Aaron Harley-Rey wins first Tom Cutinella Memorial Leadership Award
Aaron Harley-Rey of Shoreham Wading River won the first Tom Cutinella Memorial Leadership Award at the Suffolk All-County Gridiron Dinner at the Hyatt Hotel Dec. 1, 2014. Credit: Andrew Theodorakis
Fittingly, Tom Cutinella admired the linebacker who started alongside him in Shoreham-Wading River's first four games this season. So Cutinella would have heartily approved of Aaron Harley-Rey being named the winner of the first Tom Cutinella Memorial Leadership Award presented last night by his father, Frank, in an emotional scene at the annual Suffolk All-County Gridiron Dinner in Hauppauge.
"He was a lot like Tom in his work ethic and popularity. He's a leader and a hard-working kid who is looked up to by a lot of people," Shoreham-Wading River coach Matt Millheiser said. "Tom looked up to him."
Harley-Rey, a senior, started at middle linebacker and fullback for the Wildcats, who finished 12-0 and won the school's first county and Long Island championships in football. Being a two-way starter for a Suffolk public school was only part of the criteria for the award that honors Cutinella, a junior starting guard/linebacker who died after a collision during a game on Oct. 1. Leadership, character and academics -- traits that Cutinella embodied -- also are required.
The first winner of the Cutinella Award, which will be selected annually by the Suffolk County Football Coaches Association, was a key member of the greatest team in Wildcats history. Like Cutinella, he rarely earned headlines for his play. He blocked for Danny Hughes and Chris Rosati and anchored a defense that allowed the fewest points on Long Island.
"He's the kind of kid who does things that a coach notices," Millheiser said. "He really is the heart and soul of the team on both sides of the ball. He's a team-first guy and that's another trait he shared with Tom.
"He's not a big guy, but a lot of times you'll see a pile of bodies and it was Aaron who snuck his way in to make the tackle. If he's not the first guy to the ball, he's the second. And if a guy misses a tackle, Aaron is always there to clean it up."
Harley-Rey had a big day in Sunday's Long Island Class IV championship game, rushing for 38 yards on four carries and scoring a touchdown, adding a 14-yard pass reception, making three solo tackles and assisting on two more.
During the postgame celebration under the lights at Stony Brook's LaValle Stadium, Harley-Rey smiled and said in a soft voice, "Just knowing this is what Tom wanted, it's a great feeling."
