Healy, East Meadow score big

For the third time in nine years, the winner of the Thorp Award, given to Nassau County’s top high school football player, resides in East Meadow.

Senior running back/safety Robbie Healy, who set the Nassau single-season touchdown record with 38 while leading the Jets to the Conference I championship, took home the top individual honor at the county awards dinner Nov. 30 at Crest Hollow Country Club.

“I worked really hard over the summer and was just hoping for a good season,” said Healy, who rushed for 1,791 yards and 27 touchdowns on 181 carries and had 411 receiving yards, nine receiving scores, one kickoff-return touchdown, an interception return for a touchdown, and eight two-point conversions for 236 points. “I was surrounded by a great line and great teammates and was able to take things to another level,” he added. “Still I never expected to win anything like this.” 

The big news didn’t stop there for East Meadow. It was named the winner of the 2011 Rutgers Cup, presented to the best team in the county. The Jets, who finished 10-2 and set a single-season scoring record with 544 points (45.3 per game), edged Conference II champion Garden City for the prestigious trophy. Conference III champion Lawrence was third in the voting, and Conference IV champion Roosevelt was fourth.

“We learned in 2006 how hard it is to win the Rutgers Cup,” Jets head coach Vinny Mascia said. “It’s a tremendous honor and a reflection of every kid and member of the coaching staff.”

East Meadow filled 10 tables at the awards dinner, and a thundering celebration followed the announcement from Nassau County Football Treasurer Don Snyder. “The place erupted,” Mascia said. “They usually announce the teams that finish fourth, third and second in the voting and you learn who won it that way. This year Mr. Snyder came right out with the winner. No team was a shoe-in, so we were all on the edge of our seats.”

This year marked the 75th for the Rutgers Cup. East Meadow won it only once before, in 1964.

“Winning the Rutgers and Healy winning the Thorp takes a lot of sting out of losing the Long Island championship to Floyd,” Mascia said. “And to be honest, the way that game unfolded and the way the kids fought back from 21 points down to make it 47-47, it didn’t sting as much as people think it did.

“When we reflect back on the season, what’s going to stand out the most is beating Freeport by a point to win the county championship,” he added.

Healy, who scored twice in the 54-47 loss to Floyd and had three touchdowns in the 34-33 victory over Freeport, became East Meadow’s third Thorp winner under Mascia. Current New England Patriots lineman Rich Ohrnberger won it in 2003, and running back/linebacker Alex Rivas won it in ’07.

“I couldn’t be prouder of the awards we’ve won,” said Mascia, the Jets’ head coach since 1998. “It’s incredibly special what these kids have accomplished.

“Robbie was an All-County player last year and we expected more big things from him, but nothing like 2,200 total yards and 38 touchdowns,” he added. “That’s just remarkable.”

Freeport’s Barnes and Brown honored

A year ago, Oceanside’s dynamic pass-catch combination of Tyler Heuer and Gene Garay were awarded Nassau’s top quarterback and receiver awards. In 2011, Freeport’s Isaiah Barnes and Jere Brown followed in the footsteps of their former Conference I rivals. Barnes, who completed 79 of 199 passes for 1,258 yards and 23 touchdowns with only two interceptions, won the Don Snyder Quarterback Award. Barnes added 946 yards and 12 scores on the ground. Meanwhile, the speedy 5-10, 165-pound Brown picked up the Most Outstanding Receiver hardware after catching 31 passes from Barnes for 538 yards and six touchdowns.

Garden City’s Gilbert named top lineman

Many NCAA Division-I and even NFL players have captured the Al Martone Award, given to Nassau’s best lineman, including current Jets offensive tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson (Freeport, 2001) and Ohrnberger, as well as former Chargers guard Shane Olivea (Lawrence, 1999.) This year’s recipient was Garden City’s Mike Gilbert. The 6-foot-3, 275-pound senior is noted for his strength and was a key to the Trojans’ run to the Conference II title, helping the offense roll up 31.7 points per game and the defense stuff the run to the tune of just 2.4 yards per carry.