Central Valley Automotive will unveil scholarship winners Thursday night

Central Valley Automotive Group of Modesto teamed up with The Bee last fall for the first time to present the Modesto 10 Player with Drive Scholarship Game of the Week.

Some of the featured games had exceptional marquee value but turned out to be not so exceptional (Central Catholic’s 42-16 win over Marin Catholic in a rematch of the 2015 NorCal championship is a prime example). Others figured to be decent games and turned into classics that will be remembered for years (Downey’s 30-28, come-from-behind victory over Beyer and Gregori’s 29-28 nailbiter over El Capitan are among the most memorable).

That’s the nature of sports.

But the Game of the Week was about more than just anticipated football matchups and highlight videos. Local football stars had the opportunity to win a $5,000, $3,000 or $2,000 scholarship from Central Valley Automotive.

On Thursday at 6 p.m., in a private ceremony at Central Valley Volkswagen and Hyundai, the three scholarship recipients will be unveiled.

The finalists are Modesto Christian kicker Rachel Smith, Gregori linebacker/offensive lineman Dominic Barandica and Central Catholic running back/defensive back Jared Rice.

“We always had this idea that we wanted to do something to help in the community,” said Spencer McSherry, a 2001 Central Catholic graduate who is the marketing director at Central Valley Automotive. “So, we reached out to The Modesto Bee for help with this idea and decided to create a scholarship as a way to get involved with Modesto sports.”

To be eligible, players must be a senior on one of the city’s 10 varsity football squads – Beyer, Big Valley Christian, Central Catholic, Davis, Downey, Enochs, Gregori, Johansen, Modesto and Modesto Christian.

Central Valley Automotive allowed The Bee’s Sports department total authority over which game was selected each week. The only stipulations: The Game of the Week must involve one of the 10 Modesto schools and must be played within the city limits.

In other words, Central Catholic’s Week 10 showdown at Oakdale, one of the most anticipated games of the season, was not eligible.

Central Valley Automotive vice president and sales director Brent Gardner said this week he’d like to continue the association with the Game of the Week. He even hinted that future games could be opened up to Stanislaus County teams outside the Modesto city limits.

“Our goal is to take this year and grow off of that and get it more talked about,” said Gardner, a 1999 Central Catholic graduate. “One of our customers said to me, ‘Hey, my son plays for Denair; we’d like to be part of the Game of the Week.’

“I think opening it up beyond Modesto could be big.”

Oakdale, which won its first state title in 2016 and was still playing six weeks beyond the end of the regular season, along with Turlock, Pitman, Ceres, Central Valley and Patterson, would provide additional high-profile Game of the Week candidates each week.

“Nissan plays a part in the Heisman Trophy presentation,” Gardner said. “And Central Valley Nissan would like to think of this as our kind of Heisman award, even though this became somewhat different.

“I think we did a pretty good job the first year.”

Players are judged by their performance on the field, work in the classroom and in the community. Three members of the CVA team and two from The Bee’s advertising department made up the selection committee.

This story was originally published January 24, 2017 at 7:20 PM with the headline "Central Valley Automotive will unveil scholarship winners Thursday night."