Jim Henry Award

A little over fourteen years ago, the Maxwell Football Club decided to give an award to the Area's Football Player of the Year. It was decided by the Board to name this award in honor of our Chairman of Board, Jim Henry. Jim agreed to have his name on the award on the following conditions: the player had to be a student-athlete, someone who placed academics ahead of sports and this player had to be a young man who was involved with his school and community, in other words "a good citizen".

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A little over fifteen years ago, the Maxwell Football Club decided to give an award to the Area's High School Football Player of the Year. It was decided by the Board to name this award in honor of our Chairman of the Board, Jim Henry. Jim Henry agreed to have his name on the award on the following conditions: the player had to be a student-athlete, someone who placed academics ahead of sports and this player had to be a young man who was involved with his high school and community; in other words "a good citizen."

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A little over fifteen years ago, the Maxwell Football Club decided to give an award to the Area's High School Football Player of the Year. It was decided by the Board to name this award in honor of our Chairman of the Board, Jim Henry. Jim Henry agreed to have his name on the award on the following conditions: the player had to be a student-athlete, someone who placed academics ahead of sports and this player had to be a young man who was involved with his high school and community; in other words "a good citizen."

Pottsgrove High School coach Rick Pennypacker may be a little biased, but he feels Brent Steinmetz, his senior tailback, was the best all-around football player in the state during the 2001 season. He has the statistics to back it up.

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Austin Scott did it all in his final season at Parkland High School. He broke the Pennsylvania high school records for rushing yards (3,863), touchdowns (53) and scoring (318 points) while leading the Trojans to the PIAA Class AAAA championship.

In the title game against Woodland Hills, Scott scored on the first play from scrimmage, a 61-yard run, then added four more touchdowns and finished with 251 yards rushing as Parkland rolled to an easy 34-12 victory.

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Dan Connor of Strath Haven High School, the Maxwell Football Club's choice for the Jim Henry Award as the area's outstanding student-athlete of 2003, was a first-team All-America selection by USA Today and Super Prep magazine, among others.

The 6-3, 225-pound Connor started 59 games at Strath Haven, which is believed to be a state record. His teams won 56 of those games while capturing four PIAA District 1 Class AAA championships and the Pennsylvania state title in 2000.

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First play of the season for Pennridge High School. Handoff to senior tailback Ryan Greiser. Result: a 58-yard touchdown run. Question: So what do you do for an encore? If you're Ryan Greiser, the answer is "Plenty."

He went on to set school records for touchdowns in a season (33), most rushing yards in a season (2,030), most rushing yards in a game (295) and most rushing yards in a career (4,060). He also holds the Pennridge record for longest kickoff return, 93 yards for a touchdown.

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Consider the great quarterbacks who played high school football in Pennsylvania: Johnny Unitas, Joe Montana, Dan Marino, Joe Namath, and Jim Kelly. All are enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Now consider this: Pat Devlin of Downingtown East High School is off to a better start than all of them. Most people would find it hard to believe, but those who have seen Devlin play know how true it is.

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Dan Persa had many great moments during his football career at Bethlehem Liberty High School, but coach Tim Moncman puts Persa’s performance in the PIAA Class AAAA semifinals against Pennsbury right at the top.

Liberty won the game 45-38 in quadruple overtime as Persa played both ways, quarterback on offense, safety on defense. He ran or passed the ball on 55 of Liberty’s 65 offensive plays and accounted for five touchdowns (two rushing, three passing). He also had a team-high 12 tackles on defense.

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