The 2019 Newsday All-Long Island Football Second Team.

The 2019 Newsday All-Long Island Football Second Team. Credit: Joseph D. Sullivan

Newsday presents its All-Long Island second team for the 2019 football season.

OFFENSE

QUARTERBACKS

Drew Guttieri, Connetquot, Sr.: Guttieri, the Boomer Esiason Award winner, threw for 1,901 yards, 18 touchdowns and nine interceptions while completing 63 percent of his passes. He added 538 yards and five touchdowns on the ground, averaging 6.3 yards per rush. He committed to play at Stony Brook University.

Charlie McKee, Oceanside, So.: The sophomore quarterback completed 218 of 317 passes for 2,636 yards and 23 touchdowns with 10 interceptions.

Tom Verga, Floyd, Sr.: He was a dual threat-quarterback who rushed for 532 yards and 11 scores and passed for another 596 yards and eight TDs. His biggest TD pass was a game-winning 58-yarder to Wayne Bristol with five seconds left against Sachem East on Oct. 5 as time expired.

Brandon Miller, East Islip, Sr.: He completed 148 of 211 passes for 2,111 yards, a school-record 26 touchdown passes and eight interceptions. He also rushed for 204 yards and three scores.

RUNNING BACKS

Jaden Barber, Lindenhurst, Sr.: He rushed for over 1,000 yards and totaled 15 touchdowns (14 rushing). In the Long Island Class II championship game against Garden City, Barber ran for 123 yards and both Lindy scores on 20 carries in a 14-13 win.

Tom Viscio, Seaford, Sr.: He rushed for over 2,100 yards and 30 touchdowns for the Vikings. He ran for at least 200 yards in five of his team’s 12 games, scored at least two touchdowns in nine of them and had 300-yard games in back-to-back weeks as Seaford won the Nassau Conference IV title.

Justin Brown, Half Hollow Hills West, Sr.: Brown totaled 17 touchdowns, rushed for 1,233 yards and won the Joe Cipp Jr. Running Back Award presented by the Suffolk County Football Coaches Association for a second straight season.

Anele Nwanyanwu, Longwood, Sr.: He ran for 1,371 yards and 17 touchdowns and averaged 9.1 yards per carry for the Suffolk Division I finalists.

Tyshawn Lopez, Floyd, Sr.: He stepped into a featured-back role this season and didn't miss a step. He rushed for 1,773 yards and 27 touchdowns on 193 carries.

Mario Fischetti, Chaminade, Sr.: Fischetti rushed for 1,554 yards on 168 carries (9.3-yard average) and scored 23 touchdowns. He was an exceptional back with the unique ability to change direction at full speed and led the Flyers to the CHSFL AA-I title.

WIDE RECEIVERS

Anthony Cambria, Comsewogue, Sr.: He caught 43 passes for 1,050 yards and 11 touchdowns, and set a Long Island single-game record with 318 yards in a win over Hauppauge

Nicky Platia, Oceanside, Sr.: Platia led Nassau in all receiving categories with 67 receptions, 991 yards and 13 touchdowns. He also made a pair of interceptions while playing defense.

Casey Reynolds, Cold Spring Harbor, Sr.: A strong route-runner, Reynolds caught 20 passes for 491 yards and seven touchdowns, averaging 24.6 yards per reception. He also added eight two-point conversions and one kickoff return for a touchdown. On defense, he recorded four interceptions and one pick-6.

Alex Rende, Massapequa, Sr.: Rende caught 32 passes for 674 yards and two touchdowns. Want more? The Chiefs' go-to receiver didn’t drop a pass all season.  

OFFENSIVE LINE

Matt Zahn, Shoreham-Wading River, Sr.: Zahn is an agile and explosive guard with active hands and a good lean. The 6-4, 275-pound guard helped pave the way for a SWR ground attack that rushed for more than 3,500 yards and 55 touchdowns to win the LI Class IV title.  

Christopher Gentile, Plainedge, Sr.: Standing just 5-9, it’s hard to believe how much physical mass the center moved so that his team could run for nearly 3,800 yards rushing this season on the way to the LI Class III championship.

Ethan Vanderbrink, Smithtown West, Sr.:  He has started on both sides of the line for four straight seasons. He’s an excellent run blocker and a force on defense where he had 86 tackles (21 for a loss) and 12.5 sacks.

Billy Kephart, Garden City, Sr.: Kephart was a three-year starter on an offensive line that helped win three straight Nassau titles and two Long Island Class II crowns. Coach Dave Ettinger also called him “the brains of the defense.”

DEFENSE

DEFENSIVE LINE

Dakarai Stevenson, Freeport, Sr.: In coach Russ Cellan’s words, Stevenson was “the go-to guy when we threw the ball and he always came up big.” The standout defensive end also had 41 tackles, including nine for a loss for the Class I champion Red Devils.

Neil Levantini, Farmingdale, Sr.: He was a devastating force on the Dalers defense, a great disruptor of opposing offenses who had an unstoppable motor. He also was asked to do a lot of blocking from the tight end position. Farmingdale coach Buddy Krumenacker described him as “an invaluable every-down player.

