Lt. Ray Enners Award should not 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 | 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 | 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 | Middie/Faceoff specialist | Yes | Comsewogue | Pete Mitchell | ||
| 2000 | 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]