Joe Tiller NFF Chapter

Over the summer, the Tiller Chapter recognized 58 individuals for their accomplishments.

The June 27 event focused on 19 NFF scholar-athletes who were nominated by their schools throughout Northwest Indiana for the annual Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award and 22 Lafayette Journal & Courier sport-by-sport players of the year and student-athletes nominated by high school athletics directors in the J&C coverage area. Also recognized were eight Indiana Football Coaches Association North All-Star nominees from Regions 1 and 4. Personalized certificates were presented to each of these prep athletes who attended the Honors Brunch.

Along with the awards and recognition for the high school athletes, the Tiller Chapter also presented nine other awards, nominated and selected by chapter members and various entities, to recognize outstanding accomplishments in our communities. Most of these presentations occurred June 27 while two took place at the NFF’s Honors Reception on Sept. 2.

The entire list of awards are as follows:

• J&C Female Student-Athletes of the Year –  Megan Wagner
   • J&C Male Student-Athletes of the Year –  Lewis Dellinger
• NFF Chapter Scholar-Athlete of the Year – Owen Smith
• Patrick Mackey Courage Award – Patrick Kiefer
• Arnette Tiller Service to Football Award – Marion Vruggink
• Tyler Trent Courage and Resilience Award – Kyle Albertson
• Bernie Flowers Contribution to Amateur Sports Award – Young Lee
• Todd Clark Outstanding Game Official Award – Mark Maxwell
• Legends Award – Leroy Keyes (posthumously)  
• Drew Brees Mental Toughness Award – Raheem Mostert
• Indiana Football Hall of Fame Inductee – Jim Everett  
• Indiana Football Hall of Fame Inductee – Marshall Overley  

The high school athletes receiving the highest honors were: Megan Wagner, a 12-time letterwinner in cross country, basketball and track, who ranked first in her class academically at Carroll H.S. (now a freshman at Purdue University) as the J&C’s Female Student-Athlete of the Year; Lewis Dellinger, a 10-time letterwinner in football, basketball and golf, who ranked first in his class academically at Twin Lakes H.S. (now a freshman at Wabash College) as the J&C Male Student-Athlete of the Year; Owen Smith, a 10-time letterwinner in football, swimming and track, who ranked first in his class at Clinton Central H.S. (now a freshman at Anderson University) as the NFF Tiller Chapter’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year; and Patrick Kiefer, a football and basketball player and an academic all-state selection (now a freshman at Purdue) as the Patrick Mackey Courage Award winner after recovering from a severe eye injury.

The community awards were presented to: Marion Vruggink, a long-time athletic trainer with a history of community, state and national volunteerism, as the Arnette Tiller Service to Football Award; Kyle Albertson, a recent Purdue graduate and business owner who was diagnosed with congenital muscular dystrophy when he was nine months old, as the Tyler Trent Courage and Resilience Award winner; Young Lee, a Lafayette businessman who created a new (and highly successful) form of fund-raising for the NFF Tiller Chapter, as the Bernie Flowers Award for Contribution to Sports; Mark Maxwell, a 22-year veteran of high school officiating, as the Todd Clark Officials’ Award; Leroy Keyes, known as Purdue’s greatest football player ever as he led the Boilermakers to their lone Rose Bowl victory, honored posthumously as the Legends Award winner following his death earlier this year; and Raheem Mostert, a former Boilermaker standout who overcame injuries to lead the San Francisco 49ers to Super Bowl XLIV as the Drew Brees Mental Toughness Award recipient.

Jim Everett and Marshall Overley were inducted into the Indiana Football Hall of Fame in separate ceremonies.

A native of Kansas and a graduate of Albuquerque Eldorado High School in New Mexico, Everett was inducted for his efforts at Purdue University. He came to Indiana as a highly-recruited quarterback and put up brilliant numbers (7,411 yards and 43 touchdowns) as a two-year starter at Purdue. He was second-team All-Big Ten and third team All-American, finishing sixth in balloting for the Heisman Trophy and was the third player chosen in the NFL Draft of 1986, picked by the Houston Oilers. He played eight of his 11 NFL seasons with the Los Angeles Rams, where he led the league in passing twice and was named All-Pro in 1991. Everett was inducted into the Purdue Athletics Hall of Fame in 1999 and now lives in Southern California.  

