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03/02/2016 11:00 PMOn the heels of his stellar senior year with the North Haven football team, Jeremy Imperati will play a postgraduate season at Cheshire Academy in hopes of getting recognized as an elite talent, so he can continue his career in college.
Jeremy, a tight end/outside linebacker, didn’t touch the ball that much in North Haven’s run-heavy offense, although he still made a big-time impact, while helping the Indians go undefeated for the regular season en route to their first state championship game.
“Especially in the single wing, you don’t get that much glory, but coach tried to implement me in the offense,” says Jeremy. “I enjoy blocking for my teammates and seeing them run by everyone and scoring. That’s what mattered. I like winning and what was best for the team.”
Jeremy was primarily used as a blocker and excelled in that role, according to Head Coach Anthony Sagnella. Still, some plays were designed to get the ball in Jeremy’s hands and he made the most of them. Seven of Jeremy’s 16 receptions went for touchdowns and his 446 yards resulted in a robust average of 27.8 per catch.
“Coach had a specific pass to me called ‘88 Pass.’ I signed to the quarterback to say what route I was running. I could either run a post, corner, screen, slant, or fade,” says Jeremy, who wore No. 88. “I have quick feet and long arms to extend. Most of the corners that covered me were small, so if they did throw the ball up, I could out-jump them. I’m a pretty fast runner straight on, so fade routes were ideal for me.”
Jeremy’s skill-set at tight end is similar to many who play the position in the NFL. At 6-foot-2, 220 pounds, Jeremy is big enough to block, but also fast enough to stretch the field, which poses major matchup problems for opposing linebackers and defensive backs.
“He was very important in setting the edge for our strong-side power and sweep game. A lot of the yards [quarterback Mike Montano] gained were directly related to the dominant blocks Jeremy threw. He has the strength of an interior lineman, but the speed and athleticism to be a wide receiver. It’s a rare combination and he definitely fits that professional prototype,” Coach Sagnella says. “Jeremy can run away from linebackers, so you need a corner to cover him. It puts you in a difficult position where you have to defend our run game and snug people up to the line of scrimmage. Then you have him getting behind you like a wide receiver when you pass.”
On defense, Jeremy finished his senior year with 61 tackles and four sacks after being moved from outside linebacker to the defensive line. Jeremy filled up his trophy case as a result of his all-around game on the gridiron. He made the All-SCC Division II Team, collected Class L All-State honors from the Connecticut High School Coaches Association, earned spots on the squads for New Haven Register All-Area, Walter Camp, and Levi Jackson, and was also presented with the Floyd Little Scholarship from the latter organization. On top of all this, Jeremy played his way to a Second Team nod on the USA Today Team.
“It’s nice to get all that stuff, but it all comes down to the team. I couldn’t have gotten that without my team,” says Jeremy, who also plays lacrosse for North Haven. “They’re just pieces of paper and a medal. They’re nice to look at, but the memories I made with my teammates is what I’ll never forget.”
Jeremy concludes by expressing how proud he is of the North Haven football team for putting together its dream season that culminated in the Class L state final. He appreciates how the entire town got behind the Indians and showed its support.
“It was awesome to see the support. As the game went on, [New Canaan] scored quickly, but we didn’t let ourselves get down. We kept fighting and, at one point, it was tied. We don’t back down, so we kept fighting until the end, but they got us by a touchdown,” says Jeremy. “It was sad. We could’ve won, but it was awesome playing in the state championship game. It made the town proud of us for what we did.”