Nolan Kellerman and Scott Penny played their final downs of football last November when Lawrence High fell out of the Class 6A state playoff picture.

Five months later, the accolades still are pouring in.

The latest – and, perhaps, most impressive – came Wednesday night when the LHS standouts joined nine other Kansas prep players, standout coach Marvin Diener and longtime referee Jim Knight as honorees by the Sunflower Chapter of the National Football Foundation.

The two Lions spent only 15 minutes at the chapter’s 13th annual scholar-athlete banquet, eating a quick fried-chicken dinner and posing for a few photographs before exiting stage left to take part in the final dress rehearsal for this year’s LHS “Showtime” talent show.

That commitment to something beside football is a major reason Kellerman and Penny received invitations to the event in the first place.

Each year the foundation selects and recognizes 11 players not just for their play on the field, but their work in the classroom and the community. A prospective honoree must be nominated by his head coach and by his principal as well.

Lawrence High football players Scott Penny, left, and Nolan Kellerman pose for a quick snap at a banquet honoring 11 of the state's top scholar-athletes. The ceremony was Wednesday at Corpus Christi Catholic Church.

Earlier this month, LHS football coach Dirk Wedd received word that his program would be the only one with two players who made the cut for 2006.

“I think it’s indicative of what we had this fall,” said Wedd, pointing to a combination of talented players and instinctive leaders who helped lead the Lions to the Class 6A semifinals for the first time in a decade. “It helps a lot to have high-character kids. That’s what these two are for sure.”

Penny, a linebacker/tight end, started every game during his three years at LHS, part of an elite fraternity of sophomores deemed good enough to help the Lions from the day he set foot on campus. What caught the selection committee’s eye was his 3.8 grade-point average and a multitude of extra-curricular activities, including his role as president of the student council.

“Eleven guys out of the whole state just makes it that much more special,” Penny said about his newest honor. “It’s not just northeast Kansas. It’s not just a class.

“It’s something you take humbly.”

Kellerman also earned three varsity letters as a running back and complemented his football skills with a 3.95 GPA and many of the same off-field contributions as his teammate.

“It’s pretty special. I was really never expecting something like this to come out of it,” Kellerman said of his playing career.

“I like the fact that we’ve represented Lawrence High well.”

As with many of the honorees, neither Penny nor Kellerman will play football at the next level. Penny – the defending Class 6A state shot-put champion – is headed to the University of Oregon on an academic scholarship and will compete for the school’s track and field program.

Meanwhile, Kellerman – a two-time state wrestling champ – is closing the book on his entire athletic career, staying home to attend Kansas University and study engineering.

Wedd knows both young men will be hard to replace.

“On the field, we’re going to miss them immensely,” Wedd said. “But that doesn’t even begin to tell you how much we’re going to miss them in the halls of Lawrence High.”