Aside from failing to win a city championship, Ryan Camilo’s senior year at DeWitt Clinton had it all.
He established himself as an explosive running quarterback and he led the Governors to their first semifinal berth since 1989. To top it off, the Cardinal Hayes transfer won the NYPost.com poll, “Who should be The Post’s All-City football Player of the Year?”
“It’s cool to win against the top players like [Erasmus Hall’s] Wayne Morgan and [Lincoln’s] Kareem Folkes,” Camilo said. “Just to know I was recognized is a big thing.”
In a tight race, The Bronx native received 5,842 votes, good for 36.95 percent. Morgan was second with 4,905 votes (31.02 percent) and Canarsie’s Donchervell Smith was third with 2,240 votes (14.17 percent)
Camilo was aware of the poll, but tried not to pay too much attention to it. He’s been busy preparing for this Saturday’s all-star matchup of the top seniors from Staten Island against Bronx and Manhattan standouts, and didn’t want to be disappointed if he fell short.
“A lot of people told me they were voting for me,” he said. “I didn’t want to look at it. I didn’t want to known the percentage I was at.”
Teammate Jeremiah Obeng Agyapong described him as a “perfect fit,” after last year’s starter, Joaquin DeJesus, graduated. Clinton didn’t have a set quarterback entering the summer. The plan was to go with wide receiver Marquis Burrell. But late in the summer, coach Howard Langley found out Camilo had transferred into Clinton. He simply told his players he had a surprise for them. And what a surprise it has been.
“He’s the quarterback, he’s the captain, he’s everything in our offense,” Agaypong said.
Camilo had a huge year for Clinton, running for 1,018 yards and 12 touchdowns and throwing for 404 yards and four touchdowns, and leading the Governors to an 8-4 season and quarterfinal upset of defending champion Fort Hamilton.
The senior has yet to pick a school as Langley is in the process of sending out film on him. So far, Division II Springfield College has shown interest. He shouldn’t have a problem garnering much interest. He thrived in Clinton’s triple option attack after doing most of his damage for Hayes as a thrower.
“Junior and senior year I showed both sides of my game,” Camilo said. “I enjoyed running, but I kind of missed passing more a little bit. … It was a big season for me. I just wanted to try to put Clinton on the map, help the program. We were trying to win the championship, but we came up a little short.”