NFF Banquet to honor 12 student-athletes, John Boehner, Mark Dantonio, Bill Kramer

Matt Sellitto saw something in Collier County when he moved down from New Jersey two decades ago.

At the time, there was no National Football Foundation chapter in Naples. Sellitto wanted to start one.

This Saturday, the fifth annual NFF banquet will commence with 12 of Collier County’s best football players, community leaders, and scholars up for scholarship money.

“I started the (NFF Chapter) in New Jersey 28 years ago,” Sellitto said. “When I came down to Florida in 2002, I just saw that there was such a love for high school football down here. I knew I had to start a chapter down here. I believe there is a need to embellish the young people, especially with our 40-40-20 formula to tell the people down here about their young people.”

While the high school players are being recognized, they’ll have a chance to hear from three very special speakers, including former Speaker of the House John Boehner, former Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio, and former Naples football coach Bill Kramer.

Boehner will be receiving the NFF’s Distinguished American Award, while Dantonio will receive the Contributions to the Game Award. Kramer will get the Collier County Legends Award after winning two state titles with the Golden Eagles and posting a 216-51 record at Naples across 22 seasons.

“After he retired, being a coach for 20 years in Naples,” Sellitto said. “One of our categories being a Collier County Legend, I couldn’t think of a more accomplished and better person that could fit that bill.”

Kramer said he was honored to be a part of a group, saying that despite winning numerous accolades, he never got used to winning awards and is humbled every time.

“I’ve never really felt like I deserved any of it,” Kramer said. “It’s a byproduct of God’s blessing and a whole bunch of people that work hard and that I wind up getting credit for it. All of it’s a team award. Some of this is longevity and all the coaches and administrators and supporters through the years, and all the players that worked their tail off, and set aside what they may have felt was the best thing and stuck to the things that they were committed to.

“Sometimes the feelings don’t match the commitments, but I’m grateful that we had a whole bunch of players that didn’t always pay attention to how they felt.”

Last year, $27,000 in scholarships were handed out, headlined by Lely's Carson Chambers, who won the $10,000 scholarship. 

Below are the finalists for this year’s scholarships, all of whom will receive at least $1,000:

• Dylan McNamara, Barron Collier

• Doug Glennon, Community School

• Jimmy Ridinger, First Baptist Academy

• Isack Barahona, Golden Gate

• John Paul Janik, Gulf Coast

• Robert Turrubiartez, Immokalee

• Coby Georges, Lely

• Nicholas Vergo, Marco Island Academy

• Andrew Saint Fleur, Naples

• Caleb Cousins, Palmetto Ridge

• Dawson Jones, St. John Neumann

• Nathan Saint Louis, Unified Sports (flag football)

Follow Southwest Florida Sports Writer Alex Martin on Twitter: @NP_AlexMartin. For the best sports coverage in Southwest Florida, follow @newspresssports and @ndnprepzone on Instagram.