LI seniors excited about National Football Foundation All-Star Classic
Zach Olson of Garden City before the Long Island Class II football championship against East Islip on Nov. 29 at Stony Brook. Credit: Michael A. Rupolo Sr.
Zach Olson thought his days as a defensive lineman were over. The two-time Martone Award winner as Nassau’s top lineman will play on Harvard’s offensive line.
However, Olson will have one more chance to play defense.
The 6-6, 285-pound Garden City product is one of 50 seniors that will represent Long Island in the second National Football Foundation All-Star Classic against New York City’s top seniors at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Hofstra University’s Shuart Stadium.
Olson chose to exclusively play defense in Wednesday’s game. He had 11 tackles, including four for a loss, and two sacks in Garden City’s 10-7 win over East Islip in the Long Island Class II championship in November.
“I played a really good defensive game in the LIC and this is going to be my last time playing defense,” Olson said. “It’s a really fun way to end my defensive career.”
The four-time Long Island champion headlines a star-studded Long Island team, which features 32 Newsday All-Long Island players.
“I’ve been seeing these guys in newspapers and at awards dinners for years,” Olson said. “Putting on pads next to them and playing with them, it’s a totally different feeling.”
Defenses will have a mandatory 4-3-4 alignment, and no blitzing nor stunting is allowed. The free safety must remain between the hash marks. These rules are in place to aid the offenses, in an attempt to make the game more high-scoring and entertaining.
Sayville coach Rob Hoss, who is the head coach of the Long Island team, said the offensive line and running backs are the groups he’s most excited about.
Floyd’s Ja’Quan Thomas, who won the Hansen Award as Suffolk’s top player, is joined by East Islip’s Jake Simmons and Yasir Jones of Huntington in the running back room. They will run behind Floyd’s Jeru Hall and Matthew Benjamin, Wesley Moody (Mount Sinai), Keith McDowell and Trevon Cole-Jenkins of Half Hollow Hills East and Jordan Petzold and Jack McCarthy of Farmingdale.
“The game is going to be interesting,” Hoss said. “You’re supposed to put it in the air and throw it all over the place, which is still something we want to do, but I don’t know how you’re going to stop this run game.”
Ward Melville’s Chris Boltrek will serve as the offensive coordinator and Joe Minucci of St. Anthony’s will be the defensive coordinator. Garden City’s Dave Ettinger, Wantagh’s Keith Sachs, Massapequa’s Kevin Shippos, Bayport-Blue Point’s Mike Zafonte, East Islip’s Sal J. Ciampi, Smithtown West’s Craig Perrino and Roosevelt’s Joe Vito round out an accomplished coaching staff.
“The kids get to play with All-Stars, but I get to coach with an All-Star group of coaches,” Hoss said.
“I’ve coached against Dave Ettinger and seen all the amazing things he and his program have done. I’ve coached against Keith Sachs in two Long Island championships. Mike Zafonte and I are good friends . . . It’s a joy to be able to coach with these guys.”
Long Island won last year’s game, 33-15. Though it is an All-Star game, the kids from Long Island are playing to win.
“It’s the best of the best all in one game, you’ve got to put yourself out there,” said Thomas, who will play at Cortland.
“But you also have to represent for Long Island and the people that have supported us throughout all of our journeys . . . We want to dominate this game.”
Matt Lindsay is a high school sports reporter who joined Newsday in 2022 after graduating from Stony Brook University.
