Boisoneau Northern Connecticut Chapter honors Scholar Athlete football players

Granby High’s Hayes Horst, left, was honored with a Scholar Athlete award from the Doc Boisoneau Northern Connecticut chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame recently. In the center is Doc Boisoneau and George Horst, a 2023 Scholar Athlete award winner is on the right. (Photo courtesy Horst family)

Granby High senior Hayes Horst was recently honored with the Scholar Athlete award from the Doc Boisoneau Northern Connecticut chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame at their 59th annual banquet in May.

Other area players honored with a Scholar Athlete award included Avon’s Nik Meltser and Simsbury’s Roland Baxter and Brennan Connolly.

Former Simsbury High coach Dave Masters was honored with the Rob Cersomino and Jude Kelly Coach of the Year award by the chapter.

Horst is the ninth Granby football player honored with the Scholar Athlete award, which is given by the chapter for excellence in academics, character/community service, leadership and football prowess.

His older brother, George, received the award in 2023.

The Scholar Athlete award goes beyond performance on the field, former Avon High coach Jeff Redman once said. “It more than your performance on the field,” he said. “It (is about) your performance in the classroom, your performance in the community, your performance with leadership.”

Hayes Horst also earned the C. Edwin Creed Award for having the third highest point total among the inductees this year.

Hayes Horst, an All-Pequot Uncas Division selection at linebacker, made an impact on both sides of the ball for Granby/Canton (8-3, 6-1 Pequot Uncas). He had a team-leading 82 tackles and 15 tackles for a loss while rushing for 603 yards and eight touchdowns on 101 carries and catching six passes for 84 yards.

He helped Granby/Canton earn a CIAC Class SS tournament bid for the fifth straight year.

Four players from the Pequot Conference were honored with Scholar Athlete awards. From left, Yanni Koraja (Stafford/Somers), Hayes Hortst (Granby/Canton), Jon Kasamba (Rockville) and Brady Ramsdell (Rocxkville). (Photo courtesy Horst family)

Meltser is the 21st Avon High player to be honored with the Scholar Athlete award. As a junior, Meltser ran for a team-leading 1,269 yards and 11 touchdowns for the Falcons.

In 2024, the team’s offense struggled as the Falcons went 1-9 and scored just 68 points. Meltser ran for a team-leading 516 yards and two touchdowns, including a season-high 122 yards in the season-ending 26-13 win over Lewis Mills.

Masters wrapped up a 32-year career coaching football last fall, including the last 10 years as the head coach in Simsbury.

Masters came to Simsbury in 2003 as an assistant coach under Joe Grace and Jeff Osborne before taking over the program in 2015.

The most successful season, on the field, came in 2019 when the Trojans went 9-1, qualified for the CIAC Class LL tournament and won the first CIAC tournament game in school history with a 17-14 win over Cheshire.

Simsbury High coach Dave Masters begins his eighth season behind the bench for the Trojans. (Photo courtesy Scott Kerr)

He coached his son, Jackson, who set a multitude of school records throwing the ball in 2017. That season, Simsbury won the final six games of the season after a 1-3 start. His overall record is 39-53.

At Simsbury, he coached more than 1,100 players and 196 were CCC Division I Academic All-Conference players. Five players earned All-State honors and 51 played college football at the NCAA Division I, II and III level.

He also spent more than 20 years as a varsity baseball coach in Simsbury and at Hall in West Hartford, winning five league championships, before resigning as varsity coach following the 2019 season with more than 250 victories.

Doc Boisoneau Northern Connecticut chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame