The day his junior season ended, Justin Rivera had goals of winning a Long Island championship and being name First Team All-Long Island. He can throw out the to-do list. It’s complete.
Along with teammate and friend Malik Pierre, Rivera was honored with a select group of high school football players from Suffolk County as First Team selections. Newsday will announce its Second Team selections by next weekend.
“I looked up to guys like Tyler Andreassi and Steven Casali and all the linebackers who made All-Long Island before I did,” said Rivera, who had 15 total tackles against Farmingdale in the Long Island championship. “I worked hard in the pre-season and the days that really mattered leading up to the season.”
Including this year, Sachem has had 31 football players selected as All-Long Island. The first was Brian Dehler in 1977, another special season in Sachem history. The Flaming Arrows have had at least one All-Long Island player on its roster every season since 2006 and at least one per year 16 seasons in the last 18 years.
Rivera also collected his Long Island Championship Defensive MVP plaque at the dinner. Pierre was also named as the most outstanding running back in Suffolk County (see Sachem Report’s football page for more about Pierre).
-Words by Chris R. Vaccaro