William Floyd's junior running back Ja’Quan Thomas has won the coveted Joe Cipp award.
The Joe Cipp award goes annually to the best running back in Suffolk County and Thomas and Sayville's senior Kyle Messina split the award this season.
Thomas left little doubt that he should take home the award as he dominated down the stretch. Thomas finished the year as the county's top rushing leader as he ran for 2,594 yards and and incredible 37 touchdowns on less than 300 carries.
Thomas ended the year as hot as anyone in recent memory. He had seven 200-yard rushing games on the season but once the playoffs hit he elevated his game to an even bigger level. Against Sachem East in the Suffolk Division I quarterfinals, he rushed for over 300 yards and an unforgettable six touchdowns.
That was followed up by scoring multiple TDs in each of the next few games, including the Suffolk county and Long Island Championship games.In that game against Massapequa it looked like he was a one man wrecking crew at times, and despite the loss, was able to steal the headlines in that game.
Thomas wrote of the accolades “I can’t wait to strive to improve even more and to aim for even higher awards and goals. Just wanted to thank God, my family, supporters , coaches , and teammates, you help me in wanting to push myself everyday. Congratulations to my teammates on their awards to, truly amazing people, can’t wait to see what you’ll do in the next level, and congratulations to Kyle Messina for winning also.”
Thomas will return next season as the focal point of Paul Longo's offense, and be the favorite for this award yet again.