Jack Knauer has gone through one of the most formidable high school academic programs in the nation.

The Newbury Park High senior exceeded the physical demands required to become an All-Ventura County offensive lineman for the co-Marmonte League champion Panthers.

The hours devoted to campus projects and community service are counted in the hundreds.

As busy as he's been, Knauer has always found time to remember Betty Gross.

A youth with mental challenges, Gross was a friend of Knauer and his older brother Andy before she died four years ago.

"Every day she would always pick flowers," said Knauer.

Her death so impacted Knauer that he, with the help of the school's Key Club, built a memorial garden on the school's campus.

Without fail, each week for four years, the burly Knauer picked up trash and helped maintain the garden's appearance. Every month, he would either turn the garden's dirt or plant new flowers.

"I wanted flowers that were friendly; that you could see from afar and want to pick them," said Knauer.

That drive and purpose — and compassion — have set The Star's 2008 Boys' Scholar-Athlete apart.

The template for his academic life.

"We always had a sibling rivalry," said Knauer of competing against his brother.

"I always had to keep making A's. We always played the same sports and were comparing our stats. I learned through him; saw how he studied for classes."

Just like his brother, Knauer pursued excellence in AP classes for his freshman and sophomore years, completed a 5,000-word essay and was one of 36 students selected for the International Baccalaureate program. Newbury Park is one of only 76 schools in California to offer an IB program.

"In grappling with a math problem or science lab, in coming to grips with a poem or novel," wrote Newbury Park IB coordinator Marcine Solarez, "he will apply himself fully and get to the heart of the issue.

"Jack initially presents as the strong, silent type. Scratch that surface and you find a wealth of unique abilities."

Knauer's best advice for students:

"Focus on the fundamentals and the how to rather than the what is. Once you know the how to, it is easier to memorize the formula or come up with one of your own."

While he was making good grades in the classroom, Knauer could see the performances of the football team's offensive linemen excel before the 2007 football season.

"All of our strength matches and running times were the best at the school in a few years," said Knauer. "Other players saw the work ethic of the linemen and followed us.

"There was a lot of hype placed on this team before the season. We wanted to make that come true."

They did.

Newbury Park won its first eight games, tied Westlake for the league championship and advanced to the Northern Division semifinals, where it finished the season at 11-2 in the final year for longtime Panthers football coach George Hurley.

"It was totally amazing," said Knauer. "It was easily one of the most joyous moments of my high school career."

There was joy to be found in two of his favorite volunteer experiences.

In his sophomore and junior years, Knauer helped wheelchair-bound children and adults wind through Sycamore Canyon to the beach.

That drew him to the Ride-on Therapeutic Horsemanship program, which offers mentally and physically challenged youths a chance to ride horses.

"I not only like the program for the physical therapy for the kids," said Knauer, "but for knowing that I could help them to experience something outside what they normally do."

Knauer's reward?

"The brightness in their faces made me happy," he said.

"I didn't see it as a chore. It was like going to the movies or hanging out with my friends. It made me want to spend more time."

That dedication is typical of what Newbury Park administrators have seen of Knauer for four years.

"You don't have to ask Jack to get involved," wrote Key Club faculty advisor Stephen Johnson, "rather he will ask you."

As his final days at Newbury Park came to an end, Knauer had one last request of Johnson.

Make sure that the Betty Gross Memorial Garden is properly maintained.