Team Sarra wins inaugural season of high school fantasy football
Team Sarra scored 1,850 points to beat out Team Slawson (1,782 points).
The inaugural Newsday High School Fantasy Football League has come to a close, and Team Sarra (1,850) officially pulled away and was crowned as the champion.
Sarra’s team was not in first place in the first half of the regular season, but after weeks of consistency, his squad jumped to the top of the standings.
“The staff really enjoyed our first fantasy football league,” Newsday’s Gregg Sarra said. “We had four different coaches hold first place during the season. And in the end, the players on my squad remained consistent contributors to their high school teams, stayed healthy and led the charge to the postseason. It’s cool to be the first fantasy champion. The Newsday Trophy sits on my desk for the first year.”
Final Standings
Team Sarra 1,850 points
Team Slawson 1,782
Team Sicoli 1,689
Team Ferguson 1,614
Team Chris 1,612
Team Ruban 1,585
Team Kellman 1,573
Team Hank 1,490
Team Katzen 1,486
Team Lindsay 1,479
Top performers thru Week 8
Team Ferguson – Shane Kiernan, Miller Place, 367
Team Slawson – Tim Stanley, Division, 362
Team Sarra – Jack Rao, Islip 333
Team Kellman – Patrick Coan, Sayville, 332
Team Chris – Josh Kama, Farmingdale, 271
Team Sicoli – Brian Falk, Seaford, 259
Team Ruban – Antonio Marrone, Smithtown East, 251
Team Hank – Brandon Shapiro, Kings Park, 242
Team Lindsay – TJ Sonnenberg, West Islip, 219
Team Katzen – Chace Morris, Oceanside 208
The leading scorer for Team Sarra was Islip quarterback Jack Rao. He led his team to a 7-1 record and scored a total of 333 fantasy points.
“Jack is very good at spreading the ball around,” Islip coach Jamie Lynch said. “He’ll look for the matchup that he thinks is best. Nobody plays selfish football — everyone does what they need to do.”
In the final week, Sarra’s team also was boosted by Wantagh’s Luke Martini, Ward Melville’s Hudson Philbrick and Floyd’s Ja’Quan Thomas as they earned a combined 116 points.
Team Slawson finished in second place with 1,782 points. Team Sicoli (1,689) was third.
Andy Slawson’s team was guided by his early-round picks of Babylon’s Aidan Winter and Division’s Tim Stanley.
In the eight weeks of play, Winter averaged 41 points per week and eclipsed the 50-point mark on three separate occasions.
“Experience is a big thing,” Babylon coach Rick Punzone said. “This is Aidan’s fifth year on the varsity. He’s been a captain since he was a freshman. He’s simply the leader of the team and is very coachable.”
Stanley was the leading scorer for Team Slawson with 362 fantasy points.
Team Ferguson finished fourth. Her leading scorer, Miller Place quarterback Shane Kiernan, led the league with 367 fantasy points in seven games. Late addition Liam O’Connor of Hauppauge scored more than 30 points in each of the last four weeks.
“High school fantasy has been such a fun thing to be part of,” Tess Ferguson said. “Watching this season unfold has been so interesting, and being in this league really opened my eyes to just how much talent there really is on Long Island, and it’s just been a great experience.”
