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Scholar Athelete:
Journal News Scholar-Athlete of the Week: Duffy's intensity translates into memorable season
By LISA SOKOLOWSKI
THE JOURNAL NEWS
(Original publication: December 13, 2003)
Brian Duffy was never the biggest or the fastest. He wasn't the strongest either. His stats, or lack thereof, helped him blend into the background.
That was until this year.
The Albertus Magnus senior didn't need to muscle his way into record books. He did so based on sheer intensity, ten seasons of practice revamped in ten weeks, and his ability to hit his targets helped as well.
Duffy threw for 1676 yards this season, which was more than enough to shatter the previous Rockland County record set by Tappan Zee's Tom Rooney in 1988. Rooney had 1579 yards that season, nearly 100 yards less than Duffy.
"Brian was an amazing surprise," said first year coach Paul Villanueva. "He came out of nowhere."
Villanueva and his coaching staff came into Albertus Magnus with the idea that they would rely on passing. But that was almost a blind dream considering that the former Briarcliff coaching staff didn't know anything about the Falcons' roster.
Enter Duffy. A senior who had been playing quarterback since his Pop Warner days at age seven. He threw less than 100 times last year, but that was disregarded. It was time to learn something new.
"Basically, I started all over," Duffy, this week's The Journal News Rockland Scholar-Athlete said. "I started from scratch. I learned mechanics over because I was throwing a different way."
Duffy threw 239 times this year with more than 140 completions. He entered the final game of the season with 1490 yards, 89 yards shy of the record. The record that Duffy didn't know he was close to breaking.
"I found out at the end of the season," he said. "The weekend of my last game, my coach called me and told me I broke the Rockland County record."
But, had he know that he was a few long passes away from having his name etched in history, would it have changed his game?
"I'd like to say no," he said. "I hope not, but there's no telling what would have happened in that game. I was happy without that record."
Duffy has had other things to be happy with, such as when he spoke to incoming freshmen as a part of the student ambassador program.
The students were impressed with where he was applying to college, but it's possible that his career choice may have interested them as well.
He wants to be a history teacher and then coach football. But, if that doesn't pan out, he has a backup plan — he wants to become a police officer. To further entertain that thought, his science elective this year is forensics.
Duffy has already applied to schools such as Manhattan, Fordham and Scranton, but others, such as Buffalo State and Susquehanna (Penn.) will hear from him soon. Those are football schools, and Duffy hopes to get himself in the lineup.
"Basically, what I'm going on is a school that has good academics and the major I want to do. Football is right after that."
But, no matter what happens in the future, what happened in the fall is what he will carry with him.
"I couldn't think of any better way to end my high school career," he said. "It was the best experience of my life this far."
All county article:
Mike MacKenzie
WR, Albertus Magnus
The junior split end was easily the favorite target of quarterback Brian Duffy, who set a county record with 1,676 passing yards. Nearly half of that yardage went to MacKenzie, whose county record-tying 51 catches were good for 827 yards and 10 touchdowns. He accomplished this despite seeing double coverage on a weekly basis, since he was the Falcons' lone big-play receiver. The 6-2, 185-pound MacKenzie had his biggest day of the season with seven catches for 160 yards and three touchdowns in a 43-6 win over Yonkers.
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NEWS ARTICLES FROM 2003
