A Quick 60
The Challenge
MSGVarsity.com Sports Talk
High School SportsDesk
Top 30 LI Players to Watch: AJ Otranto
Photo by Joseph D. Sullivan
Related media
VIDEOS
William Floyd football has been a symbol for excellence in Long Island football for the past ten years.
For the last three of those years, the focus was solely on the shoulders of star running back Stacey Bedell. Now with Bedell at UMass, the focus goes from the ground to the air, backstopped by quarterback AJ Otranto.
With that OItranto has been named one of MSGVarsity.com's Top 30 Long Island Players to Watch for the 2012-13 school year.
Otranto's arm wasn't totally busy in the 2011 season with the presence of Bedell on the ground, but when he did throw the pigskin he put up some impressive numbers. He passed for 939 yards for 16 touchdowns and just 4 interceptions.
He also fired the winning touchdown pass to little-used receiver Corey Banks to help Floyd win the Long Island Championship in a wild 54-47 victory over East Meadow.
The 6-foot, 190-pound hurler really impressed the MSG Varsity staff with his performance in this summers first-ever Tri-State Quarterback Showcase. Otranto finished in the top five out of 24 quarterbacks, and fired the third-fastest pass in the radar gun competition clocking in at 52 mph.
Otranto got some rave reviews following the QB Showcase.
"A.J. Otranto is so physical and he had a great spin on the ball," MSG Varsity's Steve Levy said. "He had good arm speed, solid technique, quick feet and a pocket presence. He really rose above the competition."
His performance last season in a highly competitive Long Island football year was good enough for a 2011 Newsday All-Long Island second team nomination.
Tri-State lacrosse Top 20: Week 10
Long Island power rankings: Spring sports
All-Metro boys and girls basketball: 2012-13
All-Long Island teams: Fall 2012
