A defender was all over Jamison Embury. Quickly, Jamison scooped the loose ball near the crease and threaded a pass over two other opponents to Hunter Embury for a goal that made the highlight reel. It’s a reel that is filled with numerous outstanding plays by this twin brother combination for Yorktown High School in Westchester County.

The duo and their intuitive plays are not unique to Yorktown. Across the Lower Hudson Valley, at least 18 sets of twin brothers currently play on the same school lacrosse teams. Nearly a third of the twin teammates have signed or received offers to play Division I lacrosse.

In Westchester, Rye, Iona Prep, Dobbs Ferry, Ardsley, Hendrick Hudson and other schools have twins on the teams. Farther north, twins plays for Mahopac. Across the new Tappan Zee Bridge, twins play for Nyack and Nanuet. For anyone looking for more trouble, Harrison High School features two sets of twins as does John Jay High School. Then, there could have been a triple threat at Clarkstown South in Rockland. While the brothers play lacrosse, their sister decided to run track.

We’ve often heard the stories about twins who think alike, sound alike and finish each other’s sentences. Now, imagine all the trouble all these twins have been creating for opponents on the lacrosse field!

Among the many advantages of having a twin play the same sport is that a player always is around a teammate who is willing to share the enjoyment and strategy of the game. Plus, when there isn’t anything to do, twins who play lacrosse usually agree to just go outside and have a catch.

As each of these high school twin teammates develops, several sets will continue to play together in college. Others will pursue separate game plans. Whether together or apart, these sets of twins have connections that will guide them for life on and off the field.

The New York City high school football player of the year is….Matt Valecce!

Matt played for Fordham Preparatory High School in The Bronx. At six-feet, five-inches and 205 pounds, Fordham’s quarterback led New York State in passing this past season, collecting 3,333 yards on 226 completions and a 64 percent completion percentage. Matt recorded 41 touchdowns and just seven interceptions. A year earlier, Matt threw for 2,416 yards and 27 touchdowns with only three interceptions. He finished his high school career ranked second all-time in the state for passing yards (10,027) and third all-time in touchdown passes (112).

The Whitmore Group sponsors the New York City Player of the Year Award presented by the local chapter of the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame. I was honored to present this year’s award to a fine young man. Matt is more than just a football all-star. He finished high school with a 4.28 GPA (on a 4.0 scale) and he accepted a full athletic scholarship to play for Boston College. He is going places on and off the field.

Along with Matt, 10 other outstanding New York City high school football players were honored at the sixth annual “Elite Eleven” Scholar-Athlete Award Dinner hosted by the foundation. Each year, the event is managed by Marc T. Hudak, who is chairman of the local NFF chapter and a partner and member of Whitmore’s management committee. The awards recognize the players for their performance on the field, in the classroom and as leaders in their communities. The award criteria is 40 percent based on GPA and academic achievement, 40 percent based on football ability and achievement, and 20 percent based on leadership, school and community involvement.

I extend my congratulations to each of the “Elite Eleven” 2017 scholar-athletes:

BROOKLYN

Christian Minaya (committed to Southern Connecticut State) – New Utrecht High School, Coach Alan Balkan

QUEENS

Joseph Alvarado (school intentions undecided) – John Adams High School, Coach Seth Zuckerman

Michael Taylor (committed to Villanova University) – Holy Cross High School, Coach Tim Smith

STATEN ISLAND

Quincey Barnes (committed to Western Connecticut State) – Curtis High School, Coach Peter Gambardella

John Buscini (committed to College of Staten Island) – St. Joseph’s by the Sea High School, Coach Michael Corona

Shakim Douglas (committed to U.S. Naval Academy) – St. Peter’s Boys High School, Coach Mark DeCristoforo

Nicolas Macri (committed to Binghamton University) – McKee Staten Island Tech High School, Coach Anthony Ciadella

THE BRONX

Elijah Jones (committed to Boston College) – Cardinal Hayes High School, Coach CJ O’Neil

Danny Sanchez (committed to Stony Brook University) – Lehman Campus High School, Coach Chris DiTullio

Joseph Petti (committed to U.S. Naval Academy) – Fordham Preparatory High School, Coach Peter Gorynski

Matt Valecce (committed to Boston College) – Fordham Preparatory High School, Coach Peter Gorynski