Since he first took over the program in the summer of 1996, Warsaw Community High School football coach Phil Jensen has emphasized his philosophy of “son, student, athlete.” In a phone conversation this morning, Jensen said he can’t think of a better example of that than senior Nate Stone. “He’s every thing you want as a son, student in our community, in our school, as a football player and as a brother,” said Jensen. “He’s just a fantastic young man.” Stone, a member of the football, swimming and track teams for the Tigers, was honored by the National Football Foundation’s Moose Krause Chapter Thursday evening in South Bend as its Student Athlete Award winner. “I’m very honored,” said Stone, who will attend the University of Notre Dame. “I’m very grateful to the Moose Krause Chapter committee. There were some really great guys, some great athletes, there last night. They’re all very good students, and they all were deserving of this award.” The National Football Foundation’s award is a $2,000 scholarship, renewable for four years. Stone was also seclected as a Lily Scholarship winner. Stone, who is ranked 11th in his class at WCHS, carries a 12.8 GPA on a 12.0 scale. “I’ve not only been able to see him in an educational setting in the school, but I’ve also been fortunate to get to know who outside of school because he’s a friend of my sons,” said Warsaw Athletic Director Dave Anson. “He’s an extremely polite and intelligent young man. He’s well-rounded with his studies and in athletics. He’s very deserving of this.” While Stone’s accomplishments in the classroom are certainly impressive, so is his unselfishness in the community. In honor of Tracey Yeager, the late wife of Warsaw volunteer assistant football coach Steve Yeager, Stone and his twin brother Simon organized the Race For Trace 5K. Nearly 800 competitors competed in the road race, and Stone presented a check for $25,000 to the Kosciusko County Cancer Care Fund. “Unselfish is a great word, but so are caring and loving,” said Jensen. “And Nate is all of those. For a kid to put that together, and get adults behind him, that’s very impressive. We haven’t had as many wins on the field the last couple years as we’d like, but if we’re producing young men like Nate Stone, we’re doing something right.” This was a the second year in a row a player from Warsaw was honored with the award. Zac Erba, now a student at Rose Hulman, was bestowed the honor in 2011.
