Feb 04, 2012
Dawson booster club awards $10,000 in scholarships
June 26, 2010
PEARLAND — The 2009 football season for the Dawson Eagles proved to be a record-setting year as head coach Eric Wells, his coaching staff, and players won the Class 4A Region III Division I championship to advance to the 4A state semifinals against two-time state champion Lake Travis.
The Eagles fell to Lake Travis who eventually won their third straight state crown, but there was no need for anyone from Dawson to hang their head. After all, the Eagles were only competing in their second year of varsity competition.
The 2009-2010 school year also marked the first senior class for Dawson and the Dawson Football Booster Club responded by giving a record $10,000 in scholarships to five senior players. The money was collected through various fund raising events throughout the year by some hard-working Dawson parents and the Pearland business community.
The players had to qualify for the scholarships as each applicant had to maintain a minimum 2.5 grade point average, be a member of the football team, provide character references, and submit a written essay on the life lessons they had learned as a student-athlete at Dawson High School.
All essays were judged by outside individuals who were not part of the booster club. Each essay was identified only by the last four digits of the applicant's social security number so the judges had no idea who had written each essay.
Receiving the top grade for the essay was senior Sascha Martinelli who received $2,500. The other remaining finalists received $1,875 each and they were Derek Hufnagel, David George, Justin Matson, and Jeffrey Misher.
The winning tradition has been established over the past three years as the 2010 senior class laid a strong foundation for others to follow.
Dawson will enter the 2010 football campaign as the defending 4A Region III Division I champions and they are a pre-season favorite to challenge for the District 24-4A title and to make another deep run in the post-season.
Congratulations to those who received scholarship money to continue their education at the next level and to the Dawson Football Booster Club and Pearland business community for your willingness to work hard in raising money to support the coaches and players.