Meet each area school’s nominee for combined excellence

Lehigh Valley Chapter of the National Football Foundation will honor them at its annual banquet on March 5

The 63rd annual National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame Lehigh Valley Chapter Scholar-Athlete Awards dinner will be held at 4:30 p.m. on March 5 at a new venue, the Best Western Hotel and Conference Center at Routes 22 and 512.

The main speaker is East Stroudsburg University football coach Jim Terwilliger.

The banquet, honoring the top seniors from local high school footbal on the field, in the classroom, and in the community, is highlighted by the Albert M. Beneck Memorial Lehigh Valley Scholar-Athlete award winner for big and small schools, the Edward J. Watto Memorial Community Service Award and the outstanding lineman award in memory of Mike “Guut” Gurdineer, the Northampton football coach who died in September 2021 after a battle with COVID.

Last year’s winners were East Stroudsburg South’s Bobby McClosky and Notre Dame-Green Pond’s Collin Quintano for the Beneck scholar-athlete awards, Salisbury’s Ben Krauss for the Watto community service award and Freedom’s Braelin Moore for the Gurdineer lineman award.

Here is a list of the scholar-athlete nominees from 34 area high schools and six area colleges:

HIGH SCHOOL SCHOLAR ATHLETES Allen High School: Jharon Johnson

A 6-2, 215-pound defensive end and offensive guard, Johnson ranks in the top 3% of his class. He is an Honor Roll student and member of the National Honor Society. He served as a team captain. He is a volunteer for Lehigh Valley Awesome Fest and is active in his community.

Allentown Central Catholic High School: Griffin Patridge

A 6-2, 185-pound outside linebacker and wide receiver, Patridge ranks in the top 19% of his class. He is an Honor Roll student and member of the National Honor Society. He earned all-state and first-team All-EPC defensive honors, while serving as team captain. He is the student government president, participates in various school sponsored clubs, and is the school representative for the EPC student athletic character council. He also is a member of the varsity basketball and baseball teams.

Bangor Area High School: Ashton Kluska

A 6-foot, 190-pound. running back and linebacker, Kluksa ranks in the top 9% of his class. He is an Honor Roll student and member of various school-sponsored clubs. He participates in the Slater Family Network Yard Cleanups and some youth football clinics. He is also a member of the school’s varsity basketball team.

Bethlehem Catholic High School: Mark Mulhern

A 6-6, 315-pound offensive and defensive tackle, Mulhern is in the top 28% of his class. He is an Honor Roll student and member of the National Honor Society. He is a member of various school-sponsored clubs and serves in a leadership role as a club officer. He participates in the St. Luke’s University Health Network School Outreach, and youth football camps. He earned all-state honorable mention honors.

Catasauqua High School: Javier Sobrado

A 5-9, 200-pound offensive tackle and defensive end, Sobrado ranks in the top 12% of his class. He is an Honor Roll student and a member of various school-sponsored clubs and/or activities. He served as a team captain. He is active in his community.

Dieruff High School: Daniel Antar

A 6-foot, 285-pound defensive and offensive tackle, Antar ranks in the top 19% of his class. He is an Honor Roll student and member of the National Honor Society. He served as a team captain and is a member of various school-sponsored clubs. He helps his church with food donated to the Salvation Army and serves as a volunteer coach for the Huskies youth basketball team.

East Stroudsburg North: Jordan Thompson

A 5-9, 172-pound outside linebacker, Thompson ranks in the top 9% of his class. He is an Honor Roll student and member of the National Honor Society. He served as a team captain. He is a choir singer with his church, where he also helps in fundraising events.

East Stroudsburg South: Jakob Patrick

A 5-10, 165-pound. outside linebacker and wide receiver, Patrick ranks in the top 12% of his class. He is an Honor Roll student. He earned second-team All-EPC defensive honors. He is a member of various school-sponsored clubs. He volunteers with Special Olympics as a field day volunteer.

Easton Area High School: Austin Martellucci

A 6-1, 180-pound kicker and punter, Martellucci ranks in the top 6% of his class. He is an Honor Roll student, and a member of the National Honor Society, the Tri M Music Honor Society and an EPFOA Leadership Award honoree. He is the yearbook editor, a member of various school-sponsored clubs, and serves as a club officer. He participates in varsity volleyball, the Key Club, class play/ musical, band council, band drum major, Jazzfest stage manager and Wiz Kids Line Prep. He volunteers with the Easton Hero Squad, Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, Camp Invention, youth football coach, and serves as “Gold Out” student director for Childhood Cancer, while owning Martelluci Lawn Care.

