Cameron shines as MVP in Reilly Classic

With the exception of Erasmus and Canarsie players, who played in the PSAL High School Championship Game the week before, all Brooklyn high schools sent seniors to the Reilly All-Star Classic last weekend at the Frank J. Macchiarola Educational Complex in Sheepshead Bay.

Transit Tech’s Warren Hazel coached the Red Team from North Brooklyn and Grady’s Adam Engerow coached the White Team from Brooklyn South.

Along with coach Clive Harding of Boys and Girls High, Kevin Reilly put together this year’s 31st edition of the Reilly All-Star Classic, which his father Rich started in 1991.  Reilly, a beloved community-minded coach at the old Sheepshead Bay H.S., led the then-powerhouse Sharks from 1981 to 1994.

Madison quarterback Amir Cameron got the White Team on the board early with a well-executed 45-yard drive on a 5-yard handoff to Deon Ridore for an 8-0 score that would stand until the end of the half. In the second half, Brooklyn South’s White Team exploded for two more scores that would seal the game by the end of the third quarter.

After scrambling out of the pocket, Cameron found an open Rahmel Cannon for the score on a crossing route on a 35-yard pass play. Next, after the White defense made a fumble recovery deep in the Red Team end, Vene Gase ran the ball into the end zone on a 5-yard quarterback keeper to give the White Team a 22-0 lead by the end of the third quarter. 

Final attempts for the Red Team to score were shut down in the fourth quarter by the White defense, as Gase increased his team’s lead to 30-0 on a 10-yard pass to Connor Drummond.  Finally, Cameron capped off the win with a 45-yard pass to Alex Simmons in the end zone that the tight end skillfully caught between two defenders for the final score of 38-0.  

Based on “great poise and clutch plays,” the observing sideline coaches gave Cameron the Vincent Carbonaro Memorial MVP Award. Carbonaro, a long-time coach at John Jay, was the mentor to Rich Reilly during his playing days at the Park Slope school. Today, Carbonaro’s daughters Jane and Lauren and son Larry carry on their father’s football legacy with the Carbonaro Foundation, which annually awards $10,000 to a deserving PSAL college-bound senior.

Awards were also given to the Red Team’s Kamar Carter from Eagle Academy 2 as the top offensive player and Ronen Zinder from Brooklyn Tech as the top defensive player.  For the White Team, two Macchiarola players were chosen: Rahmel Cannon as the top offensive player and Kenroy Hutchinson as the top defensive player.

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