Overley is an Indiana native and a graduate of Twin Lakes High School and Hanover College. He enjoyed a career in teaching and coaching with a combined record of 237-137 in 34 total years as an assistant and head coach, mostly at West Lafayette High School where he was part of two state championship teams (1993 as defensive coordinator and 2009 as head coach). Overley spent six years as an assistant at Frontier High School and 16 years as an assistant at WLHS. In his 12 years as the head coach, Overley led the Red Devils to a record of 81-55 with one state title, a semi-state title, two regional championships and three sectional championships. He also won a pair of Hoosier Conference titles. Overley retired in 2012 and now lives in Indianapolis.

The full list of high school honorees who were recognized at the Honors Brunch is below:

Each high school athlete was introduced separately and received his or her certificate of recognition from Matt Lancaster, our 2009 NFF Scholar-Athlete of the Year from West Lafayette High School, who played college football at Butler and is now a dentist in Lafayette, and Brad Smith, a board member for both the NFF and the Indiana Football Coaches Association. Here’s the list of athletes, along with their high schools, reason for their honor and their colleges plans as of last summer:

From Andrean High School - Vincent Allegretti, who was a finalist for the NFF Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award. He is attend Indiana University this fall.  

From Oak Hill High School - Gabe Anderson, who was an NFF Scholar-Athlete nominee. He is continuing his education at Indiana University this fall.  

From McCutcheon High School - Katie Buckles, who was a finalist for the J&C Student-Athlete of the Year Award. She is attending Purdue University this fall.  

From Central Catholic High School - Jacob Bunton, an NFF Scholar-Athlete nominee now attending Purdue University.

From North Montgomery High School - Sidney Campbell, a finalist for the J&C Student-Athlete of the Year award. She is advancing her education and swimming career at Indiana Wesleyan, this fall.

From Twin Lakes High School - Kyla Canen, who was selected as a Region 4 All-Star as a student manager. She is continuing her academic career at Ivy Tech.  

From Kankakee Valley High School - Elijah Carden, an NFF Scholar-Athlete nominee, who is attending Wabash College this fall and playing football.

From Rensselaer Central High School - Kyle Carter, a J&C Student-Athlete of the Year nominee. He is attend Colorado State University this fall.

From McCutcheon High School - Chloe Chicoine, who was named the J&C Player of the Year in volleyball. She is a junior at McCutcheon this fall and recently committed to Penn State University as her college choice.

From Central Catholic High School - Mark Cramer, a J&C Student-Athlete of the Year nominee, who continuing his education at Purdue University.  

From Twin Lakes High School - Lewis Dellinger, an NFF Scholar-Athlete of the Year nominee and a Region 4 All-Star, was named the male winner of the J&C Student-Athlete of the Year Award.  He is attending Wabash College this fall and competing in football and golf.  

From Elwood High School - Ben DeLong, an NFF Scholar-Athlete of the Year nominee. He is continuing his studies at Ivy Tech in the fall.  

From Eastern High School - Zane Downing, a 2021 NFF Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award nominee. He is continuing his education at Franklin College where he is playing football.

From North Newton High School - Mackendzie Dresbaugh, a finalist for the J&C Student-Athlete of the Year Award.  She is continuing her education and golf career at Marian College.

From Fountain Central High School - Carson Eberly, a finalist for the J&C Student-Athlete of the Year Award. He is attending Purdue University this fall.

From North Newton High School - Cade Ehlinger, a J&C Student-Athlete of the Year nominee. He is continuing his education at Ball State this fall.

From Tri-County High School - Kylie Foster, a J&C Student-Athlete of the Year nominee, who is continuing her education at Purdue University this year.  

