Barnes, Kappatos named top scholar-athletes
Freeport Red Devils quarterback Isaiah Barnes runs with the football during the game against Oceanside. (Oct. 30, 2010) Credit: Christopher Pasatieri
Ever wonder what Isaiah Barnes is doing in his (rare) free time? Playing Ping-Pong, actually. And Evan Kappatos, face buried in textbooks or fingers glued to an Xbox controller, has had friends tease, "Good thing you play sports, because you'd be such a geek."
Well, score one for the nerds . . . some really athletic ones.
Barnes, Freeport's dynamic quarterback, and Kappatos, Syosset's star middle linebacker, were named Nassau's co-winners of the National Football Foundation Top Scholar-Athlete award Sunday at the Crest Hollow Country Club.
The credentials that made these two standout among a group of 13 standouts: Barnes holds a 99.9 GPA, scored a 1,740 on the SAT and is the president of the National Honor Society. Kappatos has a 92 GPA, a 1,970 SAT, and does extensive community service work.
"Sometimes athletes don't get recognized for being students as well," said Kappatos, who's also an all-county wrestler and shot-putter. "It's hard work to perform well on the field and still get fantastic grades."
Barnes arrived in New York just an hour before the 10 a.m. ceremony. He'd spent the weekend at Yale on a recruiting visit. Kappatos is pondering Princeton or the University of Pennsylvania.
But, lest we forget, these brainiacs can play a little ball, too. Kappatos' 106 tackles, two sacks and two interceptions earned him an unprecedented third Piner Award last week. Barnes won the Snyder, given to the county's top quarterback, after racking up 3,170 total yards and 38 touchdowns in leading the Red Devils to the Nassau Class I final. Both seniors plan to play in college.
"It's tough because I get home around 7 [p.m.] after practice and sometimes I'm up until 12:30 doing homework," said Barnes, who's also a track and basketball star. "But it's definitely been worth it."
Barnes' parents, Roderick and Karen, said their son gave early indications that he would excel scholastically. Isaiah, who doesn't turn 17 until May, skipped kindergarten and this award, his mother said, "is the result of natural smarts and hard work." Isaiah's sister, Iman, won a Newsday scholar-athlete award for dancing in 2009.
Kappatos' parents, Jerry and Evangeline, described Evan as "self-motivated." He's also proven he can tackle any subject -- tailbacks, certainly, but science and social studies, in particular.
"Academics have always come first for me," said Kappatos, who ranks this above his three Outstanding Linebacker awards. He's also representing the hard hitters. "It's not just the skill-position players on offense," he said. "We're intelligent, too."
Syosset and Freeport are Conference I rivals, so these two have squared off on the field. Kappatos remembers the quarterback eluding him a few times; Barnes recalls a few crushing hits and once diving to avoid another.
Now sharing an award? "If anyone else deserves it," Kappatos said, "Isaiah would be my pick . . . We're both so honored."
Oh, and about the Ping-Pong. Barnes has a table in his garage and insists he can't be beaten. "I don't think a lot of football players would play Ping-Pong," he said with a chuckle. "Guess I'm an exception."
Exceptional. He and Kappatos.