Emmaus High School: Dylan Darville

A 6-1, 180-pound cornerback and wide receiver, Darville ranks in the top 9% of his class. He is an Honor Roll student, member of the National Honor Society, and the Principals Honor Roll. He earned first-team All-EPC offensive and defensive honors. He participates in varsity basketball, PALS Club secretary, Gratitude Club vice-president, Hornet Ambassador and is president and founder of the Disc Golf Club. He volunteers with the Da Vinci Science Center, Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Light the Night Walk and Macungie Park.

Executive Education Academy Charter School: Mayson Terrell

A 6-2, 235-pound tight end and defensive end, Terrell ranks in the top 9% of his class. He is an Honor Roll student and member of the National Honor Society. He served as a team captain. He is a member of various school-sponsored clubs. He volunteers with his church, and works performing lawn service.

Freedom High School: Owen Johnson

A 6-1, 220-pound linebacker, Johnson ranks in the top 15% of his class. He is an Honor Roll student and member of the National Honor Society. He earned firstteam all-EPC offensive and defensive honors. He has committed to play football at Harvard University. He volunteers building sets for the East Hills Theater Company and helps with youth football.

Jim Thorpe Area High School: Paul Rutledge

A 6-2, 215-pound offensive and defensive tackle, Rutledge ranks in the top 6% of his class. He is an Honor Roll student and member of the National Honor Society. He is a member of various school-sponsored clubs, including serving as the Future Business Leaders of America president. He volunteers as a booster club football junior coach.

Lehighton Area High School: Luke Blauch

A 6-3, 180-pound tight end and defensive end, he ranks in the top 12% of his class. He is an Honor Roll student and served as a team captain. He is a member of various school sponsored clubs, serving as a club officer, as well as being the school newspaper editor and yearbook editor. He is the director of school media, and does all the posts on @ lehightontribe on Instagram.

Liberty High School: Jordan Bartholomew

A 6-2, 270-pound center, Bartholomew ranks in the top 19% percent of his class. He is an Honor Roll student and member of the National Honor Society. He earned second-team, All-EPC offensive honors and served as team captain. He participates in the BASD Mini-thon and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. He volunteers as a youth girls basketball coach, community clean ups, baseball announcer, and as an ambassador of donations for Project of Easton food drive.

Nazareth Area High School: Devin Tavares

A 5-8, 165-pound cornerback, Tavares ranks in the top 6% of his class. He is an Honor Roll student and member of the National Honor Society. He is a member of various school sponsored clubs, serving as a club officer, is a class officer, and participates in varsity track and field. He volunteers with his church as a Sunday school teacher assistant, the Red Cross Blood Drive, Giving Tree, Nazareth Open House, a youth football camp instructor, and is a volunteer waiter for a local club.

Northampton Area High School: Carson Czarnecki

A 6-foot,197-pound fullback and linebacker, Czarnecki ranks in the top 15% of his class. He is an Honor Roll student and National Honor Society member. He earned first-team, All-EPC offensive and defensive honors and was named the 2002-23 EPC North defensive MVP. He volunteers with the Parkettes, youth lacrosse, and is a youth football camp instructor.

Northern Lehigh High School: Ethan Karpowich

A 6-1, 220-pound. fullback, tight end, and linebacker, Karpowich ranks in the top 6% of his class. He is an Honor Roll student and served as a team captain, while being a four-year starter at linebacker. He is a class officer and member of various school sponsored clubs or activities. He plans to attend a 4-year university to study engineering.

Northwestern Lehigh High School: Samuel John Mauro

A 5-7, 175-pound defensive end and tight end, Mauro ranks in the top 3% of his class. He is an Honor Roll student, member of the National Honor Society, and the Science National Honor Society. He was a team captain and earned all-league honorable mention defensive honors. He is the student council vice-president, participates in varsity baseball, the Interact Club, and is a member of the Science Olympiad team. He earned an AP Scholar Award and is involved with the National Rural and Small Town Recognition program.

Notre Dame-Green Pond High School: Mason Ludlow

A 5-10, 220-pound center and defensive tackle, Ludlow ranks in the top 3% in his class. He is an Honor Roll student and member of the National Honor Society. He earned first-team all-conference defensive honors. He is a class officer and an officer in one of the various school sponsored clubs. He volunteers with the Miracle League, Safe Harbor Food Bank, and the Walk to End Alzheimer’s.

