Playmakers To Watch

Thomas Greyer
WR/TE/LB/K August Martin
It didn't take August Martin Coach Nedvonne Young very long to notice Thomas Greyer. Actually, it was the first moment he laid eyes on the strapping 15-year-old from Far Rockaway. &#8220He doesn't look like a freshman,” Young said. &#8220He's probably our best athlete. The kid can play anywhere on the field.”
The 6-foot, 210-pound Greyer, who has developed playing youth football with the Far Rockaway Ravens, has already earned the nickname ATM because he's an automatic tackling machine and automatic touchdown machine.

Luis Toro
QB Bayside
The quarterback on a senior-dominated team, Luis Toro struggled for much of last season, only to save his best play for the team's final five games (four wins), when he threw three of his four touchdown passes, leading to a shocking first round playoff upset of South Shore. Since his sterling cap to the season, Toro has only improved, Bayside Coach Joe Capuana said.
&#8220He's been throwing the ball much better,” the coach said. &#8220His accuracy has been outstanding in practice.”
During that final stretch last November, Toro also developed leadership capabilities that have duly impressed Capuana. &#8220He realized he has to be the main guy on the field. Now he's the senior leader and captain of the team.”

Datalia Holness
QB Campus Magnet
Datalia Holness always had the necessary skills to become a solid quarterback except for one important ingredient - arm strength. As a youngster in the Springfield Rifles Pop Warner youth football organization, he had a soft touch and was a natural leader, with the ability to guide a team and instill confidence in teammates. He just didn't have the rocket arm that could transform him into a top-flight prospect.
&#8220When we wanted to throw the ball [deep], we would take him out,” said Eric Barnett, Holness's coach with the Rifles since the age of nine, and now the Campus Magnet Coach.
But when he arrived at the Cambria Heights school with Barnett, Holness, 17, started lifting weights, earning the starting nod last fall with added zip on his passes. &#8220I can throw the ball deep now,” crowed Holness, who has set ambitious goals of 1,000 yards and double-digit touchdowns this fall.

Dave Lopez
RB Christ the King
With nearly all their skill players graduated, Christ the King hoped Dave Lopez would emerge. Impressive during spring and summer practices, the junior halfback hasn't disappointed. At 5-foot-11, 175-pound, Lopez is a hybrid of speed and power.
&#8220For a guy that's not that big, he can put his shoulder down and [plow through] a defensive player, and he still has the vision and speed to run away from people,” Christ the King Coach Kevin Kelly said. &#8220He's a good combination of both.”

Nyles Bynum
RB/DB Jamaica
Nyles Bynum didn't have a very exciting summer, at least not as far as summers go. He didn't travel much and left home earlier than he would to arrive on time for homeroom. But there was a method to his madness - to prepare for his new role as Jamaica's starting tailback.
He left his South Flushing home with his father, Gregory, at 6 a.m. every morning, heading for Bally's for early workouts. Then he joined his coach, Kenny Dyckman, and two other Beaver football players for further training before heading to Jamaica to do football-related drills. &#8220That was my whole day,” he said, adding, &#8220I'm stronger because of it. The little tackles can't take me down anymore.”
Because of that routine, Bynum, 17, feels he's ready to carry the load after a so-so junior season when the 6-foot-1, 175-pound downhill runner spent much of the year on defense.

Luis Cerna
QB John Adams
John Adams Coach Jerry Weitzen didn't worry too much about upgrading last year's passing attack - there was none. All their scoring was produced by the dynamic backfield of Nick Valentin and Sam Hill, now running track at Penn State.
But with each of those said running backs going on to college, Weitzen needed a quarterback. He settled on Luis Cerna, his tight end, after spring practices. But after seeing Cerna sling the ball over the practice field this summer, settled wouldn't be the appropriate word to describe the Spartans' quarterback position.
&#8220He has good command of the offense, he can throw the ball, and he's mobile,” said Weitzen, not known for dishing out compliments. &#8220He's better than the guy who plays for the Jets.”
All tweaks of Chad Pennington, the Jets' weak-armed gunslinger, aside, the 6-foot-1, 185-pound Cerna has Weitzen excited about calling plays again. In the past Weitzen ran a wide-open, multi-receiver attack, but had to adjust to his team's strengths. Now, with talented receivers Anthony Bascoum and Carl Gilkes to combine with the strong arm of Cerna, Weitzen is ready to open it up again.

