Author: Kevin A'Hearn

“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

”JOE THOMAS MEMORIAL” LINEMAN OF THE YEAR” By Matt Diano ”Football is a game of inches; and we linemen fight for every single one of them.” While the quote above is attributed to an unknown source, the spirit of the words truly captures the attitude/mentality needed to succeed in the trenches!!! To possess the guts/courage it takes to put your hand in the dirt and endure what at its purest sense is an endless afternoon of “car crashes” is an art form, vocation, and/or responsibility that is not for the faint of heart and is the consummate barometer of grit!  There is no such thing as a “WEAK” offensive or defensive lineman…Just showing up for the battle makes you a warrior in the eyes of genuine gridiron pundits/aficionados! All three of our coveted beasts being products/core members of programs that either won Metro Catholic hardware or advanced to championship weekend

”JOE RIVERSO MEMORIAL” OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR By Matt Diano ”Live with a purpose; play with a purpose.”—-Russell Wilson “You have to perform at a consistently higher level than others. That’s the mark of a true professional.”—Joe Paterno No words could have rung truer when it came to the sensational individual efforts that our three Riverso Trophy recipients exerted week after week… Three “cool customers” occupying three different positions, the trio combined to amass 6,654 yards of total offense, while scoring 76 touchdowns to turn a plethora of proverbial heads in 2023! But perhaps their greatest statistical achievement could be seen in the win/loss column as their bravado was an indelible factor in transforming their schools from records of 2-8, 3-7, and 3-7 in 2022 to improved marks of 11-2, 8-3, and 4-6 this fall!! Godsends to the very definition of the word, it is with the upmost delight

“MARIO VALENTINI” NYCHSFL COACH OF THE YEAR By Matt Diano Making its debut at the awards banquet was the inaugural “Valentini” Meto Catholic Coach of the Year Award; and the fact that the inspiration and/or namesake behind trophy also happens to be the first recipient was a case of poetic and well-deserved valor!!! The Book of John (12:26) states, “Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.”…. Ponder these sentiments above and then consider that for the better part of the past 4.5 decades, the NYCHSFL has never known anything but the glorious, generous, altruistic presence of the living legend that is Mr. Mario Valentini!! A soul who name has become synonymous with the term, “service”, between his own individual playing career and then 45 years on staff (40 in the role of Head

”VINCENT O’CONNOR MEMORIAL” DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR By Matt Diano ”Defense is about being relentless, from the first minute to the last.”—Rick Pitino (St. John’s Head Basketball Coach) Whether we’re talking about the ‘76 Steelers, the ‘85 Bears, the ‘00 Ravens, or even the ‘23 Cowboys (pains to write that as a NY Giant fan), if there is one staple to seemingly every successful franchise, it is not the ability to score a plethora of points; but rather, a hunger to see “0s” on the scoreboard in the opposing column, and the aptness to make that goal into a perennial reality!!! Our three prizemen all donning the badge of conviction, each stood out among an extraordinarily talented crowd, transforming themselves into superstars on defensive units that all ranked in the top-3 of their classifications/divisions…It gives us tremendous satisfaction to welcome DEONTE DOUGLAS (AAA), ISAIAH VANTERPOOL (AA-1), & THOMAS MCMORROW

SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE YEAR By Matt Diano Often overshadowed or not given sufficient credit for the role they play in ensuring victory on a week-to-week basis, think back to all the times you’ve watched as a clutch kick at the buzzer decided a Super Bowl; or recall the emotion of such moments as the “Kick-6” (Auburn shocked Alabama in 2013 on a Chris Davis return off of a missed FG) or Xavier Gipson’s 65-yard punt return in overtime to seal a week #1 victory for the Jets to gain a true appreciation why these individuals as called “SPECIALists”….. All seniors, our 2023 selections were comprised of two “Do Everything” studs with legs of steel and an explosive return man that was a threat to take it to the house every time the opposing tested fate by booting it in his direction!!!… It gives us great pleasure to acknowledge

  METROPOLITAN FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION AWARD IN MEMORY OF JOHN BROMM Injured Player Award Mike Denicola – St. Joseph by the Sea PJ Behan – Monsignor Farrell Aldrich Boyake – Cardinal Hayes  THE KEN WEINMAN AWARD INTERCOUNTY ASSOCIATION OF FOOTBALL OFFICIALS Injured Player Award Nick Parisi – Holy Trinity Liam Looney – St Francis Prep Jack Tully – Chaminade Alex Menghi – St. Anthony’s   LIEUTENANT RONALD WINCHESTER AWARD UNSUNG HERO AWARD DONATED BY THE L.I.A.F.O. FOUNDATION OF NEW YORK Michael Barzal – Monsignor Farrell  BOB STENGER MEMORIAL SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD LI – Xavier City – Fordham Prep  COACH OF THE YEAR AWARD INAUGURAL MARIO VALENTINI TROPHY Mario Valentini – Mount Saint Michael    PLAYER OF THE YEAR AWARDS Special Teams Player of the Year Award AAII – Israel Centeno-Johnson (Kennedy Catholic) AAI – Lance Maiberg (St. John the Baptist) AAA – Sam Bisesi (Iona Prep) VINCENT O’CONNOR MEMORIAL AWARD Defensive Player