Not once in the 16-year history of the Empire Challenge has a Thomas Jefferson player been selected to the all-star football game that pits New York City against Long Island. The Orange Wave’s absence even outlasted the Outback Steakhouse corporate sponsorship – the contest is presented by United Healthcare this year.
So, in a way, you can call Jefferson wide receiver Mark Thomas a pioneer. He already led the Brooklyn program to the PSAL Bowl division title as a junior and to a 7-2 record this year, its first in the City Championship division. It’s only fitting that he is the first Orange Wave player to earn a spot on the Empire Challenge team.
“It means a lot to me,” Thomas said. “It means I came a long way, bringing up my school, letting my school be known. A lot of kids here, they don’t really know about Thomas Jefferson, especially the Catholic kids.”
Thomas isn’t just filling out the roster either. The Nassau Community College-bound receiver could start Tuesday night in the annual game at Hofstra University, according to wide receivers coach Joe DeSiena of Xaverian.
“Mark’s a phenomenal athlete,” DeSiena said. … “Physical and fast. He’s real fast, he’s sure-handed, but his size and his physical ability is what makes him a college football player.”
Thomas’ presence on the team has Jefferson coach Gus Cyrus beaming. He has been involved with the Empire Challenge for 15 years and understands just what it means for an Orange Wave player to be invited to the prestigious game.
“I’m real excited,” Cyrus said. “It’s an honor. It’ll open the door for a lot of other kids. … What we’re tryig to accomplish is winning the PSAL championship. That’s our goal to do. Mark opened the door for us.”
The coach said Thomas is as good of a kid as he is a player, but recalls sitting the standout down during his sophomore year. Thomas was too good to stay down on the JV his freshman year, Cyrus said, so he and his staff brought him up immediately. Thomas struggled the rest of that season and put his head down, carrying that me-first attitude into his second year.
“He thought he was bigger than the program,” Cyrus said. “I said, ‘Sit your butt down.’ When they saw me do that, the team took notice. I told the kids I’d rather lose than have kids feel that way.”
The 6-foot-1, 190-pound Thomas, who has run a 4.5 40-yard dash, had schools like Penn State, Rutgers, Miami and Buffalo interested, Cyrus said, but needed a higher SAT score to qualify for a Division I program. The coach is not worried about him applying himself at Nassau – and from there he thinks the path is headed in an excellent direction.
“All he has to do is hit the books hard and he’ll be in a university in no time,” Cyrus said. “We should see Mark one day in the NFL Draft.”
Before then, though, Thomas has a chance to shine on the big stage Tuesday night.
“I love being under them lights,” he said. “I heard there are gonna be like 10,000 people there.”
And Thomas fully expects everyone to know about Thomas Jefferson when they leave Shuart Stadium.