By Marley Seaman
It was the second quarter of the Long Island championship game, and Baldwin was losing to William Floyd, 21-13.
Aaron Weaver, a tall, athletic wide receiver, was supposed to take the ball from his quarterback, find an open man downfield and let the ball fly into the cold November air. But it didn't work out that way. By the time Weaver took the football, a green blur of a linebacker named Edward Love had blown through the line and grabbed him.
Weaver spun backward, but Love held on, and another linebacker, Casey Terruso, clutched at Weaver. But he spun away to his right, where two more defensive players, Jonathan Korn and Jarmar Johnson, took swipes at him, so he reversed direction again and ran left.
By then, Terruso was coming at him again, and Weaver was 14 yards behind the line of scrimmage. Terruso grabbed him around the waist, but Weaver angled his hips and dismissed the defender with his right arm.
Finally he found a running lane, and dashed for the right sideline, where teammates Jemel Saunders and Ricky Manigat were blocking for him. As he crossed the original line of scrimmage, another defender leapt at him from the side. He missed, and Weaver snaked his way forward. Finally a defensive back grabbed him around the knees and brought him down at the 46-yard line. In 17 seconds he had run some 45 yards in several directions to get a 14-yard gain and a first down.
"I knew we needed the first down," Weaver remembered. "It was basically a desperation play ... There was no way I wasn't going to get the first down."
It was a desperate moment near the end of a dream season. Weaver and his teammates had one goal when they began practicing this year: the high school's first-ever Nassau County championship. On Nov. 19, they achieved it by beating Massapequa.
Weaver was one of the biggest reasons the team was able to fulfill its expectations and outstrip those of so many others. He caught 27 passes for 823 yards and 11 touchdowns. His average reception covered more than 30 yards. As a wideout, runner or kick returner, Weaver was simply the most dangerous player on the field.
"Coach [Steve Carroll] actually told me my junior year ... that he'd seen me winning the Dragon Award my senior year," he said.
Weaver proved Carroll right, winning the award for best wide receiver in the county on Dec. 5. He was also named All-Long Island, and was one of 22 players nominated for the Tri-State Area Heisman Trophy.
Carroll isn't the only one with high expectations for Weaver. After his performance in the Long Island finals, Carroll said, "Gregg Sarra, the Suffolk County high school football writer, and Mike Quick from MSG both flat-out said [to Weaver], 'You're a pro. You're a pro-talented kid.'"
For now, though, he's a 17-year-old kid, still growing, and still entertaining offers from colleges. The NFL, Weaver says, is "the lucky dream." Hofstra has offered him a full scholarship, and upper-echelon programs like Syracuse and West Virginia are interested. Weaver's intense dedication to football is paying off.
"He's going to go a long way in life," Carroll said. "He was always a gentleman and always a very nice kid. Once he became the captain, he took a whole different demeanor about everything. He took it all seriously; there was no nonsense. ... He stepped up and kept everyone else in line in a positive way."
A week after winning the Nassau championship, the seniors took the field together for the last time for the Long Island title game. Though they lost to Floyd, second and third efforts like Weaver's kept them in the game to the end. "Those 45 yards were probably the most exciting 45 yards I've seen in a high school game," Carroll said. "I don't know if we've ever had anyone like him."
The 210 yards Weaver amassed on receptions and kick returns and the sheer, shocking excitement of that run led voters to name him the offensive MVP of the game. Nonetheless, Weaver said, "It was a tough loss. We never put our heads down, even after the game. Everyone knew they played their hearts out. You were mad the season was over and that it ended that way, but at the same time you knew that you gave it your all, so there was nothing more you could do. We had a great ride."
Comments about this story? Baldwineditor@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 213.
