Notebook: United Healthcare Empire Challenge

The 16th annual United Healthcare Empire Challenge all-star game came and went June 21, and with it developed many interesting story lines and tidbits.

Head coaches: Long Island – Russ Cellan (Freeport) and New York City – Daniel Perez (Fort Hamilton)

2011 MVP: Lynbrook’s Mike Kozlakowski

Score: Long Island 17, New York City 14

All-time series: Long Island 8, New York City 6

RELATED: See video, photos and analysis from the game

All business, New York City eyes back-to-back Empire Challenge wins

Danny Perez was exact in his post-game instruction. The coach wanted his New York City team to arrive at the pre-game tailgate party in collared shirts, pants and dress shoes. The Fort Hamilton head man expects his squad to keep the ultimate goal in mind and not get swept up in the pageantry and emotion of the Empire Challenge.

“It’s a business attitude,” Perez said. “We are coming here to take care of business.”

The city team is trying to continue its recent dominance of its Long Island counterparts in the annual all-star game at Hofstra’s Shuart Stadium 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. The group from the five boroughs has won three of the last four meetings, including a 15-10 victory in last year’s contest. A win would give them consecutive victories for just the second time.

“This game is serious to me,” Christ the King quarterback Terrel Hunt said. “It’s an all-star game, too, but I want to show people that I’m trying to be the best player on the field. We’re going to have fun, but I’m taking this game seriously. It means a lot to me”

That goes for the rest of the New York City roster, which talked about bragging rights and wining back-to-back games. The coaches feel this year’s squad ifs better than the one from last season. Hunt, who is headed to Syracuse and New Utrecht’s Jordan Paul, give them mobile and strong-armed quarterbacks.

They will have playmaking wide receivers in Tottenville’s Steven Browne, Hayes’ Abraham Ocasio and Boys & Girls Wilbert Lee, who is headed to UConn, along with quartet of running backs led by Tottenville’s Gil Mendoza. They will work behind an offensive line not lacking in size, anchored by Ivan Foy of Brooklyn Tech, who will play for the Orange next season.

“All of them are athletic and they’re very, very fast,” offensive coordinator and Tottenville coach Jim Munson said. “Our key tomorrow is going to be our offensive line. If we can block I think we’ll be ok because we’ve got good running backs, quality kids on the outsides who can catch the ball and four very athletic quarterbacks that can do some good things.”

That playmaking ability will extend to its defense, which had three interceptions by three different players in the team’s final walk through Monday. Fort Hamilton star corner Brandon Reddish, who is headed to Syracuse, jumped a route along the sideline for a pick that might have gone for six in a real game. He is the headliner of a group that also features Tottenville’s Shaban Shatku, Lincoln’s Kerrick Simmons and Bucknell-bound Jaylen Amaker of Mount St. Michael.

“He’s a beast, too,” Reddish said of Amaker. “Him and the [Shatku].”

A year ago, the city’s dominance came on the defensive line and Flushing defensive tackle Shittu Salami has the coaching staff having flashbacks to last year’s MVP Jason Bromely. Salami and Lincoln’s Wayne Williams are expected to be handfuls for their Long Island counterparts.

That talent has made Perez’s job simple. He feels his coaching staff just needs to put the players in the best position to let their natural gifts take over. The game, especially a win, would be a perfect end to his first season as a head coach. He helped lead Fort Hamilton to an unbeaten city championship and expects plenty of friends and family there Tuesday night as he tries to pick up a prestigious all-star game win.

“Although I’m young, I’m cherishing every second of being out here,” he said. “Who knows if I’ll ever be back here?”

His kids know they won’t be. It will be the last time they take the field as high school players before they head to their respective colleges. They plan on bringing a victory with them.

“I don’t care if this is an all-star game, it’s also our last game,” Ocasio said. “It goes on our record. We got to win. I want these bragging rights.”

Empire Challenge NYC team unit by unit breakdown

New York City is enjoying its best stretch in the Empire Challenge, winning three of the last four years after dropping two straight in 2005 and 2006. The Big Apple’s football pedigree has only grown in recent seasons with more players going to big-time schools than ever before.

Will that momentum carry over into the game against Long Island, set for 7:30 p.m. Tuesday night at Hofstra University’s Shuart Stadium? Only time will tell.