Kevin Williams
RB Holy Cross
Asked to recount one of his fondest memories about running back Kevin Williams, Holy Cross Coach Tom Pugh went all the way back to his senior's sophomore season. On a team with Kevin Ogletree, now starting at wideout for University of Virginia, Williams scored the game-winning touchdown in the Knights CHSFL AA city championship win from two yards out. Pugh had asked Ogletree what he wanted to do. &#8220He said give it to Kevin,” he fondly recalled.
Two years later, Williams, a Queens Village resident, is one of the leaders for Holy Cross. Known as a natural receiver out of the backfield who thrived in Pugh's west coast system, Williams scored 11 touchdowns and finished sixth in the CHSFL AAA in all-purpose yards, catching a league-leading 47 passes. &#8220He can turn around a game like that,” Pugh said, snapping his fingers.

Harris Lekaj
QB/S Long Island City
Long Island City has added a standout running back in the physical Omar Mohran and a legit deep threat in wide receiver Troy Walker, a playmaker from Long Island. But how well their dynamic safety Harris Lekaj - who led the city in interceptions last fall - performs under center may decide the offense's fate. Lekaj never considered playing quarterback until Coach Stephen Agresti noticed his strong arm one day during spring practice. &#8220I'm trying to go to college to play safety, but this is what coach wants me to play,” he said after a recent scrimmage.
Much of Lekaj's development comes from the summer days he spent in the NFL-sponsored High School Developmental Program. &#8220He looks phenomenal,” Agresti said of the 5-foot-9, 160-pound double threat.”

Robert Fabien
OL/DL Springfield Gardens
Springfield Gardens Coach Charles Yarborough didn't have many expectations for Robert Fabien after be flunked off the team. Fabien underperformed as a freshman and was academically ineligible the following season. But when he returned last fall, Yarborough saw a different player, a dominant one, the kind of difference maker who could change the complexion of a game. &#8220I didn't expect it,” he said of the transformation. &#8220I really thought he was soft; he surprised me. He picked up things so fast.”
Now the 6-foot-2, 250-pound interior lineman Yarborough says can play six different positions, even tight end, is the backbone of a Golden Eagles squad looking to rebound from last year's disappointing 3-6 campaign. Fabien said the change emanated from the frustrations of letting his teammates down, namely a road loss to Jamaica, their local rival. &#8220After that game, I started getting my schoolwork up to make sure I played my junior year,” he recalled.

Edgar Santos
RB/WR/LB William Bryant
It would be easier to describe what Edgar Santos won't do for William Bryant then what he will. That's because Santos will be everywhere, such as lining up in the backfield, splitting out wide as a flanker and slot receiver, starting as an outside linebacker and even spending time in the pocket. &#8220He'll be Mr. Versatile,” William Bryant Coach Carl Brosnan said. &#8220Edgar's got it all. He's got the physical capabilities, he runs hard, he can throw a football, he can catch a football, and besides all that, he understands the game.”
The 5-foot-11, 175-pound Woodside resident who was also the MVP of the William Bryant baseball team as a catcher and shortstop, starred defensively last year in his first season on the gridiron, compiling totals of 42 tackles, two sacks, an interception, one fumble recovery and a touchdown.

Shane O'Connor
LB/FB St. Francis Prep
With a majority of the key contributors from last year's CHSFL AA city championship team at college, there is no secret as to where St. Francis Prep needs to excel. It's defense. No one will be more important to that unit than co captain Shane O'Connor, a 5-foot-11, 218-pound all-league linebacker who notched 104 tackles last fall.
&#8220The key player is going to be Shane O'Connor,” St. Francis Prep Coach Vincent O'Connor said. &#8220His defensive leadership will be noticed.”
The longtime coach likes to compare O'Connor, who will also see time at fullback, to a Terrier standout linebacker of the past, Daniel Michitsch, now the captain at Stony Brook. &#8220Shane's in the same mold as that boy.”
&#8220He's a very determined leader,” O'Connor said of his star linebacker and part-time Gaelic football player. &#8220He inspires. … And he has a great nose for the ball and he's a hard worker.”