HS Football: Tamaqua’s Frohnheiser named Schuylkill Chapter No. 25 scholar-athlete
Tamaqua's Luke Frohnheiser, second from left, poses with Schuylkill Chapter No. 25 president Dr. Stephen Toth and his family, sister Emma and mother Anne, after being named the 2026 scholar-athlete Sunday at the Schuylkill IU 29 (Photo by Leroy Boyer).
Two-way standout Tamaqua’s first winner since 2008
MAR LIN — Ask anyone who knows Luke Frohnheiser and they’ll tell you the same thing.
He’s a leader.
Whether it’s on the football field, basketball court or baseball diamond, in the classroom or working with children with special needs, Frohnheiser makes an impact and leaves a lasting impression wherever he goes.
Those characteristics, and his excellence in all those areas listed above, resulted in the Tamaqua senior earning one of Schuylkill County’s most prestigious awards Sunday evening.
Frohnheiser was named the 2026 Schuylkill Chapter No. 25 National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame Scholar-Athlete during the chapter’s 65th annual awards dinner Sunday at the Schuylkill IU 29.
The 18-year-old Tamaqua resident is the Blue Raiders’ fourth overall scholar-athlete winner and first since 2008. He joins Robert Hartwig III (1967), Michael Miorelli (1976) and Travers Schmidt (2008) as Tamaqua players to win the overall award.
For winning the overall scholar-athlete award, Frohnheiser receives the Scholar-Athlete Trophy, the Scholar-Athlete Plaque, a $1,000 scholarship from the Senator James and Mary Edith Rhoades Charitable Foundation, $1,000 from the Schuylkill Chapter No. 25 and a hand-crafted wooden football featuring the names of this year’s scholar-athlete nominees crafted by local artist Marty Heffron.
Tamaqua will also get to host the large scholar-athlete traveling trophy for one year.
“I knew I was competitive,” Frohnheiser said after being named the winner. “I put in the work. It’s something I had been striving for once I realized I’d be up for the award at the beginning of the year.
“I didn’t come in expecting (to win), but I had an inkling that maybe I had the possibility to get this award.”
A 5-foot-10, 180-pound center/linebacker, Frohnheiser was a four-year starter at both positions for the Blue Raiders and a key cog in Tamaqua’s run to the 2024 Eastern Conference Class 3A championship.
This season, Frohnheiser compiled 82 tackles and 15 tackles for loss as Tamaqua finished 4-8 and reached the District 11 Class 3A semifinals. He was named to the Schuylkill County Football Coaches Association Big School first team at both center and linebacker, selected as the Linebacker of the Year by the Lehighton Times-News and earned all-star recognition from the Hazleton Standard-Speaker and Allentown Morning Call.
More importantly, the two-year captain was tasked with being the senior leader of a Tamaqua squad that had graduated 12 seniors from the year before and fielded a squad of mostly underclassmen.
“It’s awesome,” Tamaqua coach Sam Bonner said. “Luke is such a well-rounded kid. He’s worked so hard over the years. He’s not the biggest guy but the way he works academically, on the field and in the weight room … it’s just what he brings to the program. He’s a great example for all the young kids.
“Athletically he had a great year for us. Everything he’s done he’s worked hard for, which is what you want to see as a coach.”
The son of Anne and the late Jason Frohnheiser, Luke also excelled off the field. In the classroom, he ranks third in a class of 176 students with a 99.894 GPA while having a course load that includes extensive AP and dual-enrollment classes.
His leadership roles include class treasurer, treasurer of the National Honor Society, president of the Physics Club, and active membership in the National English Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta, National Spanish Honor Society and National Science Honor Society. He is also a four-year member of Student Government Association and Ski Club, and a member of FBLA, which earned a regional first-place finish in Organizational Leadership.
Frohnheiser was also a senior captain of the boys’ basketball team and a three-year starter for the Tamaqua baseball team, helping the Blue Raiders win back-to-back Schuylkill League championships in 2024 and 2025.
The recipient of a national Army ROTC scholarship, Frohnheiser is waiting to hear if he’s received an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he plans to major in Mechanical Engineering. Bucknell and Villanova are his other college choices if he’s not accepted to West Point.
“It means everything,” Frohnheiser said of winning the award. “Tamaqua is a great place. A lot of these awards should be seen more in a bigger light. Tamaqua deserves the recognition for what they give out.
“Our school district is amazing, the football program is amazing, Coach Bonner is great … he’s been here forever. It’s a really well-deserved award. I really appreciate everyone who has helped me along the way and I really give all credit to Tamaqua.”
Frohnheiser said the activity he’s most proud of is his involvement with the non-profit group Sweet Inclusion, which provides employment opportunities for young adults with special needs.
Frohnheiser’s sister, Emma, has Down Syndrome, and joined him up on stage as he received the Scholar-Athlete Trophy from Schuylkill Chapter President Dr. Stephen Toth.
“Volunteering with Sweet Inclusions … that’s a big thing that my sister is a part of,” Frohnheiser said. “Just being able to help her and help her classmates in that endeavor is something I really find pride and enjoyment in.
“It was started by the special ed teachers in the high school and middle school. It’s a smoothie business … the special needs kids come, make the smoothies and sell them. We just opened a building in downtown Tamaqua.
“It’s a really good thing. All the special needs students are learning employability skills. It’s a really great program to try to get exposure to the workforce for some of these kids that may not really have that opportunity right after high school.”
The Schuylkill Chapter No. 25 awards dinner serves as an annual celebration of Schuylkill County high school football.
Schuylkill County Commissioners Larry Padora, Boots Hetherington and Gary Hess presented trophies to Williams Valley, Schuylkill Haven and Tri-Valley for winning championships in 2025, Nativity principal Michael Grabowski read the Educator’s View of a Scholar-Athlete and East Stroudsburg University head football Jimmy Terwilliger was the guest speaker.
Frohnheiser was chosen as the overall winner from a very talented and balanced field of 14 scholar-athletes, maybe one of the most balanced groups all-time.
The overall winner is selected by the Schuylkill Chapter based on the following qualifications: 1) Outstanding football ability and performance; 2) Outstanding academic application and performance; and 3) Outstanding school leadership and citizenship.
In addition to Frohnheiser, this year’s scholar-athletes included Dylan Foose, Blue Mountain; Kyler Quick, Mahanoy Area; Jah Bushati, Marian; Matthew Dube, Minersville; Colt Mason, Nativity; Cadyn McGraw, North Schuylkill; Gavin Yuricheck, Panther Valley; Robert Brown Jr., Pine Grove; JuJu Bainbridge, Pottsville; Niko Carestia, Schuylkill Haven; Sam Mentusky, Shenandoah Valley; Max Masser, Tri-Valley and Quin Smeltz, Williams Valley.
Smeltz is the second female to represent her school at the Schuylkill Chapter No. 25 scholar-athlete awards dinner, following her sister, Sage, who was Williams Valley’s 2025 nominee.
