The High School Football Rudy Awards 12 finalists announced

Courtesy of www.highschoolrudyawards.com

Trusted Sports and Daniel "Rudy" Ruettiger announced the 12 finalists of the second annual High School Football Rudy Awards. Chosen from over 250 nominees, these 12 have inspired teammates, coaches, and communities. Chosen for their ability to inspire others to excellence on and off the gridiron, the finalists come from the four corners of the nation, and across the Pacific from Hawaii.

The High School Football Rudy Awards 12 finalists are:

Chance Anthony
5-foot-10, 157 pounds, senior
Breckinridge County (Harned, Ky.) Fighting Tigers
Vote for Chance



Anthony was nominated by his head coach Scott Mooney. "Chance is inspiring to my coaching staff and me, to our players and the young kids in our community," Mooney said. "The greatest thing about Chance is not that he is a one armed receiver that can catch a touchdown pass now and then. The greatest thing about Chance is his character and integrity. He is a team leader, he is a tremendous student, he is an extremely hard worker, he cares about other people, he is involved in his school, and he volunteers time to help young people in our community." Anthony also bench presses 235 pounds. {PAGEBREAK}Kenny Dailey
5-7, 200, junior
Bend (Ore.) Lava Bears
Vote for Kenny

Dailey was nominated by his coach Craig Walker. Like so many families who have been effected by the current financial climate, Dailey's family has been facing challenging times. "Kenny first came to Bend High as a kid with a lot of life experience. However, these experiences were not typical to the average student. Before Kenny had even entered high school he had to endure more challenges in his personal life than many kids can expect to endure in their entire lives. Homeless, and in and out of trouble are ways that Kenny could have been described, but he obviously had bigger and better dreams for himself and most importantly, was prepared to do what it takes to realize those dreams and achieve his goals. It is not uncommon to have kids come into high school with athletic potential. What makes Kenny special is not just his athletic potential but also his motivation to reach his potential amidst over coming great adversity. Kenny is such an outstanding example of how one's attitude can change your life."{PAGEBREAK}Kamron Clark
4-10, 125, senior
Canton (Canton, S.D.) C-Hawks
Vote for Kamron

Clark was nominated by his coach Rich Lundstrom. "Kamron has had kidney problems since he was a little kid," Lundstrom said. "He has had two transplants, the second last year. At the start of the season, he came and I thought he was just going to come and be around the team and kind of just hang out. To my surprise, he said he wanted to play. I had him get the OK from his doctor and suited him up. He plays on all of the scout teams and gives it his all. More than that, just overcoming everything that he has gone through in his life and suiting up and playing the sport he loves. It is inspiring to anyone who think they've got it rough."{PAGEBREAK}Tyler Dutruch
5-10 230 SR
Pope John Paul II (Slidell, La.) Jaguars
Vote for Tyler

Louisiana is the home to Calob Leindecker, inaugural recipient of the High School Football Rudy Award. Dutruch was nominated by his coach Mark Jeanmard. "Tyler suffers from severe diabetes. He often takes medication and other aids associated with diabetes for his blood levels during practices and games but never lets up his intensity," Jeanmard said. "Rudy was challenged by his size and he never let it be a crutch. Tyler's challenge is his medical condition and he follows the same mentality. It is not a crutch, it is something that is a challenge and something that he lives with, but he will never let it get in his way or be an excuse." Dutruch has Type 1 Diabetes and relies on constant injections of insulin to stay alive. Without insulin, the blood glucose level would rise to a point that vital organs would shut down leading to coma and eventually death. {PAGEBREAK}Jake Eilers
6-foot, 250, senior
Mater Dei (Breese, Ill.) Knights
Vote for Jake

Eilers was nominated by coach Jim Stiebel. "Jake had a stroke at a very young age, and was left with only one side of his body working properly," Stiebel said. "Jake does not complain or make any excuse whatsoever. He comes to practice every day ready to work. Jake doesn't start but plays on special teams, and plays a major role within the emotional leadership of our team." Throughout the ups and downs of his physical challenges, Eilers has remained positive and determined to play football. During a recent fundraiser for the football team, he won the ‘most weight lifted' by using his left hand side to do the work, gaining strength from the sport he loves.{PAGEBREAK}Schuylar Hurd-Johnson
6-1, 210, senior
Bishop Chatard (Indianapolis, Ind.) High School
Vote for Schuylar

