By Marie Mulvenna

Frank Blaydes, a senior at St. Joseph’s High School, seems to have ably mastered both the scholastic field and the football field. Frank was recently awarded a trophy from the Atlanta Quarterback Club as top scholar-athlete in the Metro Atlanta area, and was cited for attaining the highest scholastic average of all football players nominated by their respective schools for the coveted award.

“I was kind of surprised and a little bit thrilled,” Frank says calmly, relating the recent luncheon held by the Quarterback Club. “I didn’t know a thing about it until someone mentioned the award during lunch.” He’s just as calm speaking about his achievements on the gridiron, commenting “I play offensive tackle. All I did was block. Nothing fancy.”

Frank maintains a 3.91 average at St. Joseph’s, a bare shade from an all-perfect 4 or A average. In addition to Quarterback Club honor, Frank also received WSB Radio’s Sports Scroll, recognizing him as a top scholar-athlete.

Since his forte at St. Joseph’s is math, Frank plans tentatively to attend Massachusetts Institute of Technology this coming fall, with an eye to a career in either engineering or medicine. Involvement at St. Joseph’s is not limited to the football field but finds Frank active in track, basketball, soccer and the chess club.

A native of Columbia, S.C., Frank has lived in Atlanta for the past seven years. His family was recently transferred to Cairo, Ga. And left Frank in Atlanta to complete his senior year at St. Joseph’s. He is presently staying with the John Schilling family of East Point and is a parishioner of Most Blessed Sacrament Church.

Excellence, be it scholastic or athletic, is no new thing for Frank Blaydes, who takes it all in stride.