Oceanside's Heuer wins Snyder Award
Oceanside quarterback Tyler Heuer (4) drops back to pass during the game against the Freeport Red Devils. (Oct. 30, 2010) Credit: Christopher Pasatieri
Jay Fiedler had the unenviable task of replacing Dan Marino when the Dolphins' great hung it up after the 1999 season. Whoever takes over as Oceanside's quarterback next season is going to be in a similar position.
He'll have to replace Tyler Heuer, who reached such lofty heights by supplanting Fiedler and other great Long Island quarterbacks in the record books. Last night at Crest Hollow Country Club, he received the Snyder Award, given to the most outstanding quarterback in Nassau.
"It really was the most incredible feeling all year," Heuer said of the Sailors' historic season. "We were treated like superstars all year. It was like being a team from Texas - as close as you can get to that on Long Island."
Heuer led Oceanside to its first appearance in the county semifinals at Hofstra since the current playoff format was installed in 1984. He finished 137-for-221 (61.9 percent) for 2,179 yards with a Long Island single-season record 34 TD passes and eight interceptions. The 6-2, 190-pounder ran for 727 yards and nine TDs.
Of Oceanside's 57 touchdowns, Heuer had a hand in 43 of them. "There's no secret to it," said coach Rob Blount, "when Tyler was on, we were on and we won games. He had the key to the car the last two years, and this year he drove it extremely well. Without him, we wouldn't have made it to Hofstra."
After a six-touchdown performance on Oct. 2 that broke Fiedler's school record, the former Dolphin visited the senior at Oceanside. "That was real cool," Heuer said of the meeting. "He was an NFL player, so it's a milestone you never thought you'd be compared with."
Heuer, who has narrowed his college search to New Hampshire, Stony Brook, Albany, Lafayette and C.W. Post, acknowledges his numbers were aided by his excellent receiving corps, including Gene Garay.
But, Blount said, "It makes it that much easier when your quarterback is gonna put it on the money 85-90 percent of the time."
It was that kind of season for Heuer. "It was like a dream come true," Heuer said. "It almost went exactly how we planned."
