Football awards, 2003

2003 season

By Tom Shanahan, San Diego Hall of Champions

THE ALLEN TROPHY (Heisman): Marian Catholic running back Patrick Gates. Explanation: Allen (Lincoln), who scored five touchdowns for the Hornets in the 1977 CIF championship game, was San Diego's first Heisman Trophy winner at USC in 1981.

RASHAAN SALAAM/RICKY WILLIAMS Award (Doak Walker): Mission Bay running back Arian Foster. Explanation: The Doak Walker goes to the nation's best running back, but San Diego has too many Heisman winners to name for one player. Rashaan Salaam (La Jolla Country Day) won it in 1994 and Ricky Williams (Patrick Henry) in 1998.

ARCHIE AMERSON AWARD (Walter Payton): Santa Fe Christian running back Alex Peltier. Explanation: The Walter Payton Award goes to thenation's best Division I-AA football player, and San Diego football has this base covered too. Amerson (Morse) won the award at Northern Arizona.

TEDDY LAWRENCE AWARD (Davey O'Brien): Valley Center quarterback Kevin Craft. Explanation: Davey O'Brien goes tot he best quarterback. O'Brien was a little guy at TCU and the 5-foot-9 Lawrence was the Little Big Man for Morse on its 1990 team, considered San Diego's all-time great team that was ranked No. 4 in the nation by USA Today.

DORRELL AWARD (Biletnikoff): Oceanside wide receiver Marcus Montgomery, Oceanside. Explanation: The ntaitn's top reciever is named for Fred Biletnikoff. Karl Dorrell (Helix), UCLA's head coach, is a trail blazer as an African-American head coach in college football and deserves an award in his honor.

GLOVER TROPHY (Outland): Chula Vista offensive lineman Nathan Flowers, Chula Vista. Explanation: The Outland goes to the nation's best intereior lineman. La'Roi Glover (Point Loma) caved in a lot of lines in his high school days.

MULLER AWARD (Lombardi): Monte Vista defensive end Clinton Snyder. Explanation: Vince Lombardi was a lineman at Fordham long before he became the legendary Green Bay Packers coach. Brick Muller was the West's first college All-American as an end on Cal's Wonder Teams.

SEAU TROPHY (Nagurski): Vista linebacker Russell Allen. Explanation: Just as Marcus Allen is the obvious choice for the Heisman, Junior Seau (Oceanside) is the only name for the best defensive player.

BUCHANON AWARD (Thorpe): Castle Park defensive back DeMarco Sampson. Explanation: Willie Buchanon (Oceanside) is considered by some college football's greatest defensive back and his rookie year at Green Bay is consdired one of the finest by an NFL rookie.

JOHNSON/EDWARDS AWARD (Butkus): Torrey Pines linebacker Aaron Diagostini. Explanation: The best linebacker trophy is named for two San Diego NFL backers--Carlsbad's Ted Johnson (Patriots) and Chula Vista's Donnie Edwards (Chargers)--in recognition of their five-figure donations to their rexpective high schools to build college-like weight rooms.

PREFONTAINE AWARD (Groza): Fallbrook kicker Raul Melo, Fallbrook. Explanation: Noel Prefontaine (El Camino), a kicker and putner for Toronto in the Canadian Fotoball League, was quarterback/kicker/punter in high school an an All-American punter at San Diego State.

HERB MEYER TROPHY (coach of the year): Crawford coach Tracy McNair. Explanation: The coach-of-the-year award is named for California's all-time winningest coach. Meyer retired after 45 seasons as head at Oceanside and El Camino with 338 wins at the end of the 2003 season.

STEPHEN NEAL TROPHY (newcomer of the year): Crawford sophomore quarterback/defensive back Raymond Patterson. Explanation: Neal (San Diego High) has the newcomer-of-the-year award in his honor since the two-time NCAA wrestling champion and 1999 World freestyle wrestling champion made it to the NFL (Patriots) without playing college football.

BILL McCOLL TROPHY (student-athlete): El Camino offensive lineman Jordan Paopao. Explanation: Paopao is considering a career in medicine. Dr. Bill McColl (Hoover) is a Stanford man who played for the Chicago Bears before he performed ground-breaking loprosy research in South Korea in the 1960s.

JOE ROTH AWARD (courage): Torrey Pines defensive back Rod Wilson. The late Joe Roth (Granite Hills) was a star quarterback who lost a battle with cancer. Rod Wilson fought back from a cancer battle and helped Torrey Pines win the CIF San Diego Section Division I title.