Honoring Senior Scholar Athletes

WEEKLY BLOG: 3/3/19

As the weather warms up this week, we are reminded that Spring Break is approaching for seniors. Before you know it, prom and graduation will be here. Before we get to that though, the Valley of the Sun Chapter of the National Football Foundation has chosen its student-athletes to honor.

Back in December, and again in February, many football players signed with four-year colleges to continue their football careers while earning an education. To date, 296 players from across the state have selected their schools for the next phase of their lives. Here's a look at that list.

For many prospective athletes that want to continue playing sports in college, attaining good grades is imperative for both meeting NCAA qualifying standards and to have more schools available for them to choose from. The players on the Scholar Athlete Class have no trouble reaching those academic requirements.

The Valley of the Sun Chapter covers the Phoenix area, Yuma County, Pinal County, and the Northern Arizona schools. It features a total of 186 AIA member schools. There is also a Southern Arizona Chapter for the Tucson schools as well as the other counties in that portion of the state.

In compiling this list, the formula is 40 percent academics (grade point average), 40 percent football accomplishments, and 20 percent school/community citizenship and participation. These are the most well-rounded student-athletes in the state that have been nominated by their high school coaches.

Dustin Inness of Northwest Christian was named the chapter's Fiesta Bowl Scholar Athlete of the Year. In addition to being a two-way starter, who was named the 3A Conference Defensive Player of the Year, the wide receiver and free safety carries a perfect 4.0 unweighted GPA (4.47 weighted). Inness holds the school record for tackles with 342 and is a three-sport athlete (basketball and baseball). The football team won the 3A title in an epic 40-37 triple-overtime game against Yuma Catholic last November. Inness holds an offer from San Diego State to be a long snapper for the Aztecs, but has not signed yet. When he is not playing sports, Inness is the student body president for the school in West Phoenix.

The teams that met for the 6A championship in each of the past two seasons (Chandler and Perry) placed a total of seven players in the top 34.

Chandler, which won its third straight title last December, is represented by tight end Brayden Liebrock, defensive end Max Sandlin, running back DeCarlos Brooks, and linebacker Javan Ah Quin.

Perry features Brayden Rohme, Colby Dickie, and Kyle Patterson.

Rohme was a First Team All-State offensive tackle. Dickie was a First Team All-State wide receiver who had more than 1,000 yards for the third straight season. Patterson is a tight end who plans to study Civil Engineering while playing and serving at Air Force.

Combined, the trio has an unweighted GPA of 3.65. Rohme signed with California while Dickie will play for CSU-Pueblo. Patterson selected the Falcons over offers from Washington and Alabama in a ceremony on National Signing Day.

"They're great leaders of our school," Perry head coach Preston Jones said. "I've always told the boys that your football players are leaders on campus."

Perry, which opened in 2007, is located in Gilbert, but is part of the Chandler Unified School District. Jones, who also teaches Physical Education, has been with the school since the start.

"Our test scores are up there with the elite schools in Arizona," Jones said. "We have a lot of kids that come to school here because of our academics. The teachers take their departments as seriously as we take our football team."

At Perry, the support system begins the first year. Freshmen football players practice in the morning and there is tutoring available after school. The teachers are required to stay after school so the students get any extra attention that is necessary. This helps assists in what can be a difficult transition to make from middle school to high school.

In addition to the Top 34 scholar athletes, there are some special awards that will be presented.

Brendan Blanchard, a defensive back and kick returner at Valley Vista, is the recipient of the Frances Kush Dedicated Student Athlete Award. Blanchard's family has experienced frequent financial hardship. The senior captain took a pair of cleats from the used bin and cleaned them up to wear each season. He carries a 3.8 GPA in the classroom and also helps young children to swim at Aqua Tots.

There were two winners for the Shaw Courage Award.

Many may have heard about the season that Prescott High's Austin Clark had on the field. The quarterback led the Badgers to a 7-4 season largely through his rushing efforts. Clark had 1,949 yards and scored 24 touchdowns. What many may not know is he played through a painful Grade 3 turf toe injury over the last six games that required surgery at the end of the year. The sesamoid ligament was torn and his plantar plate was ruptured. In the second half of the season, he was only able to practice once a week and then give his all on Friday nights. His passion for football and for his team showed through with his grit and competitive fire.

The other honoree is Zachary Vierhout from Agua Fria. In his time with the Owls, Vierhout has played seven different positions and had three different sets of coaching staffs. In his junior year, Vierhout suffered a lower leg injury that limited him during region play and cost him the last game of the season. After rehabilitating it for six months, he healed in time for summer passing league. Vierhout was looking forward to his senior year, but took a hit to the same right leg in Agua Fria's scrimmage and was limited for the first several games. He dedicated himself to more recovery and got better. Unfortunately, his season ended when he came down with a 103-degree fever, which required hospitalization and missing two weeks of school. Still, through it all, he showed the willingness to give effort on the field and in the classroom, where he maintains a 3.95 GPA while taking AP classes.

The Frank Kush Lifetime Achievement Coaching Award will go to Donnie Yantis. Yantis spent 14 seasons as head coach at Paradise Valley and took the Trojans to the playoffs nine times. He later became the first head coach at Arizona Christian and won a conference championship in his second year. Yantis is currently an assistant coach at Arizona State.

Awards honoring players with Native American Heritage will be given to three athletes. Kyle Boone of Carl Hayden, Thomas Gaitan of Poston Butte, and Coleman Owen of Higley are the recipients of the Talking Stick Scholarship Awards for Excellence.

Finally, Bruce Cooper will be recognized as the 2019 Distinguished Arizonan. The sports anchor at Channel 12 (KPNX) has hosted the Friday Night Fever show for 28 years.

The honorees will receive scholarship commitments from the NFF totaling $64,750. The chapter is a recipient of a Fiesta Bowl Charities grant, which has helped underwrite the scholarship program since 1986. Over the years, they have recognized more than 1,200 Arizona high school and college scholar athletes. The banquet will be held on the afternoon of April 6.

SCHOLAR ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: Dustin Inness (DB/WR/LS) - Northwest Christian