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Diejuste earns Zellner Award as top lineman

BY CHRIS MASCARO | chris.mascaro@newsday.com

December 4, 2007

Since the inception of the Zellner Award - given to Suffolk County's top lineman - in 1981, four Patchogue-Medford players have earned the honor.

Senior Jordany Diejuste is the latest in a long line of talented Raiders linemen and is this year's recipient.

Three of the four winners have come under the guidance of coach James Chiarello, who has been with the team for the past seven seasons.

"It's a credit to the program, and also to Jordany, who worked very hard in the offseason to get to where he was this year," Chiarello said.

Diejuste has been on varsity since he was a sophomore, but last season he played only two games before he had season-ending shoulder surgery to repair a torn labrum. His injury was one of the reasons the Raiders struggled to a 1-7 record in 2006.

While the two-way starter at tackle had always been one of the team's strongest players, Chiarello noted that Diejuste and his fellow veteran linemen rededicated themselves in the offseason knowing that they would have to carry this year's team. "They knew it was all on their shoulders," the coach said. "We put all our chips on our linemen to get it done."

And they proved up to the challenge, as Patchogue-Medford finished with a 5-3 record and returned to the playoffs after a two-year hiatus.

Defensively, Diejuste led a unit that allowed only 11.5 points per game in the regular season. He made 45 tackles, including eight for losses, to go with three sacks, two forced fumbles and two pass deflections.

On offense, Diejuste and Co. bulled their way over opponents for more than 3,000 yards rushing. Zach Fisher was the beneficiary of 1,061 of those yards and 14 touchdowns.

Yet what Chiarello said he liked best about the 6-2, 260-pound Diejuste was his no-nonsense approach to the game.

"He's a very humble kid, the kind of kid you love to coach," Chiarello said. "He works hard at everything he does."

Because Diejuste didn't play for most of his junior season, he wasn't on the radar screens of many college recruiters. But after a stellar senior season, calls have been coming into Chiarello's office from schools such as Stony Brook and Marist inquiring about the talented tackle.

"He definitely wants to play at the next level," Chiarello said. "And he'll work hard in the weight room to make that a reality."

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