Garden City Execs Champion NYC High School Football Stars

Eleven outstanding New York City high school football players were honored on Tuesday at the sixth annual "Elite Eleven" Scholar-Athlete Award Banquet in Manhattan presented by the New York City Chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame.

The Whitmore Group of Garden City and its founder and CEO James C. Metzger sponsored the New York City Player of the Year Award. The event was organized by Marc T. Hudak, a partner and member of the firm's management committee. Hudak also is the chairman of the New York City Chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame.

The Whitmore Group is one of the leading insurance agencies in the New York City area. Metzger is a former star athlete at Half Hollow Hills East High School and Hofstra University, where he is a member of the Hofstra Athletics Hall of Fame. He supports many youth athletics and education programs in Nassau and Suffolk counties and in New York City. Hudak graduated from Ithaca College, where he was a two-time All-America selection in football and captain of the 1988 National Championship Team. He is a member of the Ithaca College Athletic Hall of Fame.

The “Mr. Football New York City” 2017 New York City Player of the Year Award was presented to Matt Valecce, a quarterback who played for Coach Peter Gorynski at Fordham Preparatory High School in The Bronx. Valecce led New York State in passing during the past season with 3,333 yards on 226 completions of 351 attempts, a 64 percent completion percentage. He recorded 41 touchdowns and was intercepted only seven times. Valecce has accepted a full athletic scholarship to play at Boston College.

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Photo: Marc T. Hudak, left, and James C. Metzger, right, of The Whitmore Group present the 2017 New York City Player of the Year Award to Fordham Preparatory High School Quaterback Matt Valecce. Mike Virgintino photo

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Players And Coaches Honored

The honored athletes represented public and private high schools in New York City – Cardinal Hayes, Curtis, Fordham Preparatory, Holy Cross, John Adams, Lehman Campus, McKee Staten Island Tech, New Utrecht, St. Joseph’s by the Sea and St. Peter’s Boys. The award criteria calculation is 40 percent on GPA and academic achievement, 40 percent on football ability and achievement, and 20 percent on leadership, school and community involvement.

The organization also presented its lifetime achievement award to Coach Al Paturzo of Staten Island’s Susan Wagner High School. The Vincent O’Connor New York City Coach of the Year Award was presented to Peter Gambardella, head football coach at Curtis High School of Staten Island. The award is named for the coach who finished his career at Saint Francis Preparatory School in Queens with the second most football wins in New York State high school history (341 wins over 61 years).

General Pete Dawkins, 1958 Heisman Trophy Winner at the U.S. Military Academy and an American military hero, received the Ernie Accorsi Humanitarian Award. The award is presented to a person who has made significant contributions to the game and the community. Accorsi is a retired NFL executive, a founding member of the New York City chapter of the foundation and a current member of the board of directors.

The New York City Chapter of the National Football Foundation was founded during 2012. It honors the top high school football players who participate in the five boroughs, recognizing them for their performance on the field, in the classroom and as leaders in the community. The organization also honors outstanding individuals for their contributions to the game.