“MONSIGNOR MATTHEW PETERS” STUDENT-ATHLETE AWARD
By Matt Diano
The highest honor that a NYCHSFL player can have bestowed upon him, in order to be considered as a recipient for the Msgr. Peter’s Trophy, what is required of you is to be a champion on and away from the field, as well as a dedicated pillar to your community….
Whereas many distinctions can be achieved by having a single breakout campaign, the Peters’ award requires four years of unrelenting focus, ambition, and intellect!
An achievement where the brains truly do meets with the brawn, our recent recipients are currently attending a sampling of the most prestigious and competitive national colleges and/or universities on the planet, including Harvard (2022: Jack Donahoe), Princeton (2021: Scott Becker; 2018: David Amelemah), Tufts (2020: Matt DiLullo), and the United States’ Naval Academy (2019: Liam Brown)!!….Hence, given the profile required to sit in this company, there could not have been a finer choice than 2023 winner…..EDDIE PALUMBO!!!!
The 10th player from Archbishop Stepinac (third in the past four seasons) to be selected to carry with him this grand tradition, they did not come any more ferocious or hard working than the Crusader captain, as he brought pride to the #6 jersey by recording 110 tackles, 7 TFLs, 6 sacks, 4 hurries, and 2 interceptions in his swan song to raise his two-year varsity totals to an astounding 203 stops, 11 tackles for negative yardage, 8 QB bags, 7 QB hassles, and 4 picks for a squad that finished atop the standings and headed into the postseason as top-seeded team in the triple-A playoffs!!!
A “Superman” without a cape in appearance and scholarly pursuit, at 6’4, 205 pounds, the pledged Yale University Bulldog certainly gives us “Clark Kent” vibes as he was so talented and credentialed in the classroom that he actually had the option of saying no to fellow Ivy League schools such as Cornell, Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania, and Columbia!!
Holding a class rank of 8th in his graduating class, Palumbo sports a cumulative grade point average of 99.6 despite challenging himself to the highest degree by enrolling in a bevy of Advanced Placement courses featuring, but not limited to Literature & Composition, Microeconomics, Physics, Statistics, Accounting, etc..
For good measure, he tacked on a cumulative score of 1380 on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), posting a 700 on the math section, while putting forth an equally strong 680 on verbal!
Applying his vast knowledge base to practical utilization, among his peers, Palumbo serves in an executive capacity for the school’s Investment Club (treasure), obtained/earned a Bloomberg certification, and is a member of the Travel Club (globetrotting to the likes of Spain, Portugal, and Italy)!…
An inducted party to both the National Honor Society and the Mathematics National Honor Society, regardless of the many demands and/or proverbial “mistresses vying for his attention”, Palumbo has always been one to find extra hours in a given day, as he remains active in his church (Mt. Carmel) and generously donates his spare time to volunteering at food pantries, the United Way, not to mention the Stepinac football camps, and so forth!!!
Yet to reach the age of 18, to accomplish so much in such a condensed time frame demands respect and epitomizes all of the values/attributes that we strive to embody as Christian men and women!!!
His story still in its infancy stage, we truly cannot wait to see what the Lord has planned for this extraordinary gentleman from Yorktown Heights!
Much like his predecessors, he represents the best of mankind; his future has no ceiling!
