Michael Crowley, a senior at Enfield High School, has been chosen a scholar-athlete by the Northern Connecticut Chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame.
Crowley will be honored at the 47th annual Scholar Athlete Banquet on May 19 at the Aqua Turf Club in Southington.
He received the news Thursday morning from Larry Olsen, president of the Northern Connecticut Chapter, and board member John Quaglia.
"You listen, you pay attention, you care, you want to get it right, you love to challenge yourself and you love to compete," Quaglia said. "It's the beginning of the game, not the end of the game. You have the heart to do things right, and that's extremely important. Guys like you are really special visual aids. For the rest of the world that isn't getting it, we can always say, "like Mike does." That makes us better at what we're trying to do."
Crowley, who plans to play football at Stonehill College, becomes just the 11th Enfield High School player to receive the award, and the first since 2006.
"I was completely shocked when I walked in the door," Crowley said. "It's one of the greatest groups of football players to ever play at Enfield High. It's a great honor."
Present at the announcement were Crowley's parents, Pat and Barbara; brothers Brendan and Sean; football coach Jay Gaucher; and principal Jill Krieger.
"I'm very happy for Mike," Gaucher said. "He worked hard, both on and off the field and in the community. This past year, he led this team and really helped by example. He and a few other kids exemplified great leadership."
Krieger said, "It's a huge accomplishment for Michael; he's a student that clearly makes us proud with all the things he does here. I'm really pleased for him and his family."
Previous honorees from Enfield High School are:
- Joe Bacewicz, 1969
- Rudy Beaupre, 1979
- David Morton, 1981
- Joe Pych, 1986
- Keith Emery, 1990
- Neill Ostrout, 1992
- Tim O'Leary, 1997
- Matt Murray, 1998
- Nick Unsworth, 2000
- Wayne Newman, 2006