Oceanside QB Charlie McKee ready to take his team to top of Nassau I
Charlie McKee, Oceanside High School during the Newsday 2019 Top100 Football Team photo shoot on Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2019. Credit: Joseph D. Sullivan
What will Charlie McKee do for an encore?
After taking the Sailors to the Nassau Class I championship game as a freshman quarterback last fall, McKee is ready to take that next step for the Oceanside football team.
McKee completed 63 percent of his passes for 2,460 yards with 27 touchdowns last year. And after spending the offseason improving his familiarity with the Sailors’ offensive scheme, McKee understands how his knowledge of the offense is crucial to the team’s success.
“It’s definitely very important because if you don’t know that stuff, you’re going to struggle on the field,” McKee said. “Being comfortable is very important on the field because if not you’re not, others may panic and they can feed off you.”
Oceanside coach Rob Blount was impressed with McKee’s ability to command the offense last year, and expects him to make even more strides this fall.
“He was able to just do the basic things right in our system,” Blount said. “We didn’t overwhelm him too much with the system. But going into now in year two, he’s going to have a little more pressure where we expect him to make checks at the line and the system will be run through him.”
McKee led an offense that scored at least 32 points in six of 11 games, including 62 points in a victory over Farmingdale in the Nassau Class I semifinals. He passed for 539 yards and eight touchdowns in the win.
“He has to give our playmakers opportunities to successful,” Blount said. “Without him offensive, we really don’t go, so we are going to need him to do a great job for us this year.”
McKee and Oceanside will have another tough test with Freeport. The Red Devils, which had a 12-0 Long Island Class I championship season, return an experienced core of skill players, led by quarterback Terrance Edmond. Freeport defeated Oceanside, 42-0, in the Nassau Class I final. “Freeport has been the toast of the conference for quite a while now,” Blount said. “ . . . Obviously they are a frontrunner this year and Farmingdale will also be there.”
