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Batavia's Nutley earns NFF award

Batavia High School student-athlete Derek Nutley, has been selected as one of two National Football Foundation (NFF) Scholar-Athlete Award recipients in the Chicago area.

The NFF's prestigious Scholar-Athlete Award recognizes high school students for their outstanding individual academic achievements, athletic accomplishments, and community involvement. This is the fourth year in a row that a Batavia student-athlete has been honored with this award.

"Derek's excellence on the football field, in the classroom, and in the community have earned him the NFF Scholar-Athlete Award and a $6,000 college tuition scholarship," said Chris Kearney, NFF Chicago Metro Chapter and volunteer board president. "Derek will be Batavia High School's fourth Scholar-Athlete Award recipient, following in the footsteps of Zach Strittmatter, Micah Coffey, and Noah Frazier."

Nutley currently has a 4.311 GPA, is ranked 42nd out of 478 students, earned a 32 on his ACT, and is a member of the National Honor Society. He is also captain of the Bulldogs' wrestling team and has been a three-sport athlete all four years of his high school career, participating in football, wrestling, and track. He was recently named to the Daily Herald's Fox Valley All-Area football team.

Off campus, Nutley is a volunteer for the Northern Illinois Food Bank, Feed My Starving Children, Toys for Tots, Batavia Access Toy Drive, Batavia Youth Football, and Ginger Creek Community Church Youth Ministries.

"Last year, as a junior, Derek did not start on the varsity football team. This year, he was named all-conference, Upstate Eight MVP and Defensive Player of the Year, and set the school record for sacks, which ranks third in the state of Illinois," said Batavia football coach Dennis Piron. "He never quits and gets the job done. I am so proud of him and our entire team. Our varsity players have a cumulative GPA of 3.55 and 62 percent have been named academic all-conference. Ten of our players are also on the IHSFCA's Class 7A Academic All-State Team. It's a great example of academics and athletics building on each other to create leaders on and off the field."

Nutley, along with Ben Christensen of Lincoln-Way East, will be honored at an awards ceremony on February 15, 2016, at Halas Hall. The scholar-athletes will be joined by the voice of the Chicago Bears, Jeff Joniak, as well as current and former NFL and college football players.

This event provides a unique opportunity to salute scholar-athletes and to see Halas Hall, which is rarely open to the public or for charity events. For details and registration for the NFF Awards Ceremony, visit www.nffchicagoawards.eventbrite.com.

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