Two Wantagh High School football players earned major individual awards following a banner season for the varsity team. 

Luke Martini received Newsday’s Tom Thorp Award as Nassau County’s most outstanding player. A running back and linebacker, Luke rushed for 1,968 yards between the regular season and the playoffs and scored 21 touchdowns. 

In the 84-year history of the award, Luke became the first sophomore to win. That’s not the only record he set. His brother Dylan, was last year’s recipient as a senior, making them the first family members to have their names on the trophy. 

“It’s a great award to receive, especially having my brother win it the year before,” Luke said. “Seeing all the great names on it makes it even more special.”

 Luke began playing for the Wantagh Football Club in elementary school, joined the middle school team in seventh grade, earned a spot on the junior varsity team in eighth grade and moved up to varsity as a freshman.

Senior Joseph Nicholson was named to the Golden 12, a group of scholar-athletes named by the National Football Foundation’s Nassau County chapter. The dozen recipients are chosen by the Nassau County Football Coaches Association for their achievements both in the classroom and on the field. 

Joseph, a running back and linebacker, rushed for 944 yards and 11 touchdowns, and also had 617 receiving yards this past season. Academically, he boasts a weighted grade point average of 101.02.

“It was an honor to be included among the top academic and athletic players in Nassau County,” said Joseph, who will go on to Villanova University in the fall to study finance and play lacrosse.

Like Luke, Joseph got his start as a youngster with the Wantagh Football Club. He played for the middle school football team in seventh and eighth grade, followed by a year on junior varsity before joining the varsity squad as a sophomore. 

Following a 5-3 regular season, the Warriors had a dominating playoff run, which culminated in the Nassau County Conference III title followed by an appearance in the Long Island Championship game. Head coach Keith Sachs commended Luke and Joseph on their awards, which are the reflection of Wantagh's team-first attitude. 

“Anything they get is well deserved,” Coach Sachs said. “We don’t concentrate on individual honors – everything is about the team – but these are major awards. A credit to them, they understand that the team's success opened the door to all of this.”