 members nationwide, NFF programs include the College Football Hall of Fame, the NFF Scholar-Athlete Award presented by Fidelity Investments, Play It Smart, the NFF Hampshire Honor Society, the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Alumni Association, and scholarships of more than $1.3 million for college and high school scholar-athletes. The NFF presents the MacArthur Bowl, the William V. Campbell Trophy endowed by HealthSouth, and releases the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) Standings. NFF corporate partners include the Allstate Sugar Bowl, the BCS, Fidelity Investments, Herff Jones, Liberty Mutual Insurance, NCAA Football, and Under Armour. For more information, please visit www.footballfoundation.org.