Ben Kocis' farewell to football

Just call him Baby Boomer.

Huntington quarterback Ben Kocis managed to turn the Empire Challenge into his own personal farewell-to-football tour on Wednesday night at Hofstra's Shuart Stadium.

Kocis, winner of the Boomer Esiason Award as Suffolk's most outstanding quarterback last fall, was awarded the MVP trophy by Esiason after leading Long Island to a 24-18 victory over New York City in the 19th annual Empire Challenge all-star football game that is commonly referred to as "the Boomer game" because it evolved from Esiason's desire to raise money for cystic fibrosis research after his son, Gunnar, was diagnosed with the disease as an early age.

It was the first time in the game's history that an Esiason Award winner also won the MVP in Boomer's game. That made the evening special enough for the humble Kocis. But the added wrinkle was that despite Kocis' sharp 10-for-15 for 165-yard passing performance that included a TD pass and a TD run, this was his final football game.

"I wanted to leave everything on the field and I think I did," said Kocis, who will play lacrosse at Binghamton. "That's it. That's the last time I'm putting on a football helmet. This is an indescribable feeling. I couldn't have asked for more."