Matt Long has it all going on. First named to the Vermont North-South Senior Bowl, then the first Redhawk in history to be named to the annual Shrine roster, and now Long is the Division II nominee for the PRIDE Award.

Since 2007 the South Burlington Dolphins Football Foundation inaugurated an annual PRIDE award to honor the best high school football player in the state. PRIDE is an acronym for Personal Responsibility for Individual Daily Effort and is the motto of the Dolphin's youth football team.

The selection process began with coaches from the three divisions of football in Vermont nominating players in their own division, and along with appropriate members of the sports media that cover these divisional teams, voted to elect a finalist from each division.

The finalists include, from D-I to D-III respectively, Max Librizzi of Essex High School, Matt Long of Champlain Valley Union High School, and Gavin Callahan of Windsor High School.

Long is a 6'5" co-captain and three-year starting defensive end for CVU. According to football head coach Jim Provost, "Long was a dominant force all season and a key factor in CVU's rise to the playoffs since the varsity program was created in 2005. He blocked four punts including two that led to touchdowns in CVU's semifinal win, all while maintaining a 3.8 academic average."

Rene LaBerge, president of the South Burlington Dolphins Football Foundation and 43-year youth football coach in South Burlington says, "The three finalists will be whittled down to one PRIDE Award winner by a group of former college football coaches who will review game films and the performance of each player." Each divisional winner will be recognized at the awards ceremony on April 25 at Castleton State College and will receive a granite plaque denoting the honor. The PRIDE Award winner will receive a large granite trophy donated by the Johnson family in memory of their son, a former Dolphin player.

Previous PRIDE Award winners are Andrew Plumley of Burlington, Taylor DeVarney of South Burlington, and Mick Wong of Hartford.