Wednesday evening, the Lucas family kept their son’s memory alive by awarding scholarships at the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame.

This is the 11th year for the ceremony that remembers Al Lucas.

Lucas died in an arena football league game in 2005.

He was a Northeast High School standout, a Troy State All-American, and played for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

A community foundation and the Lucas family hand out scholarships every spring to high school seniors that attend public school in Macon-Bibb.

Chimaka Nwokeocha says her family is from Nigeria, she plans to go to Emory and says the scholarship means a lot.

“It’s one of my first scholarships so far and, I mean, being an athlete, it’s hard work, and even though I”m not a captain or the best player, I still do my best and work hard and stay committed,” she said with a smile.

Seven seniors each received a $1,000 check this evening.

Since the scholarship program began, they’ve given out $76,000.

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