Here’s a look, unit by unit, at the team:

QUARTERBACK
This has always been a dubious position for the city. Even two years ago when the team boasted then-Purdue signee Najee Tyler of Xaverian, NYC fell to Long Island in disappointing fashion. Last year, it was Susan Wagner’s Jordan Rodriguez who led the offense to a 15-10 victory – this position is always the key.

The city seems to be in good shape this year. Christ the King’s Terrel Hunt, who is signed with Syracuse, will be under center to start the game and he has all the tools, including a strong, accurate arm and tremendous athleticism. Behind him are two kids — New Utrecht’s Jordan Paul and Campus Magnet’s Scott Gadsden — who can throw the ball deep or make plays out of the pocket with their feet. Paul will play next year at Gardner-Webb.

RUNNING BACK
Midway through practice Monday night, running backs coach Eric Barnett of Campus Magnet had no idea who would start Tuesday – and that didn’t bother him. He feels like all four of the teams running backs – Tottenville’s Gil Mendoza, Fort Hamilton’s Wesley Sumpter, Campus Magnet’s Wavell Wint and Boys & Girls’ Wilbert Lee – will see equal time. In fact, he plans on having a new tailback on the field for every single play.

Look for a big game from Mendoza, who will play both football and baseball next year at prep school Peddie (N.J.). He was the city’s best running back this season before an injury sidelined him for the postseason. Lee, also an adept receiver and defensive back, is signed with UConn.

RECEIVER
This is a position loaded with talent and versatility. The city has guys who can all do totally different things. Tottenville’s Steven Browne, who will play the slot, is all speed and elusiveness. Cardinal Hayes’ Abraham Ocasio is effective with his long arms and superior leaping ability. Boys & Girls’ Wilbert Lee is powerful and explosive and Thomas Jefferson’s Mark Thomas is athletic and physical.

The best story might be Tynell Brown of Curtis. He played mostly quarterback the last two seasons for the Warriors, but sacrificed for freshman Prince Dukes at the end of this past year. Now, Brown, a gifted athlete, could start Tuesday night at wide receiver. Either way, this is a corps that receivers coach Joe DeSiena of Xaverian is very happy with.

June 20: Village Election Guide, Business Q&A and Empire Challenge Preview

LI’s Kensil was born to play football

If there was ever a boy destined to play football, it’s Brian Kensil.

His father, Mike, was a longtime vice president of operations for the Jets and now serves the same role for the NFL. His late grandfather, Jim, was the former Jets team president. So the fields at Hofstra, where Brian’s been practicing in preparation for tomorrow’s Empire Challenge All-Star game, are a familiar spot for…

Marking his Mark: Thomas becomes first Jeff player in Empire Challenge

Not once in the 16-year history of the Empire Challenge has a Thomas Jefferson player been selected to the all-star football game that pits New York City against Long Island. The Orange Wave’s absence even outlasted the Outback Steakhouse corporate sponsorship – the contest is presented by United Healthcare this year.

So, in a way, you can call Jefferson wide receiver Mark Thomas a pioneer. He already led the Brooklyn program to the PSAL Bowl division title as a junior and to a 7-2 record this year, its first in the City Championship division. It’s only fitting that he is the first Orange Wave player to earn a spot on the Empire Challenge team.

“It means a lot to me,” Thomas said. “It means I came a long way, bringing up my school, letting my school be known. A lot of kids here, they don’t really know about Thomas Jefferson, especially the Catholic kids.”

Thomas isn’t just filling out the roster either. The Nassau Community College-bound receiver could start Tuesday night in the annual game at Hofstra University, according to wide receivers coach Joe DeSiena of Xaverian.

“Mark’s a phenomenal athlete,” DeSiena said. … “Physical and fast. He’s real fast, he’s sure-handed, but his size and his physical ability is what makes him a college football player.”

Thomas’ presence on the team has Jefferson coach Gus Cyrus beaming. He has been involved with the Empire Challenge for 15 years and understands just what it means for an Orange Wave player to be invited to the prestigious game.

“I’m real excited,” Cyrus said. “It’s an honor. It’ll open the door for a lot of other kids. … What we’re tryig to accomplish is winning the PSAL championship. That’s our goal to do. Mark opened the door for us.”