Palisades High School: Kai Stiansen

A 6-2, 200-pound quarterback and safety, Stiansen ranks in the top third of his class. He is an Honor Roll student, and earned second-team all-conference offensive and defensive honors. He served as team captain, is a multi-sport athlete, and is a member of various school sponsored clubs. He volunteers at Camp Haycock, coaches at youth basketball and football camps, and is a camp counselor at his church.

Palmerton Area High School: Kendall Robinson

A 5-11, 170-pound wide receiver and cornerback, Robinson ranks in the top 24% of his class. He is an Honor Roll student and serves as the Gridiron Club secretary. He volunteers with church food drives, the booster club football camp, youth basketball camp, Holiday Homecoming, and serves as a fair stand volunteer.

Parkland High School: Jack T. Harrison

A 6-1, 185-pound wide receiver and free safety, Harrison ranks in the top 15% in his class. He is an Honor Roll student and member of the National Honor Society. He earned second-team All-EPC offensive honors and served as a team captain. He volunteers with St. Luke’s Hospital, Parkland CARES, the food pantry, and NHS tutoring.

Pen Argyl Area High School: Kristoffer Kessler

A 5-11 running back and defensive end, Kessler ranks in the top 12% of his class. He is an Honor Roll student and earned First Honors all four years, grades 9-12. He served as team captain, participates in varsity wrestling and baseball, is a member of student government, and various school-sponsored clubs. He volunteers as a football youth camp coach, is a church altar server, and he plays guitar.

Phillipsburg High School: Dylan York

A 5-10 215-pound offensive lineman, York ranks in the top 3% of his class. He is an Honor Roll student and National Honor Society member. He is a class officer, treasurer of the Key Club, and the Chess Club social media coordinator. He is a member of various school-sponsored clubs, and serves in a leadership role as a club officer.

Pleasant Valley High School: Oluwafeola Olaniyan

A 5-10, 180-pound outside linebacker and fullback, Olanyian ranks in the top 3% of his class. He is an Honor Roll student, National Honor Society member, and is a state qualifier in the Supply Chain Management test for FBLA. He earned All-EPC first-team offensive and defensive honors while serving as a team captain. He is the Future Business Leaders of America vice-president, Key Club treasurer, and Red Cross Blood Drive host. He has performed over 500 hours of volunteer work.

Pocono Mountain East High School: Owen Shaffer

A 6-4, 260-pound offensive guard and defensive nose tackle, Shaffer ranks in the top 15% of his class. He is an Honor Roll student and member of the National Honor Society. He is a member of various school sponsored clubs. He earned an AP Scholar Award and a Rural and Small Town Recognition award.

Pocono Mountain West High School: Joseph Ewing

A 5-6, 160-pound offensive lineman and linebacker, Ewing ranks in the top 3% of his class. He is an Honor Roll student and member of the National Honor Society. He served as a team captain, is an officer in school sponsored clubs, and is a Chief Petty Officer in the United States Naval Sea Cadet Corps, where he received a Community Service Ribbon. He volunteers with the food pantry, the local American Legion and the Lackawanna River Heritage Trail Cleanup.

Salisbury High School: Jacob Ashton Gibbons

A 6-foot, 170-pound tight end, wide receiver, and outside linebacker, Gibbons ranks in the top 15% of his class. He is an Honor Roll student, National Honor Society member, and High Honor Roll selection. He participates in the Key Club, Model U.N., Heart of a Champion Program, G.I.V.E. (Get Involved, Value Everyone), and No Place for Hate. He volunteers with the Lehigh Valley Reilly Children’s Hospital board game collection, Allentown’s Central Elementary School, Book & Biceps Program and read to elementary students while leading a character and leadership talk), and the Animal Shelter Connection.

Saucon Valley High School: Tyler Pfizenmayer

A 5-10, 200-pound linebacker and running back, Pfizenmayer ranks in the top 19% of his class. He is an Honor Roll student and served as a team captain. He participates in varsity wrestling, and was a member of the 2022 PIAA state championship wrestling team. He was the 2022 District 11 wrestling champion at 285 pounds and a two time PIAA qualifier. He was a member of the 2022 District 11 championship baseball team. He is a Miracle League volunteer.

Southern Lehigh High School: Nicholas Ventresca

A 5-10, 225-pound inside linebacker and fullback, he ranks in the top 12% of his class. Ventresca is an Honor Roll student and member of the National Honor Society. He served as a team captain and was a member of various school-sponsored clubs. He volunteers with Betty Lou’s Food Pantry, the Sassy Massey Foundation, Parkette Events, a youth football camp, and serves as a flag football referee.

