NATCHEZ &045; Seven local athletes have a little bit more money for college today.

One athlete from each of seven local high schools were honored at the Miss-Lou Chapter of the National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame Annual Awards Banquet Thursday night.

The awards are given to honor local students who excelled in academics, athletics and in extracurricular activities. Each athlete’s coach said a few words about their accomplishments at the banquet.

Trinity’s Alex Allain was given the top scholarship of $2,000. Allain played four years for the Saints on the offensive and defensive lines, participates in numerous activities at school and in the community and has a 4.03 grade point average.

&uot;In all my years of coaching, I have never coached anyone finer than Alex Allain,&uot; Trinity head coach David King said. &uot;He’s a good player on the field, but off the field is where he excels like no other.&uot;

Cathedral’s Will Carter received a $1,750 scholarship.

&uot;He’s been an outstanding soccer and tennis player, and this year we got him to do our kicking,&uot; Cathedral head coach Ken Beesley said. &uot;He’s also a star student and a fine young man.&uot;

Adams County Christian School’s Dustin Case got a $1,500 scholarship.

&uot;When Dustin broke his arm this year, he helped us out as a coach, going up in the press box and pointing out some things to us,&uot; ACCS coach Rusty McPhate said. &uot;He’s given everything he had.&uot;

Ferriday’s Jamar Bowman, Huntington’s Trey Keith, Natchez High’s Edwin Murrell and Vidalia’s Michael Fuqua each received $1,000 scholarships.

Featured speaker Glenn Davis, head football coach at Copiah-Lincoln Community College, gave some advice to the athletes in attendance and congratulated them on their academic achievements.

&uot;Often athletes are recognized for their athletic achievement,&uot; Davis said. &uot;But I think it’s fitting tonight that they’re being recognized for their classroom achievements.

&uot;I always tell recruits to use the sport or sports you play to get yourself an education. If it hadn’t been for football, I’d probably be on a farm somewhere.&uot;

Davis was the first member of his family to attend college and did so only because of the doors football opened for him, he said.

Davis has coached in Natchez and across Mississippi, including a stint as running backs coach at Mississippi State under Jackie Sherrill.

Jack Foster was honored with the 2005 Contributions to Amateur Football award. A former high school coach and longtime supporter of the foundation, Foster spoke about some of the lessons he had learned as a coach, including some funny stories about his former players.

T. Scott Kimbrell won the 2005 Distinguished American Award.

Bobby Marks, Neet Marks, Tony Byrne and Annette Byrne received the Joe Fortunato Celebrity Golf Classic Award for their work volunteering at the event that helps raise money for the foundation’s scholarships.

A special recognition was also made for Buck Brown, a longtime supporter of the foundation who died last fall. A plaque was given in his honor to his widow.