Sunkonmi Agunloye, Lindenhurst, Sr.: The 6-6, 252-pound defensive end blocked four kicks, none bigger than the extra-point in the Long Island Class II title game against Garden City. He had 86 tackles, seven sacks and three fumble recoveries. He committed to play at Virginia.

Jesse AlfanoStJohn, Westhampton Beach, Sr.: He was a team first guy, coachable, a leader, a captain and set the school record with five sacks in one game. He wore No. 12 in memory of former three-sport athlete Cory Hubbard of Westhampton Beach, who was killed in a car accident in Maryland in 2014.

Max Llewllyn, Sayville, Jr.: He had 79 tackles, including 16 for a loss and 14 sacks. He also forced two fumbles. Llewllyn did all this while drawing doubles from most teams.

LINEBACKERS

Mike Casazza, Shoreham-Wading River, Sr.: Casazza led the Wildcats with 91 tackles, including 11 for a loss, as the leader of a defense that earned the Long Island Class IV title. He also was a devastating blocker and scored three pivotal touchdowns in the playoff run.

Nick Teresky, Wantagh, Sr.: A hard-hitting, versatile player for the Warriors. He also rushed for over 1,000 yards and 16 touchdowns.

Matt Hegi, Mepham, Sr.: Hegi led his team in tackles for three straight years. He was the 2019 Jay Fiedler award winner as Nassau’s top football scholar-athlete.

Braden Clark, Plainedge, Sr.: An essential part of a championship campaign, Clark contributed in so many ways. He was a centerpiece in the Red Devils' defense with a team-high 87 tackles. He was in on 26 tackles for a loss and have seven sacks. Clark also was key on special teams, making 62 extra points. "He was a tackling machine," coach Rob Shaver said. "We had to try to find his off switch at practices.”

Nick Capazzola, Eastport-Manor, Sr.: The big guy on the east end had a major impact in Sharks games. He totaled 106 tackles, 7 sacks, 13 tackles for loss, 3 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery. He played almost every position on the field this year. Capazzola started the season at fullback, transitioned to offensive line, went back to fullback, played a game as quarterback and tight end. In defense, he played end, tackle and middle linebacker. He was the runner-up for the Rob Burnett Award for best defensive player in Suffolk.

Arnold Cruz, Freeport, Sr.: Cruz broke his right hand in the second game of the season. He missed two games. When he came back, he wore a club on his hand and still wasvery effective. He was a linebacker who could run sideline to sideline with any running back.

Jason Bruno, Sachem East, Sr.: He made 70 tackles, including 21 for a loss, with 11.5 sacks and two forced fumbles. A hard hitter and one of Suffolk’s toughest players.

Ryan Paolella, Sachem East, Sr.: Paolella made 105 tackles, including 10 for a loss, and two sacks for the Flaming Arrows, one of the hardest hitting defensive units on Long Island. He was always in the opposition’s backfield causing havoc. On offense, he carried 71 times for 431 yards and five touchdowns.

Shavar Coffey, Westhampton Beach, Sr.: One of four co-captains, Coffey had 112 tackles (15 for a loss), four sacks and two interceptions. In a 12-7 win over Comsewogue, he had 12 tackles, leading the comeback win.

Dan Calderon, MacArthur, Sr.: Calderon had 34 tackles and three sacks for a MacArthur defense that didn't allow a team to score more than eight points until the semifinals. He also had seven catches for 197 yards and five touchdowns, including a 70-yarder in the Nassau title game against Garden City. Coach Bob Fehrenbach called him the "enforcer" of the team.

Richie Striano, Cold Spring Harbor, Sr.: Coach Jon Mendreski called Striano “a natural leader … a lightning rod, game-changer. He's meant everything to us, both sides of the football. He gets everybody going.” He had 49 tackles this season with four sacks. He was 44-for-73 passing for 1,070 yards, 13 touchdowns, three interceptions and 14 two-point conversions.  He also rushed for 634 yards and 11 touchdowns on 75 carries.

DEFENSIVE BACKS

Nick Alvarado, St. Anthony’s, Sr.: The lockdown defensive back had 52 tackles, four interceptions, 10 pass breakups and a defensive touchdown. He was the leader of the Friars' secondary.

Ford Carney, Garden City, Sr.: Carney was a two-way starter for the Trojans. He was the lead running back for the Nassau Conference II champions and led the team in rushing and scoring. He also played strong safety and cornerback for a defense that allowed eight points per game.

Nick LiCalzi, South Side, Sr.: He was a key player on both sides of the ball for the Cyclones. He finished with 78 tackles. He also added 545 yards and six touchdowns on 49 carries and hauled in 26 catches for 397 yards and eight touchdowns.

Matt Lomonaco, Mount Sinai, Sr.: Lomonaco was the do-it-all player for the Mustangs, who won 10 games this season. He was a lockdown defender in coverage and came up quickly in run support. He had 19 receptions, 509 yards receiving and seven TDs. He also had two kickoff returns for TDs. 

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