The coach said Thomas is as good of a kid as he is a player, but recalls sitting the standout down during his sophomore year. Thomas was too good to stay down on the JV his freshman year, Cyrus said, so he and his staff brought him up immediately. Thomas struggled the rest of that season and put his head down, carrying that me-first attitude into his second year.

“He thought he was bigger than the program,” Cyrus said. “I said, ‘Sit your butt down.’ When they saw me do that, the team took notice. I told the kids I’d rather lose than have kids feel that way.”

The 6-foot-1, 190-pound Thomas, who has run a 4.5 40-yard dash, had schools like Penn State, Rutgers, Miami and Buffalo interested, Cyrus said, but needed a higher SAT score to qualify for a Division I program. The coach is not worried about him applying himself at Nassau – and from there he thinks the path is headed in an excellent direction.

“All he has to do is hit the books hard and he’ll be in a university in no time,” Cyrus said. “We should see Mark one day in the NFL Draft.”

Before then, though, Thomas has a chance to shine on the big stage Tuesday night.

“I love being under them lights,” he said. “I heard there are gonna be like 10,000 people there.”

And Thomas fully expects everyone to know about Thomas Jefferson when they leave Shuart Stadium.

Just for kicks: Xaverian two-sport star to play football at Fordham

Michael Marando grew up playing soccer and had every intention of competing at the college level.

It turns out he was half right.

Marando will be a Division I athlete next year at Fordham University, but he will be wearing pads and a helmet, not a soccer jersey. The Xaverian senior, who was a central midfielder for the soccer team and kicker for the football team, has a half scholarship to kick next season for the Rams of the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision, money he accepted only after learning that he would have had to walk on to the school’s men’s soccer team.

“In a way, I didn’t want to choose sports like that,” said Marando, who will compete Tuesday night for the New York City team against Long Island in the annual Empire Challenge football all-star game. “But money doesn’t grow on trees.”

The 5-foot-8, 150-pound Marando played soccer all his life, but actually began to catch college coaches’ eyes through kicking, which he began as a freshman for the Clippers. He attended a national kicking showcase two summers ago in Wisconsin and ended up finishing 17th in the country. Marando has boomed 55-yard field goals in practice and is a touchback waiting to happen on kickoffs.

“It just came so quickly,” he said of placekicking. “I’ve been playing soccer my whole life and I didn’t get much pull from colleges.”

Marando, though, was set to play soccer at Fordham. But after speaking with coach Jim McElderry he was slightly disappointed. The Rams were going to be a team composed of almost all upperclassmen next year and there was no money available for Marando.

With Fordham’s football team getting an influx of scholarships starting last year, that wasn’t the case on the gridiron. Marando contacted football coach Tom Masella and set things in motion. Masella was on the market for a kicker and Marando’s strong, accurate leg sold him.

The thought of not playing soccer bothers the Brooklyn native somewhat, but he said he would have a hard time leaving football if McElderry does free up some money for him.

“I don’t want to screw any coaches over,” Marando said. “I don’t want to play that game.”

He played both sports at Xaverian, but he’s not sure if he would be allowed to do that at the college level. Clippers coach Joe DeSiena said it would be up to both coaches’ discretion, though Marando excelled at it in high school with soccer games on Tuesdays and Thursdays and football games on the weekends.

“We didn’t have him for as much as we liked to have him for, but then again we don’t practice on a field with goal posts, so it really wasn’t a big loss,” DeSiena said with a laugh. … “He was real great about taking the responsibility and doing it on his own.”

“Having that on the top of my academics would be tough,” Marando added about playing both at Fordham, “but not impossible.”

Being strictly a football player next year will be different, Marando says. He’s always been a soccer player and on the weekends he hangs out with other soccer players. He isn’t worried about fitting in, though. Marando said one of the best things about football is the camaraderie there – even though his slightness of build is open to humor. When he arrived at Empire Challenge practice for the first time this week, the other players immediately quipped, “What’s going on, kicker?”

“I said back, ‘How did you know?’” Marando joked.

DeSiena says he’ll have nothing to worry about at Fordham, and not just because of his self-effacing nature.

