By By GREG KATSKI, Staff Writer
YEATESVILLE — Before the Northside baseball team’s final home game of the season Friday night, injured Panthers player Holden Cox received a special honor.
Cox, who has spent most of the season on injured reserve with a broken nose, cheek bone and eye socket, was awarded the first-ever Brian Keith Woolard Baseball Scholarship.
Cox said he plans to use the scholarship, worth $500, to attend the Wilson Community College Fire &Rescue Cadet Academy. The academy is a 16-week program held at the college.
The scholarship was presented to Cox, a senior at Northside High School, by Woolard’s father, Keith Woolard.
Keith Woolard lost his son, and the namesake of the scholarship, in a tragic car accident in January.
Brian Woolard was a member of Northside’s championship baseball team in 1994. As the squad’s starting catcher, he received the MVP award.
The younger Woolard went on to play baseball at Lenior Community College, where he was recognized as the team’s defensive player of the year in 1996.
The idea to start a scholarship in Brian Woolard’s name came from his mother, Wendy.
Keith Woolard said his wife never missed one of their son’s games in the 16 years that he played ball.
Keith Woolard hopes the scholarship can be awarded to a Northside baseball player every season.
Donations to the Brian Keith Woolard Baseball Scholarship can be made by contacting Nancy Hill or Kathy Bowen at Northside High School.