Ned Smith Wins Portland Beacon Student Athlete of the Month

Ned Smith, junior running back and nose guard for Portland St. Patrick’s this season, has been chosen by the voters of Portland to be the recipient of the monthly J-Dubbs Signature Subs Athlete of the Month award.

Ned received 50.8% of the votes, with Maddie Luxmore coming in a close second with 40.7% of the votes. Almost 11,000 votes were cast for this honor. The Portland Beacon’s Student Athlete of the Month contest is sponsored by J-Dubbs Signature Subs of Portland. The monthly winner receives a free sub of his/her choice from J-Dubbs Signature Subs. Monthly winners will also be entered for a chance at the Student Athlete of the Year award, and a free party platter from J-Dubbs Signature Subs.

When asked about playing for St. Patrick’s, Ned replied “I really like how wide open 8-man football is, it makes for an exciting, action packed game.” He also added, “I really love all my teammates too, we are a very close group of guys.” Ned has dominated on the gridiron this season, becoming one of the leaders in the area both on defense as a nose guard, and on offense as a tail back. Currently, Ned has 557 yards on 55 carries and 8 touchdowns on offense, and he also has 49 tackles, 5 sacks and 7 tackles for loss on defense.

Ned is also an exceptional student, currently holding a 3.8 GPA. Ned’s future plans are pretty uncertain right now, when asked he stated, “I will probably just go to LCC, but I don’t really know yet.” Assistant Coach Aaron Thelen had great things to say about him. “I love Ned’s work ethic, whether it’s in season or in summer workouts. He’s a vocal leader when he needs to be, but he does his best work when leading by example. Honestly though, my favorite thing about Ned is his personality. He’s a coach's dream, a good and kind kid off the field, but an absolute monster on it!”.

The Shamrocks play at Battle Creek against Battle Creek St. Philip this Saturday, September 30th. Their next home game is next week Friday, October 5th against Colon.

The Portland Beacon’s Student Athlete of the Month contest is sponsored by J-Dubbs Signature Subs of Portland.