Stroudsburg High School: Aiden Herman

A 5-9, 160-pound quarterback, Herman ranks in the top 3% of his class. He is an Honor Roll student, National Honor Society member, Great American Rivalry Series Scholar Athlete, and nominee for the Congress of Future Medical Leaders Award of Excellence. He served as a team captain, was the EPC Student Athlete Character Council representative, and Aevidum Leader. He is a Lehigh Valley HealthCare Network Intern, 570 Sports Camp Coach/ Referee, and a Little League umpire. He volunteers with the Salvation Army, Meals for Haiti, church soup kitchen, AWSOM, Girls on the Run, Musikfest, and Common Threads.

Whitehall High School: Joseph Hahn

A 6-0, 230-pound offensive and defensive lineman, Hahn ranks in the top 15% of his class. He is an Honor Roll student and National Honor Society member. He participates as a member of various school sponsored clubs or activities. He volunteers as a youth football coach and is active in his community.

Wilson Area High School: Kenneth Steckel

A 6-foot, 250-pound offensive and defensive lineman, Steckel ranks in top 40% of his class. He is an Honor Roll student and served as a team captain. He participates as a member of various school sponsored clubs or activities. He attends Career Institute of Technology studying HVAC. He is interested in attending college to pursue a degree in Business. He volunteers as a youth football coach.

COLLEGE SCHOLARATHLETES East Stroudsburg University: Anthony Capitini

A 6-3, 290-pound offensive lineman, Capitini has a 3.85 GPA, majoring in marketing, and has earned Dean’s List and Athletic Director’s Honor Roll status. He is a fouryear starter, has played all five offensive line positions, and was named to the 2021 All-PSAC Team. He volunteers with the Salvation Army Red Kettle, Big Brothers/ Big Sisters, is a member of the community soup kitchen, and has worked for the Pocono Visitor’s Bureau. He enjoys reading, movies, video games, podcasts, and likes to perform stand-up comedy.

Kutztown University: Jerome Kapp

A 6-foot-3, 210-pound wide receiver, Kapp has a 3.84 GPA, majoring in sports management, and is in the MBA program. He is a four-time Dean’s List student, graduating Summa Cum Laude in May 2022. He was a four-time PSAC Scholar Athlete, three-time D2 ADA Academic Achievement awardee, and earned second-team Academic All-American honors. He earned first-team PSAC honors in 2021 and 2022, his 2,190 yards receiving is tied for third best in KU history, and his 22 touchdowns is tied for fourth-best in school history for wide receivers. He volunteers with the “Get in the Game” Bone Marrow Drive, the Kutztown Optimist Club Fools Run, Special Olympics, Kutztown Cleanup, and has been SAAC president for two years. His interests are faith, family, football, and friends.

Lafayette College: Dylan Crossen

A 5-11, 195-pound safety, Crossen has a 3.63 GPA, majoring in biology. He is a fourtime Patriot League Academic Honor Roll honoree, earned Lafayette College Dean’s List honors, and is a member of the Tri Beta Honors Society. His interests include Legos and the stock market. He plans to attend dental school after graduation.

Lehigh University: Jalen Burbage

A 6-foot, 190-pound wide receiver and kick returner, Burbage has a 3.41 GPA, majoring in architecture. He was named to the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll his freshman and junior years, and was an academic All-Patriot League honoree his senior year. He played in all 11 games as a wide receiver and kick returner both his junior and senior seasons. He was Lehigh’s third-leading receiver this past season and the top kickoff returner averaging 22 yards per kickoff return, after averaging 23.1 yards his junior season.

Moravian University: Javier Espinal-Katz

A 6-foot, 230-pound defensive end, Espinal-Katz has a 3.60 GPA, majoring in studio art. He is a three time Dean’s List student, member of the Chi Alpha Sigma National Honor Society, and the Kappa Pi Honor Society. His hobbies and interests are primarily photography. He is active in his community.

Muhlenberg College: Kevin Olifiers

A 5-11, 167-pound punter, Olifiers has a double major in finance and economics. He is a three- time Centennial Conference Academic Honor Roll honoree. He was the Mules punter for the 2019 and 2021 seasons. He ranked fourth in the Centennial Conference both of those years in punting average. In 2021, none of his punts were returned for positive yardage in the regular season, and 12 of his punts were downed inside the 20. He has also seen action at quarterback in a few games over his career.