“He’s got ability,” the coach said. “The bottom line is if he can continue kicking 50-yard field goals, he’ll be alright.”

Spread attack should shine at Empire

Repeated bolts of lightning and claps of thunder were seen and heard at Hofstra’s Shuart Stadium on Friday, forcing cancellation of the United Healthcare Empire Challenge’s first practice in full pads. There should be plenty of both elements in Tuesday night’s 16th charity all-star football game at Hofstra matching the Long Island and New York City All-Stars. The event raises money and awareness…

Lynbrook QB Magloire to play free safety

Paul Magloire compiled 21 touchdowns and 10 two-point conversions as he quarterbacked Lynbrook to the Long Island Class III title. So, of course, his main role in Tuesday’s Empire Challenge is . . . pass defense?

Despite not playing defense this past season, Magloire, a second-team All-Long Island QB, will play free safety.

“You get to hit other people, so that’s exciting,” Magloire…

Wingate winner Reddish gets special help in preparation for Syracuse

Brandon Reddish is one person thrilled with the NFL lockout. The messy labor negotiations have given the Syracuse-bound wide receiver/defensive back a workout partner that knows a thing or two about preparing for college football.

New Philadelphia Eagles safety Jaiquawn Jarrett.

The first player ever taken in the draft out of Fort Hamilton, Jarrett has been home in Brooklyn since being taken by the Eagles in the second round out of Temple and Reddish has taken advantage of the opportunity.

“It’s a dream to work out for an NFL player,” The Post’s football Player of the Year said. “He makes it seem like it’s not a big deal. He just says whatever needs to be done get it done – and be the first one to get it done.”

Reddish didn’t face the same problems as Jarrett coming out of high school as he was highly recruited after a remarkable high-school career and picked Syracuse over Connecticut, Penn State and Rutgers. His senior year was flat-out memorable, the three-year starter, who finished his career with an absurdly successful 36-2 record and 18 touchdowns in 11 postseason contests, completed his senior year with 18 touchdowns, seven interceptions, 593 yards rushing and 323 yards receiving.

“He makes things happen when there’s nothing there,” Fort Hamilton coach Danny Perez said.

He had a 93-yard interception to pay dirt and 53-yard touchdown run in a semifinal win over previously undefeated Tottenville and caught a 26-yard touchdown pass and ran for three integral first downs late in the Tigers’ 8-6 win over Lincoln in the title game, their third in six years.

“He’s gonna do well with the skill level he has,” Syracuse coach Doug Marrone said. “He can run, he has great hand-eye coordination. He’s humble, he knows what it is to work hard and win a championship. That’s not very easy to do.”

He capped it off on Monday by being named the Wingate winner in football, the yearly award given to each sport’s top senior.

“It shows I’m one of the top athletes in the city,” Reddish said. “It means a lot. My coaches always told me I continue to work hard, everything will pay off at the end. Now I’m starting to see it.”

Reddish’s high-school career isn’t completely over yet. He will play in the Outback Steakhouse Empire Challenge on Tuesday at Hofstra University, the All-Star game pitting New York City’s best against Long Island’s finest.

In mid-July, he heads to Syracuse to begin the next stage in his career. Reddish is hoping to help the Orange to continue its run of success that began with the hiring of Marrone three years ago. Marrone, a Bronx native, has made a point of recruiting New York City – he recently gained a verbal commitment from Tottenville wide receiver Alvin Cornelius – as next year’s roster will have seven players from the Big Apple: Reddish, Fort Hamilton teammate Ivan Foy, Christ the King quarterback Terrel Hunt, defensive tackle Jason Bromley (Flushing), offensive tackle Michael Hay (Holy Cross), wide receiver Steven Rene (Canarsie) and linebacker Mario Tull (Xaverian).

“When it comes to recruiting, they’re showing the city players a lot of love,” Reddish said. “The kids that get the most love from a school, that’s where they’re gonna go.”

Reddish said he feels better prepared for college after his workouts with Jarrett. Seeing the former Fort Hamilton standout selected made him think anything’s possible. Perhaps, another Tiger could be headed to the league in a few years.

“I want to follow in his footsteps,” Reddish said. “He’s given me a lot of confidence. He’s from the city, he’s in the NFL. It shows anything is possible.”