Rasheem Stroud followed in his brother Keith’s footsteps by attending Fort Hamilton and winning a city championship his senior year. The two may have even more in common soon – the speedy 6-foot-2, 200-pound outside linebacker/defensive end still has work to do academically, but if he qualifies, he could find himself in the Big East playing with or against his brother, a rising senior wide receiver at Rutgers.
Stroud, who had two solo tackles for New York City in its 17-14 loss to Long Island in the 16th annual Empire Challenge at Hofstra University Tuesday night, has come a long way after missing his entire sophomore year due to academic ineligibility.
He scored an 1130 on the SAT, recently took the ACT and went through Regents exams this week. If all goes well and he passes the NCAA Clearinghouse, Syracuse, Rutgers and West Virginia have all shown interest to the point they may offer him a scholarship, as has Stony Brook.
“I’m trying to go where I can play,” said Stroud, an All-City first team selection by The Post who had 89 tackles and 16 sacks his senior year. “I want to make a difference.”
A Good ‘Koz’: Long Island defensive end Mike Kozlakowski was voted the Empire Challenge MVP. The 6-foot-3, 240-pound Lynbrook standout known as “Koz,” had a game-high six solo tackles and two sacks to lead Long Island to the 17-14 victory.
The Maine-bound Kozlakowski helped seal Long Island’s win with a key sack of Christ the King’s Syracuse-bound quarterback Terrel Hunt late in the fourth quarter.
“The excitement through me was just like the excitement to be part of the game,” Kozlakowski said of being named MVP. “It felt great to play for the cause this game’s going out for here. To come out and have fun with the game, it means a lot to be a part of it.”
The game raises money for the Boomer Esiason Foundation’s battle against cystic fibrosis and also supports area youth and high school football programs.
NYC can’t leg out win: New York City head coach Danny Perez had no choice but to test Mike Marando’s leg. The Fordham-bound kicker from Xaverian has proven he has the leg to make a 50-yard field and with 6.6 seconds left and New York City down three points, Perez sent him out to attempt a 52 yarder to send the game to overtime. Though the coach thouhgt it was slightly out of his range, Perez considered it a better option than a Hailmary.
Marando was able to get off a low-line drive attempt that ultimately fell short. The ball landed in the hands of Long Island’s Paul Magloire in the middle of the end zone.
“I thought we could pull it out in the end, but a 52-yard field goal is a long field goal,” Poly Prep wide receiver James Barry said.