SOUTH PORTLAND

Nominations sought for football awards

Nominations are now being accepted for the 2019 Frank J. Gaziano Memorial Offensive and Defensive Lineman Awards for Maine high school football players. The awards are given to the top senior-class offensive and defensive linemen in the state based on their hard work on the field, in the classroom and in their communities. The deadline for nominations is Dec. 4.

The Gaziano awards are the largest high school scholarships of their kind in the country. During the past nine years, $110,000 has been awarded by National Distributors Inc. to Maine students. Two winners will receive $5,000 each and a trophy, and four runners-up will receive $1,000 each and a trophy. The awards honor the memory of the late Frank J. Gaziano who was a college football All-American and professional player before founding National Distributors in South Portland.

The awards selection committee will select finalists from high schools across the state. The award and scholarship presentations to the Gaziano Award winners will be announced during a banquet on Saturday, Jan. 25, at 11 a.m. at the Augusta Civic Center.

To qualify for consideration, an applicant must be a high school senior, have competed at the varsity level for a minimum of two years and have an exemplary record of positive athletic and nonathletic citizenship. The submission of a student essay and a game film featuring the applicant competing against his two toughest competitors are also part of the application process.

Applicants from all levels of Maine’s high school football class system are eligible for the scholarship and are nominated by their coaches. For more information on the scholarship program, visit www.gazianolinemanawards.org.