Leading off today: Three senior running backs have earned shares of football large-school player of the year awards from the New York State Sportswriters Association on Tuesday.
Jordan Forrest of New Rochelle captured the top honor in Class AA after leading his team to an appearance in the New York State Public High School Athletic Association championship game in Syracuse.
The Class A honor is shared by Section 8 stars Kevon Hall of Roosevelt and Trevor Yeboah-Kodie of Garden City.
Forrest ran for 1,672 yards and 22 touchdowns, the highest totals for any running back during Lou DiRienzo's coaching tenure at New Rochelle, helping the Huguenots to their first state final appearance in six years.
Hall's encore to a 1,700-yard junior season included 2,207 rushing yards and 22 touchdowns on just 206 carries. His season high was 376 yards against Hewlett and Hall also had games of 363 and 343 yards.
Yeboah-Kodie, a lacrosse player bound for Brown in the Ivy League, was selected Gatorade's state player of the year. He finished his season with 1,532 yards and 22 touchdowns on 129 carries.
A few links related to the all-state football team announcement:
• 2018 Class AA all-state team
• 2018 Class A all-state team
• Recent NYSSWA players of the year
• All-state teams, 1999-2018
• Final 2018 AA-A state rankings
• Final 2018 B-C-D state rankings
The NYSSWA announced its Class B, Class C, Class D and eight-man football all-state teams last week.
Thank yous: The all-state football teams were once again edited by the NYSSWA's Steve Grandin with the assistance of numerous helpers from across New York, including:
Andy Slawson (Long Island), Mike Libert (New York City), Elio Velez (New York City), Josh Thomson (Westchester), Keith Fagan (Westchester), Justin Rodriguez (Middletown), Jim Schiltz (Schenectady), Pete Tobey (Glens Falls), James Allen (Albany), Keith Lobdell (Adirondacks), Dave Shea (Ogdensburg), Phil Sanzo (Watertown), Nolan Weidner (Syracuse), Neil Kerr (Syracuse), Ron Moshier (Utica), Chris Metcalf (Batavia), James Johnson (Rochester), Steve Johnson (Rochester), Paul Liotti (Rochester), Bob Chavez (Canandaigua), Kevin Stevens (Binghamton), Andrew Legare (Elmira) and Dick Gallagher (Buffalo).
Disabled list: The undefeated Lancaster St. Mary's girls basketball team was minus three-time all-league selection Caroline Zanghi for a 55-53 victory Monday over Buffalo Sacred Heart.
Zanghi underwent oral surgery after catching an elbow in the mouth in St. Mary's upset of Cardinal O'Hara to hand the Hawks their first local loss since the 2013 Monsignor Martin playoffs championship game. Her return date is uncertain, coach Jason Kline said.
