A Division High School junior accomplished something that no football player has done in 16 years.
Tim Stanley’s dad told him that he wouldn’t touch the ball unless he was a quarterback, who are responsible for calling the plays and tossing the ball. Other team members can carry the ball.
Now he is an All-State athlete, the first from the school since 2009. Stanley was one of 32 quarterbacks and one of 99 juniors to be selected throughout the state. His performance also earned him an All-Conference and All-Region honors as well as a nomination for the Quarterback of the Year award.
Division went 3-6 throughout the season, missing out on the playoffs by one game. Stanley threw for 1,728 yards and 17 touchdowns while also rushing for another two touchdowns. He led the county in passing yards during the regular season.
The team started off the year with a 33-0 win against JFK High School of Bellmore. Stanley threw for over 200 yards and three touchdowns in the shutout. He also had a three-touchdown game against Bethpage and a season-best 288 yards against Hewlett.
“I knew we were going to have a good season as a team, and I thought I would have a good season myself as well, but this is honestly surreal,” Stanley said about his performance throughout the year.
The quarterback said there wasn’t any specific moment that stood out for him during his all-state season, but he said he played game-in and game-out to not let his team down. Stanley split time between varsity and junior varsity during his sophomore year, due to the starting quarterback dealing with injuries. He attributed that experience to his success this past season since he knew what to expect on the varsity level.
“The biggest thing is games are faster from JV to varsity,” Stanley said. “Just seeing that a little bit my sophomore year, it kind of helped me see how different the game is.”
The person who gave Stanley that opportunity on the varsity team was DivisionFootball Coach Joe Hartman. He praised his all-state quarterback, calling him consistent, disciplined, dependable and coachable.
“He’s someone who’s very accountable, someone who’s really disciplined, a great communicator,” Hartman said.
Division won three of its first four games before dropping its final five to close out the season. Hartman said that despite the program’s ups and downs, the team still had a successful year when putting things into perspective.
“We went 3-5 [in conference play], but it’s kind of a bigger picture for Division football,” he said. “It was a huge step forward for the program. Going from 1-7 to 3-5, and there’s going to be huge expectations for this upcoming season. Having an all-state quarterback returning and having another campaign under his belt here at Division, the expectations exceed anything you can really think of.”
The coach also mentioned that many of the team’s losses were close contests and that the program was awarded the most improved team in Conference Three.
Stanley will spearhead the Division offense in 2025 as a senior. The quarterback said he will “keep his options open” as to whether he will play a sport in college, whether as a lacrosse player or as a promising football player.
