Lombardi Award honors top scholastic linemen

Linemen, who labor in obscurity on the football gridiron, will have their moments in the sun on March 7 when the Rotary Clubs of Monmouth County present the 31st Annual Vince Lombardi Dinner at the Sheraton Hotel, Eatontown.

The event honors the top senior linemen from Monmouth County High Schools.

The linemen will receive the Block of Granite Award, reminiscent of the "Seven Blocks of Granite" nickname for the 1936 Fordham University football team. Lombardi was the right guard on that famous line.

Lombardi, of course, gained his fame as the head coach of the Green Bay Packers, leading them to five NFL titles in the 1960s and the first two Super Bowl crowns. His 1965-67 Packers set the record for consecutive NFL titles.

Lombardi died in 1970 from cancer and that year the collegiate Lombardi Award was handed out for the very first time to Ohio State’s Jim Stillwagon. The Rotary Club of Monmouth County received permission afterwards to present the award on the high school level. The county coaches and their staffs selected the players who best exemplify the traditions and ideals of the legendary Lombardi. They judged their players on discipline, courage, endurance, desire, ability and performance.

Among the winners of the 2002 Lombardi Award are: Pat Codd, Holmdel; A.J. Youncofski, Keyport; Pat Callahan, Matawan Regional; Brian Masterson, Mater Dei; Shane Render, Middletown North; Drew Nagel, Middletown South; Steve Oddo, Raritan; and Thomas Dutcher, St. John Vianney.

Other awards to be presented that night are the Coach of the Year, Team of the Year and the John Tuggle Award. Funds raised from the dinner will aid in the fight against cancer, support 46 health and human services agencies the United Way of Monmouth County assists and also aid in sponsoring children in need of corrective heart surgery under the Rotary Gift of Life Foundation.

Admission price, which includes reception, silent and live auctions, raffles and awards program, is $50 per person. For reservations or additional information on the dinner, call the United Way of Monmouth County at (732) 938-5988.