“It’s OK, Aidan’s got this.”
That’s a thought that rolled around the head of just about every New Hyde Park football player or coach the past two seasons.
Need a big run? Aidan’s got it. Need a clutch pass? It’s all good, No. 9 is on the case.
Wait, we need a 3rd down stop on defense? Garvey’s got it, don’t worry.
For the last couple of years do-everything runner Aidan Garvey has been New Hyde Park’s main man, bailing the Gladiators out of many situations and helping them reach the playoffs five straight seasons.
Last year, Garvey’s 1,100 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns helped led New Hyde Park to the Conference II semifinals at Hofstra, where they lost to state champ Garden City.
Garvey is off to Adelphi now, which means a whole lot more carries and playing time for many of the New Hyde Park players.
And that’s just fine by them.
“More people will touch the ball and more people will have to step up, which is a good thing,” said senior Tito Ruiz, a wide receiver/safety. “Aidan was amazing, but now it’s time for everybody else to show what they can do.”
In an attempt to get back to the playoffs, coach Colin Maier’s team returns only four seniors who got regular playing time in 2023, making it imperative that that quartet becomes leaders.
Ruiz is one of those leaders, who Maier calls their “most accomplished” wideout who works the hardest of anyone in practice.
“We have a lot of versatility this year, and we’re going to need that because so many of our guys, haven’t yet been locked into a position yet,” Maier said. “So the early weeks of practice are going to be about figuring out exactly who fits where, because we don’t have a lot of returning pieces.”
Taking Garvey’s place behind center will be the brother combo of senior Andrew Notine and junior Christopher Notine. Andrew Notine was a JV quarterback for two years before becoming a varsity wideout and safety last year.
Andrew Notine said playing with his brother for the first time ever “is a big honor” and thinks they’ll be a good duo.
“I’m a little bigger and stronger, but we both have good arms and can run multiple packages,” Notine said. “We have a lot of weapons we can get the ball to.”
In addition to Ruiz, those weapons include a pair of running backs in juniors Nick Garofalo and Lucas Rinaldi.
“Rinaldi is a tank, he’s going to be big on offense and defense,” Ruiz said. “Very excited to see what he does this season.”
The Gladiators’ offensive and defensive lines will be led all new starters, with junior Jeremy De La Cruz being the most experienced of the bunch. Maier said he’s expecting to have more depth on the lines than ever, and newcomers Matt Locker and Lorenzo Rios expected to help on offense and defense.
The linebacking crew will be headed by Boerum and Rinaldi, both starters there last season.
“Nick is probably the fastest kid on our team, and is really good at getting to the ball,” Maier said. “There are a lot of unknowns, but a lot of these kids are eager to learn and get better, which is what you want.”
The Gladiators won’t have to worry about Garden City this season, as its’ now in Conference III, but New Hyde Park will certainly have difficult tests in Carey, Baldwin and Roosevelt in Conference II.
The key, the players and Maier agree, is the junior class stepping up and showing leadership qualities.
“It’s exciting because there’s opportunity there for anyone to grab,” Maier added. “Someone will rise up and be “the guy” and then we’ll have a better idea where we are. But I’m excited to see if this group can keep it going.”
“We’re always going to be pretty good because of Coach Maier and Coach Mark Maier,” Ruiz said, referring to the team’s defensive coordinator as well. “We just have to get everybody set and ready to go, and how they handle that will show us how far we can go.”
2024 New Hyde Park schedule:
Saturday, Sept. 14 vs Roosevelt, 11 a.m.
Friday, September 20 at MacArthur, 7 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 27 vs. Glen Cove, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 5 at Baldwin, 11 a.m.
Thursday, Oct. 10 at Long Beach, 4:30 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 19 vs. Mepham, 2 p.m.
Saturday, Oct 26 vs. Carey, 11 a.m.
Saturday, Nov. 2 at Roslyn, 11 a.m.
Playoffs begin Nov. 9.
