Malverne Football Star Receives Full Athletic Scholarship

Malverne school officials set aside a portion of Tuesday's Board of Education meeting to recognize the recent accomplishments of some of its students, including its high school athletes.

The first award handed out by Malverne's new Athletic Director Patricia Desormeau went to Emmanuel Adeyeye, a senior at Malverne High School and star on the Mules' varsity football team.

Adeyeye was recently named Nassau County’s Defensive MVP, and received notice of being awarded a full athletic scholarship to either the University of Maine or Fordham University.

Although his coach, Kito Lockwood, could not be present at the Dec. 11 meeting, he wrote a letter expressing his thoughts on Adeyeye, which Desormeau read aloud.

"I am very pleased and honored to coach such a fine young man,' Lockwood wrote, adding that Adeyeye is "very deserving" of the recognition by the board, district and community.

"Emmanuel was this year's Defensive MVP at the Nassau County Senior Bowl game. This was no easy task. He had to compete againsts kids from Conference II and III schools. [He] was able to take the skills he learned from the Malverne football program and apply them in a larger spectrum. He truly represented his family, peers, high school football teammates and coaches to the highest level."

Lockwood also explained that off the field, Adeyeye is very active in his school and community through several organizations. "All of us who know Manny know that he is not just a football player," he added. "He is special."

On behalf of the board and district, Desormeau also handed out certificates and praise Tuesday night for Malverne High School's girls tennis, volleyball and soccer teams, who each achieved scholar athlete status for the Fall semester. To earn this distrinction, each team had to keep their grades at 90 or above.