Ewing’s Williams, ND’s MacCabe named top scholars
The qualities that go into making a scholar-athlete are much more than just how they play football or even how they conduct themselves in the classroom.
A scholar-athlete is also someone who shows leadership, commitment and dedication and Notre Dame’s Declan MacCabe and Ewing’s Dorian Williams are two players who represent those qualities.
It is because of their effort on and off the field that they have been selected as their school’s honoree at the Delaware Valley Chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame’s 61st Annual George Wah Scholar-Leader-Athlete Awards Ceremony.
The awards ceremony will been held on March 12, at the Princeton Marriott at Forrestal and will begin at 3 p.m.
The Foundation and it’s sponsors honor high school football players from 21 schools in Burlington, Hunterdon, Mercer, Monmouth and Ocean Counties as well as a Scholar-Athlete-Leader from Princeton University and The College of New Jersey.
Tickets are $75.00 and can be purchased by contacting Steve Tuckerson, Dinner Chair at delval. nffhf@gmail.com
A player will be chosen for the $ 5,000.00 Jack Stephen Scholarship, one for the $2,500.00 Ron Rick Sr. Scholarship, the $2000.00 Ed Cook Scholarship and the Delaware Valley Chapter Scholarship is for $1,500.00.
The remaining Scholar-Athletes will all receive a $1,000.00 scholarship.
The 21 players nominated are, Parker Schloss (Allentown), Michael Poinsett (Bordentown), Luke Skinner (Florence), Walter Cordero (Hamilton), Brianna Saragih (Hightstown), David Ellis (Hopewell Valley), Dante Barone (Hun), Graham Walter (Lawrence), Peyton Cosover (Lawrenceville Prep), Devin Kimmick (New Egypt), Derek Vaddis (North Hunterdon), Jedaiah Carrette (Nottingham), Daniel Gredell (Peddie), Tyler Bock (Pennington), Jake Richter (Princeton), Tyler Del-Grande (Robbinsville), Colin James (Steinert), Naysr Ingram-McWhite (Trenton) and Manidhar Yeluri (WW-P).
These players are being recognized for so much more than their football ability, it’s recognizes the achievements in the classroom, their leadership qualities as well as their community involvement.
The other awards the Chapter will bestow will be to Mercer County Executive Brian Hughes (Robert F. Casciola Distinguished American), the Bordentown Military Institute (George O’Gorman Contribution to Amateur Football), North Hunterdon’s Kevin Kley (Hank Johns Coach Award), Mike Rowan, of the Hopewell Valley Pop Warner (Contribution to Youth Football), Cooper Briehler, of the Hopewell Valley/Robbinsville Pop Warner (Delaware Valley Little Scholar), Fernando Santana, of SONJ (Eunice Shriver Champion Award), Bill Quirk, the longtime Hun Athletic Director (Nick Gusz Good Guy Award) and Sean Miller, of the Times of Trenton (Tony Persichilli Meritorious Service Award)
The Judge Arthur Lane Princeton University-Scholar-Leader-Athlete is Carter Christopher and the Earl H. Dean The College of New Jersey Scholar-Leader-Athlete is Joey Bellamy.
MacCabe has been a three-year starter, a captain and a player that has earned All-State and All-Conference recognition in football and a three-year starter in lacrosse.
“Declan is a truly remarkable young man who commits fully to all that he does because he is driven to be a success,” said ND coach Sean Clancy. “Humble, kind, and fiercely competitive these are not often adjectives that can be strung together but they describe Declan. He is destined to achieve at the highest level.”
MacCabe’s classroom and community service efforts are just as remarkable. A member of the National Honor Society he has a 92.87 GPA and he has attained academic excellence in History, English and Italian.
“Academically, Declan was a very important part of my AP Biology class,” said Hope Brennan-Bauch, Science Chairperson. “He was always prepared for class and I knew that I could count on him to bring thoughtful questions to the group. He was always unafraid to ask for help and his determination and perseverance were shining examples for the group. As the Advanced Placement Biology teacher my class is meant to be challenging and Declan met every challenge placed in front of him and became an active member of my class. His pleasant demeanor and his strong work ethic made him a favorite of his classmates and quite honestly a favorite of mine.”
His community service and his faith are two traits that have been evident.
“Declan has engaged in the Notre Dame community through Notre Dame’s nationally acclaimed Service Learning Program,” Clancy added. “Through the service program at Notre Dame, Declan is always willing to help those less fortunate. He engages service truly from his heart as a three-year leader in our Catholic Athletes for Christ always going beyond what is expected. Declan has a number of leadership positions at our school in athletics and clubs. He has a great deal of confidence in himself.”
Williams has been an exceptional player, leader, an academic honor student during his time at Ewing.
He was the West Jersey Football League leader in sacks, the Defensive Player of the Year and a Ewing record holder with the most tackles in a game with 22.
“Off the field, Dorian has been an exemplary student in the classroom,” said Ewing coach Ross Maddalon. “He participates in the Play Unified program, which benefits special needs students. Dorian spent the summer of 2022 participating in the Princeton University Preparatory Program (PUPP) program, which assists in the educational development of scholars from socioeconomic groups currently under-represented in major universities. He was able to participate in these extracurricular activities as well as football all while maintaining a 4.1177 GPA.”
Williams does plenty of work with his church, Community Baptist, including every Sunday assisting at the Bread of Life Food Pantry.
“Dorian has demonstrated tremendous effort in all that he does and brings a great energy to each class and activity that he participates in,” said Sam DeCavalcante, Teacher of Art. “He displays a strong work ethic and a willingness to learn. He has a combination of a positive attitude and a belief that he can always improve, a rare quality found in today’s high school student. Dorian’s personality allows him to be a very teachable student, absorbing and processing the information taught and applying it correctly.”