Lt. Ray Enners Award

Not to be confused with Lt. Raymond Enners Award.

The Lt. Ray Enners Award is presented annually to the most outstanding high school lacrosse player on Long Island's Suffolk County, New York. [1] The award is presented by the Suffolk County Boys Lacrosse Coaches Association, Section XI Athletics, to the player who best exemplifies courage, teamwork, skill and leadership. The award is named in memory of Raymond Enners.[2]

Lt. Enners was raised in Farmingdale, New York and attended Half Hollow Hills High School, part of the Half Hollow Hills Central School District, located in Dix Hills, New York, where he was an outstanding lacrosse player. He was voted to the 1963 All-Long Island lacrosse team. Lt. Enners also played lacrosse at the United States Military Academy at West Point (Class of 1967).

Following high school, Lt. Enners continued to excel at lacrosse at the United States Military Academy. During his 1967 senior year, Lt. Enners was an NCAA Honorable Mention All-American. He was inducted posthumously into the Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame during 2004.[3]

While leading a platoon in Vietnam, Lt. Enners was killed in combat on September 18, 1968. Lt. Enners received the Distinguished Service Cross, the Bronze Star Medal and the Purple Heart for extraordinary heroism in combat in South Vietnam. During 2016, Richard W. Enners,[4] Lt. Enners' younger brother who also is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, authored the book, Heart of Gray. The book details the story about his brother, Alpha Company, 1-20th Infantry, 11th Brigade, and Lt. Enners' courage and sacrifice in Vietnam.[5]

At the start of the 2019 lacrosse season, Half Hollow Hills High School (now known as Half Hollow Hills East High School) retired Lt. Enners' number 26 lacrosse jersey. At the same ceremony, the school also retired the number 21 lacrosse jersey worn by alumnus James Metzger, the 1977 recipient of the Lt. Ray Enners Award. [6]

The initial Lt. Ray Enners Award was presented during 1970. This award is one of three that have been named in memory of Lt. Enners. The others are the Lt. Raymond Enners Award that is presented to the NCAA National Player of the Year in men's lacrosse and The Lt. Enners–Chris Pettit Award that is presented each season to Army's offensive most valuable player.

Year Winner Position HS All-American School Coach
1970 Mike McCormick Attackman Ward Melville Joe Cuozzo
1971 Richard Meister Defense Yes Deer Park Warren Deutch
1972 Frank Urso Middie Yes Brentwood Bob Hoppey
1973 Bob McGuire Attackman Yes Huntington Aaron Littman
1974 Bill Carpluk Middie Yes Central Islip George O Leary
1975 Bill Brown Attackman Yes Ward Melville Joe Cuozzo
1976 Peter Predun Middie Yes Harborfields Mike Liese
1977 James Metzger[7] Attackman - Middie Yes Half Hollow Hills Lou DiBlasi
1978 Albert Ray Middie Yes Copiaque Walter Reese
1979 Robert MacAneney Attackman Brentwood Ross Peter Murray
1980 Glen Mohrman Middie Yes Half Hollow Hills Stan Kowalski
1981 James M. Smith Middie Yes Comsewogue Ken Reese
1982 Tom Gunderson Middie Yes Smithtown East Lou Antonetti Sr.
1983 Chris Walker Defense Yes Ward Melville Joe Cuozzo
1984 Chris Garvey Middie Yes Half Hollow Hills Doug Mayer
1985 Scott Reh [8] Middie Yes Rocky Point Mike Bowler
1986 Jonathan Reese [9] Middie Yes West Babylon Rich Burns
1987 Steven Randby Goalie Yes Half Hollow Hills Doug Mayer
1988 Joe Matassa Middie Yes Ward Melville Joe Cuozzo
1989 John Banks Goalie Yes Ward Melville Joe Cuozzo
1990 Joe Romeo Goalie Comsewogue Bob Woods
1991 Chris Theofield Attackman - Middie Northport Bob Macaluso
1992 Mike LaRocco Goalie Yes Smithtown West Ralph Pepe
1993 Greg Cattrano Goalie Yes Ward Melville Joe Cuozzo
1994 Al Hernandez [10] Defense Yes Whitman Bob Howell
1995 Jay Negus Attackman - Middie Yes Ward Melville Joe Cuozzo
1996 Will Campbell Attackman - Middie Yes Sachem Rick Mercurio
1997 Justin O'Connell Defense Yes Sachem Rick Mercurio
1998 Nick Russo Attackman - Middie Yes Comsewogue Pete Mitchell
1999 Kevin Cassese Middie/Faceoff specialist Yes Comsewogue Pete Mitchell
2000 Peter Vlahakis Middie Shoreham-Wading River Tim Rotanz
2001 Nick Miaritis Attackman - Middie Yes Ward Melville Joe Cuozzo
2002 Matt Miller Middie Yes William Floyd Victor Guadagnino
2003 Larry Cerasi [11] Attackman Middle Country Ken Budd
2004 Jeff Strittmatter Attackman - Middie Yes Rocky Point Mike Bowler
2005 Pat Perritt Attackman Yes Sachem East Rick Mercurio
2006 Chris Ritchie [12] Attackman Yes Mount Sinai Jason Sanders
2007 Justin Turri Attackman Yes West Islip Scott Craig
2008 Dwayne Stewart Attackman Copiaque Jim Konen
2009 Kevin Sabo Attackman - Middie Westhampton Beach Ralph Pepe
2010 Nicky Galasso Attackman Yes West Islip Scott Craig
2011 Luke Miller [13] Middie William Floyd Desmond Magna
2012 Sam Llinares [14] Attackman - Middie Yes Hauppauge Jim Konen
2013 Tim Rotanz Attackman Yes Shoreham-Wading River Tom Rotanz
2014 Kieran Mullins [15] Attackman - Middie Yes Islip High School Keith Scheidel
2015 John Daniggelis [16] Attackman - Middie Yes Smithtown East Jason Lambert
2016 Gerard Arceri Middie/Faceoff specialist Yes Smithtown East Jason Lambert
2017 Chris Gray [17] Attackman Yes Shoreham-Wading River Mike Taylor
2018 Zach Hobbes Middie Yes Ward Melville Jay Negus
2019 Conor Calderone Face-off Specialist/Middie Yes Smithtown West Bobby Moltisanti, Jr.
2020 No Award Competition suspended due to pandemic
2021 Ryan Bell Attackman Yes Smithtown West Bobby Moltisanti, Jr.
2022 Joey Spallina Attackman Yes Mount Sinai Harold Drumm
2023 Andrew Miller Long Stick Midfielder Yes Northport Larry Cerasi
2024 Matt McIntee Attackman Yes East Islip Tom Zummo


For more information about Lt. Enners and the Suffolk County high school award named in his honor, see the June 15, 2016 Suffolk County Lacrosse Coach's Association Awards Program, page 19. [18]

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  2. ^ "Inside Lacrosse".
  3. ^ "Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame".
  4. ^ "Everything I Ever Needed To Know About Business I Learned On The Sports Field".
  5. ^ "Acclaim Press".
  6. ^ "Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame".
  7. ^ "Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame".
  8. ^ "Orlando Lacrosse".
  9. ^ "Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame".
  10. ^ "The Baltimore Sun".
  11. ^ "Stony Brook Seawolves".
  12. ^ "2010 Men's Lacrosse".
  13. ^ "New York Institute Of Technology Athletics".
  14. ^ "Hofstra Pride".
  15. ^ "Rutgers".
  16. ^ "Yale University".
  17. ^ "Boston University".
  18. ^ "Lax Lessons" (PDF).