Ed McAleney, a former South Portland High All-State football player, likes the criteria for the Frank Gaziano High School scholarship and linemen of the year awards.
McAleney, 58, of Cape Elizabeth, has been a member of the awards selection committee in the two-year history of the Gaziano Award. He has been impressed with the accomplishments of the young athletes.
“It’s a heck of an award. The criteria are the exact things colleges are looking for,” said McAleney.
McAleney parlayed his career the University of Massachusetts (he was inducted into the school’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 2004) into a standout career in the Canadian Football League with the Calgary Stampeders from 1977 to 1983. He was named the CFL’s defensive player of the year in 1981.
McAleney said he wished there were such awards when he was in high school. He graduated the year before the Fitzpatrick Trophy was instituted. McAleney did win the Vinall Trophy as the outstanding player in the Western Maine Class A basketball tournament in 1970.
“From a lineman’s perspective, it’s great to see linemen get some attention. The Gaziano Award really zooms in on the character of the player. You really learn about the kids. The candidates have to submit an essay on a subject of their choosing and be interviewed by the selection committee. I’ve been amazed at some of the things they’ve accomplished at 17 years old, ” he said.
The Gaziano Award is actually two awards. There’s an award for an offensive lineman of the year and an award for a defensive lineman of the year. The winners each receive a $2,500 scholarship and a trophy.
The offensive linemen finalists are Logan Mars, Scarborough; Matthew McLean, Windham; Rudy Pandora, Lewiston and Nate Porter, Portland. The defensive linemen finalists are Max Andrews, John Bapst; Christian Deschenes, Cheverus; Luke Libby, Thornton Academy and Matthew Ross, Cape Elizabeth.
Each high school head coach is allowed to nominate a senior offensive and defensive lineman from their team. The nominations are reviewed by the selection committee and whittled down to a group of finalists.
Other criteria for the award are a minimum of two years of varsity competition and an exemplary record of athletic, academic and citizenship achievement. Candidates also must submit a game film for review by the committee.
“How they come across in the interview is very important,” said McAleney.
The inaugural Gaziano Award winners last year were Matt Welch of South Portland on offense and Nate Martel of Bonny Eagle on defense.
The Gaziano Award and Scholarship presentations will be made at a banquet brunch at the Augusta Civic Center on Jan. 29, beginning at 11:30 a.m.
The awards are named in memory of Gaziano, who founded National Distributors, a local beverage retailer, in 1960. Gaziano, who died at 92 in 2010, was a standout football player at the College of the Holy Cross and also played professionally for the Washington Redskins and the Boston Yanks.
Staff Writer Tom Chard can be reached at 791-6419 or at:
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