From Delphi High School - Evan Fritz, an NFF Scholar-Athlete of the Year nominee, is a Region 4 All-Star, a J&C Student-Athlete of the Year nominee and J&C Small School Offensive Football Player of Year. He is attending Purdue University this fall.  

From Seeger High School - Elijah Greene, who was selected as a Region 4 All-Star, is attending Wabash College this fall and playing football.  

From North Judson High School - Trey Hampton, an NFF Scholar-Athlete of the Year nominee. He is continuing his education at Purdue University this year.  

From Carroll High School - Jaden Harness, a J&C Student-Athlete of the Year nominee. He is attending Trine University this fall and playing football.

From Twin Lakes High School - Taylor Hodgen, a J&C Student-Athlete of the Year nominee, who is continuing her education at Grace College where she will play softball.

From Winamac High School - Patrick Kiefer, a finalist for the NFF Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award and the recipient of the Patrick Mackey Courage. He is attend Purdue University this fall and is serving as an intern for the NFF’s Tiller Chapter.  

From Harrison High School - Zion King, an NFF Scholar-Athlete of the Year nominee, who was a Region 4 All-Star, and a J&C Student-Athlete of the Year nominee. He was selected to play in the Indiana North-South all-star game. He is continuing his education at Ball State University this fall.  

From Lafayette Jeff High School - Caleb Koeppen, a finalist for the J&C Student-Athlete of the Year Award. He is attending Purdue University and playing baseball.

From Lafayette Jeff High School - Colton Lehnen, a finalist for the NFF Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award. He is continuing his studies at Purdue University this fall.

From Andrean High School - Jayden Lynon, who was selected as a Region 1 All-Star. He is attending North Central College this fall to continue his academic and football careers.

From McCutcheon High School - Teresa Maggio, who was named the J&C Player of the Year for Girls Basketball and is a senior this fall.

From North Judson High School - Dylan Marin, who was named a Region 4 All-Star. He joined the Local 597 Pipefitters Union after graduation.

From Northwestern High School - Jacob Martin, a finalist for the NFF Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award. He is continuing his education at Johns Hopkins University this fall.

From Clinton Prairie High School - Tynlie Neal, who was named the J&C Player of the Year for Girls Basketball. She is a senior at Clinton Prairie this fall.

From West Central High School - Braden Nuest, a J&C Student-Athlete of the Year nominee, who is continuing his education at Ivy Tech this fall.  

From Attica High School - Ella Peterson, a J&C Student-Athlete of the Year nominee, who is continuing her education at Purdue University this fall.

From McCutcheon  High School - Spencer Phillips, a finalist for the J&C Student-Athlete of the Year Award. He is advancing his education at Wabash College this fall where he will wrestle.

From West Central High School - Emily Pilarski, a J&C Student-Athlete of the Year nominee. She is attending IU-Fort Wayne this fall.

From West Lafayette High School - Sam Schott, an NFF Scholar-Athlete nominee, who was a Region 4 All-Star and a finalist for the J&C Student-Athlete of the Year Award. He was selected to play in the Indiana North-South All-Star Game and continues his education and football career at Illinois Wesleyan this fall.  

From North Montgomery High School - Zak Searle, a J&C Student-Athlete of the Year nominee. He is continuing his education and football career at Illinois Wesleyan this fall.  

From Clinton Central High School - Addy Sheets, a J&C Student-Athlete of the Year nominee. DePauw University is where Addy continues her academic and golf careers.

From Clinton Central High School - Owen Smith, who was named the NFF Scholar-Athlete of the Year and was a J&C Student-Athlete of the Year nominee. He is attending Anderson University this fall.

From Carroll High School - Megan Wagner, who was named the J&C Student-Athlete of the Year. She is continuing her education at Purdue University this fall.  

From South Newton High School - Samantha Warren, a J&C Student Athlete of the Year nominee who was named J&C Player of the Year in Volleyball. She is continuing her volleyball and academic career at Valparaiso University.