Leading off today: Liverpool school board members voted 8-1 last night to call for a third public vote involving the closed stadium at the high school, The Post-Standard reported.

   Problems with the 10-year-old facility's artificial turf began in 2006 and the school board ordered the stadium closed in December 2007. The soil beneath the track and field is not stable, causing an uneven surface according to acting AD Mark Potter.

   Voters have rejected two proposals this year to rehab the stadium and install new turf. A district recommended last month the school board not include expanded parking, a new press box, restrooms, concession stand, scoreboard, lights or additional bleachers in the next proposal; the board voted to limit the scope of the new proposal to new turf and track and new home-side bleachers at a cost of $5.8 million.

   Residents will vote Feb. 26.

   District officials said the project would be funded in part with approximately $4 million in state aid and $1.24 million from the district's capital reserve fund.

   Award for Maysonet: Riverhead running back Miguel Maysonet is Gatorade's New York Football Player of the Year. Maysonet scored 33 touchdowns and ran for 2,328 yards for Riverhead, which went 12-0 and finished fourth in the New York State Sportswriters Association Class AA rankings.

   Gatorade and ESPN RISE Magazine also announced that quarterback Garrett Gilbert of Lake Travis High in Austin, Texas, is the National Player of the Year, making him the first Texan to be so honored.

   The 6-foot-4 senior has completed 256 of 372 passes for 4,231 yards and 48 TDs with five interceptions entering the Class 4A Division I semifinals against Friendswood this weekend. Gilbert had also rushed for 557 yards and 18 touchdowns for Lake Travis, which is 14-0.

   Gilbert is 849-of-1,304 for 11,918 yards and 129 TDs in his career. He ranks second in the state to current Texas Tech QB Graham Harrell in career passing TDs. He's the son of former NFL quarterback Gale Gilbert and is expected to attend the University of Texas.

   St. Michael's star out for the year: St. Michael's girls basketball star Shenneika Smith, widely regarded as one of the top 10 prospects in the country, will miss her senior season with a stress fracture in her left foot, FiveBoroSports.com reported.

   Smith, a second-team NYSSWA Class AA all-state selection last season, will play at St. John’s next year.

   St. Michael’s remains loaded and is coming off a 66-27 win against Ursuline (Del.) Academy on Sunday afternoon at the Aviator Basketball Fall Classic in Brooklyn. Junior guard Jennifer O’Neill led the way with 18 points.

   St. Michael's lost to St. John the Baptist in the Federation championship game last March.

   Referee stricken at East Hampton JV game: School officials and an EMT who happened to be in attendance

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helped save a referee's life Friday during a junior varsity basketball game Friday at East Hampton.

   According to 27east.com, referee Fred Heckman of Center Moriches collapsed during the second quarter of the Greeport-East Hampton game and began convulsing. Teacher Richie King retrieved a nearby Automated External Defibrillator, and school athletic trainer Randy Cherill and Judy Bennett, an EMT, performed CPR until AD Joseph Vasile-Cozzo and John Crupp, a coach, began the AED procedure.

   Cherill and Bennett resumed CPR and Heckman began breathing again before EMTs from East Hampton arrived. He was alert while being taken from the gym.

   "It was very emotional. I’ve never seen anything like it, it was very scary," said Vasile-Cozzo. "Something like this puts everything in perspective. And to see the staff respond the way they did was wonderful."

   Heckman was taken for treatment to Southampton Hospital and then moved in fair condition the following day to Stony Brook University Hospital. A hospital spokeswoman said Heckman remained hospitalized today.

   Some 40 defibrillators were distributed last year to restaurants, libraries, post offices and other public buildings throughout the East Hampton area following a private donation of $40,000. The AED used Friday was one of four that East Hampton had previously purchased to comply with state regulations.

   'Pearl' takes command: The New York Daily News did a feature this week on Dwayne "Pearl" Washington, the former basketball star who took over recently as girls coach at Thomas Jefferson Jefferson High in Brooklyn.

   By his own admission, Washington is soft-spoken, which means he's far more reserved than recent coaches at Jefferson. including interim coach Rueben McLaughlin, who was passed over in favor of the former Boys & Girls and Syracuse University legend.

   "Rueben pushed us from day one; Calvin (Young, the former coach) pushed us from day one and we need that same energy and motivation," said junior guard Alicia Cropper. "He's a good person. We just need him to turn it up."

   Jefferson routed James Madson, 79-29, yesterday in Washington's debut.

   Washington promises to get more animated, the way McLaughlin was during preseason practices.

   "What he did is what they need," Washington said. "I think myself, I'm going to get the same way. It takes time. I think the biggest thing is, I want the girls to understand that I do care for them."

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