The Casey-O’Brien New Haven County Chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame, for the sixty- first consecutive year, has recognized young men that played football and excelled in the classroom.
“We couldn’t deny worthy candidates of this prestigious honor just because they didn’t play football this past fall”, said Bill O’Brien chapter president. “Last year we unfortunately had to cancel the awards dinner two weeks before it was scheduled. It was very disappointing for us and the scholar athletes and their parents”.
O’Brien polled the coaches and athletic directors of the chapters 33 member schools back in February and they overwhelmingly thought it was a great idea to carry on the tradition, despite not having a recognition dinner for the second consecutive year.
A short reception was held at the Floyd Little Athletic Center the end of April for the award presentations and photos. Arrangements were also made in May for those that couldn’t attend in April.
This year twenty-six were honored for their academic excellence, leadership, and citizenship.
“We were pleased to honor another group of outstanding young men for their accomplishments in the classroom, their school and the community,” said O’Brien. Since 1962 the chapter has now honored 1283 schola athletes.
ZACK CONLAN — A unanimous choice as team captain, Zack earned All-New England and All-Evergreen League honors in 2019. The son of Wayne and Allison Conlan, he was a consistent honor roll student and a member of the lacrosse team. Per Coach Linta, “Zack is what the National Football Foundation exudes: leadership, ability, merit in the classroom, and grace and dignity off the field.” He has signed a National Letter of Intent to attendthe University of New Haven in the fall
AIDEN STANKIEWICZ — Notre Dame/Coach Joe DeCaprio 5’10” – 170 lbs. WR/DB His junior year (2019), Aiden became a two-way starter and according to Coach DeCaprio “he was known for always making the big play on either side of the ball.” The son of Christopher and Deborah Stankiewitz , he also played lacrosse. His academic record featured taking Accelerated Courses in science, english, religion and social studies, as well as College courses in ECE biology and ECE English. He was a Peer Counselor in school and a member of the Math and Spanish Honor Societies. During summers he worked cleaning and waxing boats and helped at the Connecticut Sportsplex. Aiden will attend Quinnipiac University in the fall where he will major in Athletic Training and Physical Therapy
MALACHI WRIGHT — His junior year during the 2019 season, Malachi earned several honors for the Westies, including All-SCC and All-Area teams. The son of James Wright and Caroline Wright, he has attracted attention from schools like New Haven, Southern Connecticut and Stony Brook. He has decided to attend Choate-Rosemary Hall next fall for a post graduate year