Local Spotlight: Henry Mahoney

Some teens are good at school, others are good at sports. Then there’s Henry Mahoney, who excels at both.

Mahoney, a Thornton Academy senior from Saco, recently received the Frank J. Gaziano Memorial Offensive Lineman Award, presented annually to the state’s top high school football senior lineman. Recipients are selected based on academic achievements, athletic excellence and community service. The award comes with a $5,000 scholarship from National Distributors.

It’s a pretty impressive accomplishment, especially considering Mahoney didn’t much care for the sport when he first started playing football in fourth grade.

“I wasn’t much of a sports guy,” he said, but his parents encouraged him to keep at it.

“Eventually I fell in love with it,” he said, “It’s not just the physicality of it. It’s how much you have to think, especially as a lineman.”

Even when off the field, Mahoney focused on how he could become a better player. He studied other lineman and routinely lifted weights to get stronger. Even during his work breaks at his summer job at Funtown Splashtown USA he’d find a way to practice or study some aspect of football.

In the spring, he ran track so he could increase his explosiveness on the field. He currently works at Planet Fitness, and a perk of the job is that he can workout for free.

Mahoney is a member of the National Honor Society and ranks in the top 5% of his class. He has taken eight Advanced Placement and 10 honors classes.

When asked what his favorite class is, he said, “All of them.”

In addition to being a standout athlete and student, Mahoney has also given back to his community, and has volunteered with youth football, Little League, middle school track and field, and Partners for World Health.

Mahoney carefully schedules his days and sets reminders for everything he wants to accomplish, and has gained strength from overcoming difficult times.

“You really have to be self-motivated and make use of your free time,” he said.

One of his biggest inspirations is the late Frank Gaziano, which made receiving the award named after him extra special. Gaziano was a professional football player, a successful businessman, and a philanthropist.

“He really pursued the highest level of everything he did, and that’s what I’ve tried to do so far,” said Mahoney.

Mahoney will be attending Gettysburg College in the fall, majoring in environmental studies with a minor in education. While he was offered the chance to play college football, he has decided instead to be a student assistant football coach.

He said he broke his leg a few years ago and suffered a few concussions and has decided to prioritize academics. He would like to coach football at the high school level someday and hopes to use his experience on the field to help future athletes.

Publisher Liz Gotthelf can be reached at newsdesk@sacobaynews.com.