Hurd-Johnson was nominated by his coach, Vincent Lorenzano. Due to the ruling system of the Indiana High School Athletic Association, this fifth-year high school senior cannot take part in the sport he feels saved his life. When he was nine, his mother died of cancer and shortly afterward his father disappeared. Despite being alone and caring for his younger brother before he turned 13, this extraordinary young man took himself to school as if he had parents at home caring for him. "The system let him down," Lorenzano said. "When you see a kid failing his classes, you reach out to the parents. If anybody had made that call, they would have learned about his situation." Despite not being allowed to play, Hurd-Johnson continued to practice with the team and supports them from the sidelines. {PAGEBREAK}Michael Harris
5-9, 230, senior
Trimble Tech (Fort Worth, Texas) Bulldogs
Vote for Michael

Harris was nominated by his mother, Marie Stokes. "Michael was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome at an early age and has overcome that by maintaining good grades in school, making the honor role in several grades," she said. "His social skills have improved tremendously and he is a boy scout and has been for four years now. He plays football on the varsity team, is a starter on the defensive line and gets along well with the other players on the team. He was diagnosed as being several grades behind his peers but he has proven to be at the top of his classes, by taking several honors classes since entering high school. He is truly an inspiration to anyone who knows him."{PAGEBREAK} Reid Layton
6-2, 165, senior
Seminole (Texas) Indians
Vote for Reid

Layton was nominated by his coach, Chris Burtch. "Reid was born with a congenital heart defect called aortic stenosis, and required immediate open-heart surgery," Burtch said. "He has since had three more open-heart surgeries, and a valve replacement. He also suffered a stroke and lost all his fine motor skills. Reid is fighting back. He is a national spokesman for the American Heart Association and helps educate his peers about heart disease and strokes. He has been speaking on behalf of the AHA since he was just four years old. The unfortunate fact is that Reid will have to undergo more surgeries. Reid was told he would never be able to play football, but did not accept that as the final answer. After being cleared by his cardiologist to be a kicker, Reid was given the chance to play junior high football. Reid honed his skills and is now a three-year letterman on the varsity football team. He became the varsity's kicker as a sophomore and has held that position for the past three years. He has led the region for two of the three years for the longest field goal and his personal best is 49 yards. He has received All-District honors and All-Region honors."{PAGEBREAK}Phillip Madriaga
5-6, 150, senior
'Aiea ('Aiea, Hawaii) Na Ali'i
Vote for Phillip

Madriaga was nominated by coach Wendell Say. "Last year two weeks before the state semifinal game, Phillip got hit really hard during practice and was taken to the hospital," Say said. "Phillip was diagnosed with Spinal Stenosis, an injury to his spine. He was advised that his football playing days were over, because if he were to get hit very hard again, he would be confined to a wheelchair. Phillip is an inspiration to not only me, but to his teammates, classmates, friends, family members, and community both on and off the field." For his senior project he is doing a football clinic for students with special needs. Madriaga has said that after sitting out his senior year, he was able to learn about coaching from his coaches and he felt that doing a football clinic for physically and mentally challenged students would be a good way to give back to a sport that he loves so much, and that has given him so much. {PAGEBREAK}Tray Waite
5-10, 185, junior
Harding (Warren, Ohio) Raiders
Vote for Tray

Waite was nominated by his guardian, Sonja Thompson. "Tray's mother was killed in a car accident when he was 4-years-old," Thompson said. "His father made some bad decisions resulting in his being incarcerated. Tray's grandmother took him in when he was eight. When he was 10 she was diagnosed with colon cancer and died in 2004. Needless to say Tray has overcome a lot. Despite these challenges at a young age, he is hungry for success, determined not to be a statistic and is passionate about life." Waite also carries a 3.8 GPA and is ranked 26th out of a class of over 350 students at Harding.{PAGEBREAK}Cody Rye
5-10, 200, senior
Wright (Ironwood, Mich.) Red Devils
Vote for Cody

Rye was nominated by his coach Dan Niemi. "Cody has been paralyzed from the waist down since he was a young boy as a result of a car accident," Niemi said. "His dream was to play varsity football and he has achieved this dream. He played defensive line for the Red Devils and was wheeled out in a wheelchair before the play and left on the field to crawl to his position. Cody is very proud and has been in on many tackles. He also caught his first pass as a tight end in the last play of the last game of his high school career in Bessemer for a 1-yard gain. He is very inspirational and has a never quit attitude."
{PAGEBREAK}Kyle Wilcox
SR
Armwood (Seffner, Fla.) Hawks
Vote for Kyle



Wilcox impressed his teammate, Josh Grady. "A lot of people come to Armwood talking stuff about how good they are and what they can do but Kyle just stayed quiet, worked hard in practice, earned his starting spot (at fullback) and waited for his chance to show us what he could do in a game," Grady said. "I think what really opened up our eyes was the Tampa Bay Tech game, where he ran over people and just out-ran people, scored two touchdowns and rushed for over 100 yards." Few people watching that day knew this athlete came from a broken home or had been bounced around from state custody to foster care. Impressively, he is on track to become the school valedictorian with a grade point average of 6.1.