December 4, 2008Stamford Times All-City Football Player of the Yearfrom The Stamford Times "A man can be as great as he wants to be. If you believe in yourself and have the courage, the determination, the dedication, the competitive drive and if you are willing to sacrifice the little things in life and pay the price for the things that are worthwhile, it can be done." -- Vince Lombardi STAMFORD -- The above quote may have been said by the legendary Green Bay Packers coach a few decades before Trinity Catholic football player Nick Cortese was born, but it is a pretty apt description of the kind of football player he was this year. Week after week, Cortese reached down inside himself and found those qualities that Lombardi spoke of and that is a big reason why he is The Stamford Times 2008 All-City Team's Player of the Year. Cortese's coach, Bryan Fox, echoed those sentiments when talking about his star player, saying it was his devotion to his teammates and work ethic that set him apart. "I think he is the ultimate high school football player," Fox said. "It was never about stats or praise with him. It was about the next play. He played every down like it was his last down. He never took a down off. There may have been bigger or stronger or faster players around but he never took a play off and that's pretty special." The senior fullback showed football is still about running the ball. In a sport that has become increasingly pass-happy, even at the high school level, there was something raw, yet right, at the sight of a running back plowing his way through the line -- especially when that running back was Cortese. He amassed over 1,849 yards on the ground on 319 carries, churning his way 24 times to the endzone. His success was a testament to the overall performance of the team, according to Cortese. "It was definitely a success," he said. "We had our ups and downs, but we prevailed and had a winning season at 7-4, which is really something to be proud of. You can't ask for anything better than that. I had a goal of rushing for 1,500 yards, but I seriously never thought of having this good of a season. I basically passed all my goals, but I am really glad we had a 7-4 season because I didn't think we had a chance at that because of last year. We jumped from 3-7 to 7-4 which really shows something about our players and how hard they worked in the off season and the dedication it takes." Vin Cortese, Nick's father, said the year has exceeded his own expectations. His oldest son, Vin Jr., had an all-FCIAC career at Trinity Catholic and is now on the football team at Stony Brook University on Long Island while his youngest son, Jeffrey, is already at Trinity, waiting in the wings for next season. This year was about Nick. "Nicky made me really proud this year," the Cortese patriach said. "He really came out and did his thing. He really shocked me this year. I didn't expect him to do what he did. He was unbelievable." His father said his son reminds him of John Riggins, the great fullback that played with the Jets and Redskins and that is hard to argue with. Nick Cortese is a bruising ball carrier. He makes the most of every carry and gets most of his yards after first contact. He went over the century mark in 10 of his 11 games this year, including four games where he ran for over 200 yards. Cortese's best night may have been against Fairfield-Ludlowe, where he ran for 234 yards on 50 carries. He scored five touchdowns, including the winning score in overtime with everybody in the stadium knowing he was going to get the ball. Coming into the year, Cortese knew that the majority of the ball-carrying would fall on his shoulders. He had been the primary ball carrier as a junior and had breached the 1,000-yard mark and had contributed 400 yards on rushing in a limited role as a sophomore. He said the family aspect of the Trinity program is what sets it apart from the rest. "Everyone takes pride in that," Cortese said. "We're not the biggest team, but we all work hard and, if we want to beat anyone, we have to play our absolute best. It's great everyone is so close, the way we are is we're a big family. Coach Fox is like a big brother to me, all the coaches are like brothers to me and the sophomores and freshman are like little brothers to me, so hopefully we keep this contact throughout my whole life." Fox said there was so much more to Cortese than just his on-the-field performances. Those things added to his character and made his performance more worthy of praise. Overall, Fox said, he did things in the proper way. "As great a player as he is, he is even a better person," Fox said. "I never thought he would be as vocal a leader as he was this year. After the Ludlowe game, as tired as he was, he still went out to dinner with his parents, and on Sunday after who knows how many carries, he was there at 8:15 Mass, paying attention in church." Cortese hopes to play football in college, at a Division 2 or 3 school. But first, there is still a hockey season and a baseball season to get through, too. As Fox said, whether on the football field, or off of it, Nick Cortese never takes time off. Copyright © 2008, The Hour Publishing Co.
 Big senior defensive tackle Vladimir Joseph swims by an offensive lineman in a 28-20 home victory over Fairfield Ludlowe on October 29, 2005. (CrusaderNation.net / Dana Maul)
 Junior defensive tackle Santiago "Teggy" Steele wraps up a Darien
rusher as his
 Junior center Cory Johnson prepares to snap the ball to fellow classmate
 The Crusader offensive line pushes Bassick around in the mud. The
Crusaders
 Senior wideout Rob Hawthorn races downfield to block as junior fullback
Eric Stephens
 2005 All-FCIAC East Offense Row 1, Left to Right: Eric Wells, Bassick; Willie Epps, McMahon;
Pete Raymond,
 2005 All-FCIAC East Defense Row 1, Left to Right: Joe Luchesi, Danbury; Greg Sabo, Danbury; James
Taylor, Danbury;
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