Eight seniors from four Catholic high schools in the Diocese of Brooklyn signed their National Letters of Intent Feb. 6 on National Signing Day to continue their football-playing careers in college.
They each shined on the gridiron playing in the CHSFL and have earned the opportunity to showcase their skills at the next level, as well as receive a quality education. All are former Tablet Diocesan All-Stars.
Three standouts from Christ the King R.H.S., Middle Village, signed with colleges.
Tight end Jordan Fuchs will be suiting up for the University of Connecticut, Storrs, Conn. He stands at six-feet, six-inches tall and caught 27 passes for 374 yds. and five touchdowns last season.
Fuchs has only played two years of organized football, since he’s also a basketball player. He is the starting power forward on the Royals’ varsity team, but he decided to play football for the Huskies.
Offensive tackle Terrence Brown of the Royals will play this fall at Southern Connecticut State University, New Haven, Conn. He is also six-feet, six-inches tall and played on Christ the King’s defensive line as well where he recorded 47 tackles and five sacks last season.
He will play offensive line in college and will join former Christ the King teammate and fellow lineman Justin Reid for the Owls.
The third signee for the Royals was running back James Coleman, who will be attending the University at Buffalo, Buffalo, N.Y. He rushed for 327 yds. and seven touchdowns in the Royals’ first game last season, but he suffered a knee injury that ended his season early.
At Xaverian H.S., Bay Ridge, running back Laray Smith signed to play at Indiana University, Bloomington, Ind. He wanted a school that also gave him the opportunity to run track, and he’ll do so with the Hoosiers.
Smith rushed for 421 yds. on 44 carries his senior season but dealt with a high ankle sprain all year. On the track, he recently set the fastest times by a high school runner this year in the 300-meter dash (33.9 seconds) and the 400-meter dash (48.0 seconds).
He was named an All-American in track and played in the Semper Fidelis All-American Football Bowl in January.
Smith’s former teammate, tight end Jonathan Badyna, committed to attend the University of New Haven, West Haven, Conn. He caught 31 passes for 490 yds. and five touchdowns last season. He is currently enrolled at Fort Hamilton H.S., Bay Ridge.
From Holy Cross H.S., Flushing, two seniors, Malachi Hoskins and Lekeith Celestian, will be playing football in college.
Hoskins is a defensive end and will play at Central Connecticut State University, New Britain, Conn. Celestian, a wide receiver who caught 18 passes for 302 yds. in 2012, will head to Monmouth University, West Long Branch, N.J.
St. Francis Prep, Fresh Meadows, wide receiver Joey Troina signed with Wagner College, a Division I ‘AA’ institution in Staten Island.
He finished fifth in the CHSFL in 2012 with 31 receptions for 395 yds. and scored 10 touchdowns. He also saw time in the backfield as a fullback.
Troina was featured in the Sept. 29 issue of The Tablet when he was ordained an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion at the Prep.
Nazareth Rejoins CHSFL
The Nazareth R.H.S., East Flatbush, football team will be rejoining the CHSFL in fall 2013 after a seven-season hiatus. The Kingsmen fielded a junior varsity club team the past three seasons under third-year head coach Anthony Barnes. The team finished 7-1 this past fall.
Heading into next season, Nazareth will have a varsity team and will keep the junior varsity club team.
“I think the kids held back from attending the school because they wanted to play for a championship,” Barnes said. “Every kid wants to play for a championship at the end of the day.”
Kennedy Catholic H.S., Somers, N.Y.,will also join the CHSFL to even out the number of teams at 22.
CHSAA Championship Swimming Results
The snowstorm Nemo only pushed back the CHSAA swimming championships one day, as 20 area teams trekked to the Eisenhower Park Aquatic Center, East Meadow, L.I., for the meet.
The teams competed in 12 events, with Fordham Prep, the Bronx, taking home the city title.
From Brooklyn and Queens, St. Francis Prep, Fresh Meadows, Xaverian H.S., Bay Ridge, and Archbishop Molloy H.S., Briarwood, finished eighth, ninth and 10th overall, respectively.