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Gridiron quartet to be honored with inaugural scholarships
BY Matt Welch, mwelch@acnpapers.com
The Plano Senior football team’s season may have ended in December, but the on- and off-field efforts of a select group of Wildcats haven’t gone unnoticed.
In conjunction with the Plano Wildcat Quarterback Club and the Plano ISD Educational Foundation, four Wildcats will be honored for their athletic and academic accolades as recipients of either the John Clark Scholarship or the Dr. Doyle Dean Scholarship.
A ceremony slated to hold forth at 3:45 p.m. Friday from the Wildcats’ team room, seniors Connor Michelsen and Collin Brence will each be awarded the $1,000 John Clark Scholarship, while seniors Kent Bateman and Austin Hall will each receive the same for the Dr. Doyle Dean Scholarship.
Michelsen and Brence, named Plano’s respective offensive and defensive MVPs, will receive the John Clark Scholarship on the heels of successful senior campaigns with the Wildcats.
But while the athletic achievements of the pair are well-documented, throwing a touchdown pass or hauling in an interception weren’t the only things taken into consideration.
“If you know anything about John Clark, he’s a man of great integrity and character,” McCullough said. “That was one of the stipulations: not only did they have to be standouts on the field, but also had to be high character guys who had an impact on the community.”
Bateman and Hall mark the inaugural recipients of the Dr. Doyle Dean Scholarship; an award with a more academic slant to it named for the Plano principal. Making plays on the field is also a must though, as Bateman created a foothole as one of the prominent pieces of the Wildcats’ linebacker corps while Hall helped man the secondary.
“First, you have to be a real good student with outstanding grades and high character,” McCullough said. “This award is more academic-based, but they still had to be significant contributors to the team.”
Following in the footsteps of the Tom Kimbrough Unsung Hero Award, the two latest scholarships – an idea funded for the next seven years and hatched by McCullough and Quarterback Club captain Teresa Michelsen – will be handed to two recipients for the inaugural year with one recipient slated for each in future years.
“It also honors people like themselves,” McCullough said, “who set an example long before them to show those people the impact that not only coach Clark and Dr. Dean made, but how those kids will impact future generations. It’ll impact our community, high school and football program, and will permeate throughout Plano for years to come.”
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