Former Half Hollow Hills West quarterback Joseph Filardi, who lit up opposing defenses all over Suffolk for four years, started for Syracuse on Friday night when the Orange hosted North Carolina and coach Bill Belichick on ESPN.
Syracuse coach Fran Brown didn’t name a starter in the lead-up to the game against the Tar Heels.
Friday was the first game in which Filardi, a freshman, played this season.
“He’s super-excited for the opportunity,” said his father, Gerald Filardi. “He’s worked very hard to put himself into a position where the coaches feel he’ll be successful. It’ll be natural to be nervous and feel those pregame butterflies, but once he gets the ball in his hands, it’ll be all about football. And I’m sure he’ll be very comfortable.”
It was a rough debut for Filardi against Belichick’s North Carolina defense. He completed 4 of 18 passes for 39 yards and rushed for eight yards on seven carries in a 27-10 loss at Syracuse’s JMA Wireless Dome. He missed on his first eight passes and was sacked four times while facing defensive pressure throughout the evening.
Filardi was the only quarterback to play for Syracuse on Friday, though, although Brown said earlier in the week that he planned on having multiple quarterbacks on the field.
Syracuse had only 147 total yards. Its lone touchdown came on a 51-yard fumble recovery for a score by Anwar Sparrow.
North Carolina improved to 3-5 overall, 1-3 in the ACC.
The Orange (3-6, 1-5 ACC) have struggled since losing star quarterback Steve Angeli to a season-ending injury in a win over Clemson on Sept. 20, losing four straight. Redshirt sophomore Rickie Collins started the previous four games, all of which were losses. True freshman Luke Carney has appeared in two games and thrown three passes this season.
Filardi won the Hansen Award, given by Newsday to the best football player in Suffolk County, last season. The 6-1, 195-pound quarterback torched Suffolk defensive units for 3,102 passing yards and 43 touchdowns with three interceptions. He added 1,204 rushing yards and 12 more scores in leading the Colts to a 9-2 record and a berth in the Suffolk Division III title game.
He set Long Island records of 14,483 all-purpose yards and 151 touchdowns for his career. He passed for 9,267 yards and 123 touchdowns and added 2,929 yards rushing and 28 scores.
Filardi graduated from Hills West on Jan. 10 and started classes at Syracuse Jan. 13. He also is a member of the Syracuse men’s lacrosse team.
“He handled the quick turnaround from high school to college well,” Gerald Filardi said. “He was ready to play spring football. And that helped in his preparation for the fall season.”
The two-time Newsday All-Long Island selection also was named the winner of the Boomer Esiason Award as Suffolk’s top quarterback for two years.
“He was unstoppable the past two years,” Westhampton coach Bryan Schaumloffel said. “He’s a generational talent, something you’ll rarely see. We tried everything to stop him. He stands as one of the best quarterbacks I’ve seen.”
Gregg Sarra is Newsday’s high school sports editor and has been on the beat since the mid-1980s.
