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Tom wins Nassau's New York Dragon award

BY MARC JIMENEZ | marc.jimenez@newsday.com

For someone who likes to joke that he doesn't have great hands, Brett Tom was pretty good at catching the ball for MacArthur this year. The senior wide receiver finished with 26 catches for 304 yards and five touchdowns toearn Nassau's New York Dragon award.

Tom set a school record for career receptions with 65, easily breaking the old mark of 49 set by Jimmy Kerins [1983] and Denis Scanell [1996]. His seven touchdowns [on 696 receiving yards] also tied Kerins and Jeff King [2001] for the most in school history.

Tom set the school's reception mark on a 2-point conversion following his 57-yard touchdown catch in a 38-6 win over cross-town rival Division on Sept 29.

"I tried not thinking about it [the record] so much," said Tom, who finished that day with three catches for 104 yards. "I tried to focus on winning. But after I caught the [record-breaking] pass I just ran to my quarterback [Nick McQuail] and started celebrating."

After being named as a finalist last season, Tom made it his goal to win the award this year. "I had a good chance to win last season," said Tom, who had 37 receptions for 380 yards and two touchdowns during his junior year. "So coming in, I thought I had a good chance."

Tom, at 6-1, 192 pounds, was adept at running short patterns in MacArthur's spread offense. He also showed his versatility in a 20-6 win over Elmont on Oct. 27 by rushing for 143 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries and catching two passes for 47 yards and a touchdown.

Tom used his speed, quickness and work ethnic to make hisfinal season playing football a memorable one."Once he got the ball, he was a hard kid to tackle," MacArthur coach Robert Fehrenbach said. "One guy couldn't bring him down. He was a captain, three-year starter and one of our leading tacklers at his freesafety position. And he wasn't afraid to mix it up."

Tom, who will play lacrosse for Hofstra next season, is proud of setting the school mark and thinks it will stand for quite some time.

"I think it will be tough to break," he said. "Sixty-five is a good number."