M-W senior Christopher Johnson named Finnegan Scholarship winner

Central Valley - Christopher Johnson, one of the captains of the state champion Monroe-Woodbury High School football team who also carries a grade point average of more than 91 percent, has been named the 2005 “Michael J. Finnegan Scholarship” fund award winner. Johnson, a senior who will graduate in June, received a $15,000 scholarship award. His coaches, who described him as a “true gentleman” who epitomizes the term “student athlete,” considered him the unsung hero of 2005 New York State Division AA Football Championship Team. On defense, Johnson was assigned the opposing team’s best pass receiver; on offense, he averaged more than 27 yards per catch and 10 rushing yards per run. Academically, Johnson ranks in the top 18 percent of the 2006 M-W graduating class; he has maintained a 91.3 percent cumulative grade point average for his four years at M-W High School; and he has scored a 1210 on the SAT college entrance exam. His extracurricular and volunteer activities include the Cottage in Monroe and Habitat for Humanity. The scholarship is named for the late Michael J. Finnegan, who had been selected as the Crusaders’ starting quarterback in 1990 when he was only a sophomore. “He was an incredible student and incredibly mature for his age,” said Thomas J. Lemmey, a trustee of the scholarship fund. “He had everyone’s respect.” A student who applied for the scholarship must carry a grade point average of at least 90 percent and score at least 1200 on the SATs. The scholarship is funded through a golf tournament and other activities. The 2005 scholarship was awarded at the Monroe-Woodbury Parents’ Football Club’s annual awards dinner in December.