Fall 2011 Patch Athletes of The Season

Boys:

(tie) Nick Vallo, QB L.J. Garrant, RB/DB

Nick Vallo

Taking the lifejacket off of Nick Vallo was an easy task for the Sleepy Hollow coaching staff. It allowed the potent armed 6-foot-4 senior to swim with the sharks of Section 1.

Vallo's arm developed over a quick period. The flashes of promise were evident following the downtrodden 2010 campaign, when Sleepy Hollow mustered just one win and wobbled under the weight of early deficits. The program's supersized Class A dwarfed the Hollow throughout the trials and tribulations of a vexing down year. The program spiraled closer and closer into the abyss, albeit the ferocity of a Hollow Hit never dwindled. In 2011 the focus shifted towards a football resurgence at Sleepy Hollow high school.

At 6-foot-3, Vallo hit a slew of receivers in stride. The senior fired in precision passes for short and medium yardage. He was able to stretch out secondaries and leave cornerbacks sucking back wind on deep passes. Utilizing deep ball threats such as Darien James, Vallo entered any wild, wild, west shootout with nothing short of a rifle. And so for the second consecutive season, Vallo entered an elite society known as the 1,000-yard club. He may have been snubbed for the All-Section team. He may have fallen out of favor with the self-proclaimed Section 1 gurus and “experts” alike, who never equated him with the same standout status as other players around the Section.  With a wealth of weapons at his disposal, Vallo threw for 1,406 yards in his final season under center.

The result?

Serenity after the storm. The Horsemen registered a 5-4 record and garnered a berth in the Class A playoffs.

A senior who led by example and wanted passionately to bring Sleepy Hollow back into the realm of football relevance, Vallo and fellow captains L.J. Garrant and Tyler O'Donnell set the bar high well before the first play from scrimmage.

The senior class made it a high-order commitment to attend speed camp, Fordham camp, play 7-on-7s and host captain's practices. Vallo and his fellow captains set the bar high and jumped towards clearing those zenith heights. They held the Headless Horsemen to a high standard and changed the perception—and ultimately the direction—of the program.

Vallo let it fly, hitting receivers on hitch-and-go patterns, backside posts, and on deep routes. Behind the consistent protection of a massive line, Vallo was able to get loose during crucial red zone junctures.

Now, the once-scattered pieces of the program have been steadily put back into place. Sleepy football has streamlined its image, moving in the right direction from here on out. The program can only aspire to be back where it once was and move beyond that.

LJ Garrant, HB/S

Another highly-decorated back hell-bent on accelerating Sleepy Hollow's revival, senior halfback L.J. Garrant entered the season with plenty of buzz. He had shined at a Fordham football camp prior to the start of the season, opening eyes from a seasoned coaching staff that showed considerable interest in the versatile young gun.

Garrant proved the lofty expectations were warranted.

A senior, Garrant played prominent role since he transferred back to Sleepy Hollow from Iona Prep, which has bred its fair share of stallions on the gridiron.

Garrant did everything but sell tickets and perform with the band at halftime. He embraced his role as a jack-of-all-trades, leaving his fingerprints on nearly every facet of the game.

Garrant returned kickoffs, eluding tacklers on 95-yard touchdown returns. He lined up as a receiver and inhaled deep passes from Vallo. Garrant fought for yardage and was able to squirm for extra yards following contact. His natural speed, ability to change gears, and the young man’s commitment to shouldering multiple roles for the Horsemen helped solidify his small school stardom.

Defensively, Garrant was an innate ball hawk who fortified a tight secondary.

While it’s easy to attribute Garrant’s success to freakish athleticism, his natural humility and coach-ability has forever separated Garrant from other players of his caliber. His poise as a locker room leader has given him a presence his teammates feed off of.

Few on this level are able to meld leadership, multi-layered talent, and humble nature into the full package. Garrant has proved over the course his illustrious three-year career he can. 

That hungry, humble, quiet yet infectious swagger has made Garrant one of the area’s most heavily pursued products on the recruiting agora.

Patriot League schools have inquired, inundating the young man’s mailbox with endless stacks of recruiting letters.

While Garrant’s residential mailbox may be flooded with letters this holiday season, don’t expect to find any academic progress reports meshed in there.

Garrant holds a 95 GPA, one that he’s kept intact through a chock full of AP courses this semester.

Zach Smart can be reached at Zsmart3@gmail.com