03/03/2026
McNaughton Chapter names nine scholarship winners, other award recipients
Ken Antee, Rick Holland, Haynesville’s David Franklin,
Carthage’s Scott Surratt also spotlighted
Contact Doug Ireland, 318-288-6388 – for immediate release
Nine Class of 2026 high school scholar-athletes from north and central Louisiana are winners of $1,000 college scholarships from The National Football Foundation, S.M. McNaughton Chapter
to be presented Wednesday evening in Shreveport.
Additionally, two outstanding high school football coaches and two dynamic figures who have greatly impacted the sport regionally are being spotlighted with individual honors from the
McNaughton Chapter. Shreveporters Ken Antee and Rick Holland, who have played major roles in football locally and
regionally, are receiving prestigious annual awards the chapter has presented since 1981.
Coaches David Franklin of Haynesville and Scott Surratt from Carthage (Texas) will receive the chapter’s Coach of the Year accolades after leading their undefeated teams to the latest in a
series of state championships.
The scholar-athlete winners exceeded standards for the annual scholarship grants including a cumulative grade point average of 3.20 or better, earning at least all-district honors on the
football field, and extracurricular involvement.
The scholarship recipients include four standouts from Caddo and Bossier parishes: Jeremiah Epps of Airline, Loyola’s Hayden Horton, Luke Miller of Calvary Baptist, and Northwood’s Justin
Thomas.
The other NFF scholarship winners are Ty Curtis of Buckeye, Luke Delafield of North DeSoto, West Monroe’s Hunter Fox, Micah Moser of Ouachita Christian School and North Webster’s
Hudson Smith.
Culminating Wednesday’s festivities, one will be named the McNaughton Chapter’s National Scholar-Athlete of the Year nominee and will be featured in the NFF’s College Football Hall of
Fame in Atlanta this year, and will be a candidate for a national scholarship grant.
Epps will be presented the KTBS Channel 3 Griffin’s Scholar-Athlete Award honoring the memory and legacy of the late Bob Griffin, a former NFF Board member who was the iconic sportscaster at KSLA and then KTBS for over 50 years. The scholarship is presented by KTBS and Southern Classic Chicken.
Griffin, a 2009 Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame inductee as a sports journalist, covered Ark-LaTex high school football in an incredible six decades before he passed away early in 2020.
Antee and Holland collaborated to twice bring the Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints to compete in preseason (1998, 2006) at Independence Stadium and are past chairs and
executive committee members of the Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl.
Antee will receive the chapter’s Contribution to Amateur Football award. A Buckeye native and ULM graduate who earned a law degree from Mississippi College, he practiced law locally for
38 years and now works in the financial sector. He spent eight years as the City of Shreveport’s Chief Administrative Officer for Mayor Keith Hightower, leading extensive 2001 renovations to
Independence Stadium.
Antee was a football official for the Shreveport High School association for 30 years and in 2000 was selected to officiate in Division 1 college football for Conference USA, working 225 college games including 15 bowl games and the six CUSA championship games as a line judge and head referee.
Past recipients include great coaches and players such as Eddie Robinson, John David Crow, Bert Jones, Dub Jones, Joe Ferguson, Doug Williams, Lee Hedges, Don Shows, Red Franklin,
Rodney Guin and others including C.O. Brocato, Jerry Byrd Sr., Tommy Henry, Tim Fletcher and
Griffin.
Holland is the recipient of the McNaughton Chapter’s Distinguished American Award. A Byrd
High School and Louisiana Tech alumnus, he has served an array of roles in local and area civic organizations, recently providing significant leadership to the creation of a local Ronald
McDonald’s House. He has been on executive boards for both the Shreveport and Bossier Chamber of Commerce, the Downtown Rotary Club, and the local banker spent 18 years on the
City of Shreveport Zoning Commission. Along with his long association with the Independence Bowl, Hollard previously served on the McNaughton Chapter board and received the 2002 Executive Award from the All-American Football Foundation.
Among the 44 previous Distinguished American Award winners are Sen. J. Bennett Johnston, Bo Campbell, Orvis Sigler, Carl Mikovich, Mike McCarthy, Dr. Billy Bundrick, Tim Brando, John
McConathy, Dr. George Bakowski, John Manno Jr., Ivan Smith Jr., Leonard Barnes, Denny Duron and Milton McNaughton.
The McNaughton Chapter has awarded scholarships to senior scholar-athletes since 1981.
Coach of the Year awards have been presented occasionally in the past two decades.
McNaughton Chapter president Toni Goodin said they will be recognized at the 45th Annual NFF Scholar-Athlete Banquet at East Ridge Country Club in Shreveport. Doors open at 6 with dinner served about a half-hour later. “These nine young men are tremendous representatives of-all the high school football teams in North Louisiana, and especially their teams, their schools and communities,” said Goodin. “They have been remarkable examples of academic and athletic excellence along with service and involvement in extracurricular activities.”
For information about the event, contact Goodin at [email protected] or by calling 318-
347-4453.
-318NFFChapter
