COLUMBUS, Ohio: The Columbus Chapter of The National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Hall of Fame hosted its 61st annual Scholar-Athlete Awards Banquet Feb. 7 at the Ohio Union on the campus of The Ohio State University.
 
The chapter presented awards to the top high school and college football scholar-athletes in the central Ohio area. Thirteen high school scholar-athletes claimed John H. McConnell and Worthington Industries Foundation Scholarships to further their educations. Blake Horvath from Hilliard Darby High School was recognized with the Maggied-Romanoff Award as the most outstanding scholar-athlete of the group. Horvath, who has a 4.55 GPA, will be continuing his education at the United States Naval Academy.

"Football has shown me how to compete, how to go out and give everything you have for one goal and never give up," said Horvath.  "I've learned just how important it is to be a leader for others around you.  There is no doubt in my mind that the skills and lessons I learned will stay with me for my entire life."

College scholar-athletes from Ohio State, Ohio Wesleyan, Otterbein, Capital, Denison, Ohio Dominican and Kenyon received recognition and Shane Quin from Ohio Wesleyan was awarded a post-graduate scholarship. Quin was a 2021 semifinalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy, presented by the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame, recognizing the nation's top football scholar-athlete.
 
The Ohio Gold Award was presented to former Ohio State running back Keith Byars. The most prestigious honor presented by the chapter, the Ohio Gold Award recognizes a former player, coach, administrator or person who has had a positive impact on amateur football in Central Ohio. Byars is the most recent College Football Hall of Fame inductee from Ohio State as a member of the 2020 class. Additional College Football Hall of Fame inductees who have claimed the Ohio Gold Award include Earle Bruce, John Cooper, Mike Doss (a 2022 electee), Eddie George, Archie Griffin, John Hicks, Woody Hayes, Orlando Pace,  Chris Spielman and Jim Tressel.  Other Ohio Gold recipients include Joey Galloway (a 1994 NFF National Scholar-Athlete and Campbell Trophy finalist), A.J. Hawk, Ann Hayes, Troy Smith and Gene Smith. 

The annual Larry Larson High School Coaches Award was presented to three legends of central Ohio high school sports: Dave Metz from West Jefferson High School, Jay Sharrett of Pickerington Central High School and Tony Pusateri of Reynoldsburg, Dublin Coffman and Upper Arlington. 

The Tyson Gentry Courage Award was presented to former Ohio State wide receiver Dimitrious Stanley,  who is currently battling stage IV prostate cancer and encouraged those in attendance to stay on top of their health and cancer screenings.

"Once again, this event proved to be wonderful night of fellowship all thanks to the sport of football," said Katie Logan, president of the Columbus Chapter.  "We were treated to inspiring stories from athletes at all levels of the game.  Our honorees all made an impact on the football field but are making an even bigger impact of off it.  Our chapter was thrilled to be able to award scholarships to all of our high school honorees, as well as one outstanding college honoree.  We can't wait to see what they continue to accomplish in the years to come."