Item All-Star Football Dinner set for Dec. 12

Former NFL quarterback Brian St. Pierre will be among the featured speakers Monday, Dec. 12, when the Daily Item hosts its 66th annual All-Star Football Dinner at the Hilltop Steakhouse.Also on the dais will be Framingham State University athletic director/football coach Tom Kelley as well as Sam Hill, a former Lynn English standout, who is one of 14 players from the Item coverage area – many of them former Item all-stars – on the FSU Rams’ roster.The dinner honors the 25 Item-area football all-stars, who will be introduced in the paper Wednesday, Dec. 7. The team is selected by the Item sports staff, with input from the coaches of the 17 teams The Item covers.The Item will also hand out special awards to the coach of the year, player of the year, scholar/athlete of the year, and – in conjunction with the Agganis Foundation – the offensive and defensive players of the year.St. Pierre was a standout quarterback for St. John’s Prep, leading the team to the 1997 Catholic Conference championship and a 25-0 win over New Bedford in the Division 1 Super Bowl. He was also an Item all-star.At Boston College, he backed up Tim Hasselbeck for two season before becoming the starter as a junior. He quarterbacked BC to two bowl victories and was the MVP of the Motor City Bowl his senior season in 2002.He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the sixth round of the 2003 NFL draft – ironically in the same round as his center, Dan Koppen (now of the Patriots). He played for four NFL organizations (Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Arizona and Carolina), and was on the 2009 Cardinals Super Bowl team.St. Pierre was part of the Boston College football radio broadcasting team this past fall.Kelley just completed his 19th season as head coach at Framingham State. This year, he coached the Rams into the finals of the New England Football Conference before the fell, 20-13, to Western New England in the league’s title game. The Rams were 6-2 in their league this past fall; 7-4 overall.Hill, a sophomore linebacker, was on the NEFC all-star team. He was fifth on the team with tackles with 53 (30 solo).Tickets for the dinner are $25. They can be reserved by calling the Item sports department at 781-593-7700 x1238), or by emailing [email protected]. They can also be purchased through the business office at 38 Exchange St., first floor, through Friday, Dec. 9.Steve Krause can be reached at [email protected].