MALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR

John Toppa

Posted 7/9/15

No boys’ athlete in Warwick had a better 2014-15 than Hendricken senior John Toppa.

Toppa was a dominant two-sport athlete, quarterbacking the football team to an unprecedented fifth state …

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MALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR

John Toppa

Posted

No boys’ athlete in Warwick had a better 2014-15 than Hendricken senior John Toppa.

Toppa was a dominant two-sport athlete, quarterbacking the football team to an unprecedented fifth state championship while also manning the hot corner and serving as a presence in the middle of the lineup for the Hawks’ baseball squad that recently claimed its fourth-straight state title.

Toppa was Hendricken’s starting third baseman in each of the past three seasons, claiming championships in all three of those varsity seasons.

He was named a First Team All-State selection in his sophomore and junior years and he should be well on his way to earning a third honor in the coming weeks.

“He’s done a great job for us for the past three years and has been on three state championship teams,” Hendricken head coach Ed Holloway said. “He has a burning desire to win and compete. He was a leader for us in terms of getting that across to the team.”

Toppa hit in the four-hole behind fellow senior Gian Martellini and the duo did quite a bit of damage.

Trailing 1-0 in game three of the state title series against Cumberland, Toppa stepped up and helped to produce a run to keep the game going.

With one out and a runner on first, Toppa lined a single down the right field line to put runners on the corners.

Martellini, who was on third, would score later that inning to tie the game at 1, extending the game and giving the Hawks the opportunity to win it in the 10th.

As impressive as Toppa was during the spring on the diamond, I’m not sure if anything can top what he did on the gridiron in the fall.

After taking his junior year off from football to focus on his No. 1 sport, baseball, Toppa decided to make a comeback to the other sport that he loves.

He simply didn’t want to end his high school career with any regrets – and he certainly won’t.

Toppa was arguably the top offensive player in the state, serving as a dual threat through the air and on the ground, rushing for 18 touchdowns and passing for 12 more.

“He had a really good competitive spirit and a really good competitive style,” Hendricken head football coach Keith Croft said. “With his running style, he didn’t avoid contact, and his passing game got a lot better by the end of the year – he was really on target.”

The Hawks had just one loss in the regular season to La Salle, but they would get some payback in a big way in the Division I Super Bowl, and Toppa would be instrumental in determining the outcome.

Toppa would go on to earn Most Valuable Player honors, recording three rushing touchdowns and throwing for another score.

His most impressive score was his first of the game on Hendricken’s first possession, as he broke through the defense and shed blockers for a scurry of over 70 yards.

“He was huge,” Croft said of Toppa’s performance in the Super Bowl. “That first or second play from scrimmage where he broke off that big run, lowering his shoulder and running another 20 or 30 yards was huge, and he had another one of those runs late in the game. He brought a physical nature to the quarterback role. He just had a phenomenal year.”

- M.M.


FOOTBALL

ATHLETE OF THE YEAR - JOHN TOPPA, HENDRICKEN

HONORABLE MENTION

Jimmie Sauro, Bishop Hendricken

Nate Gyampo, Bishop Hendricken

Mickenzey Pacheco, Warwick Vets

David McMullen, Pilgrim

Nick Lemoie, Toll Gate

Alex Mowry, Toll Gate

COACH OF THE YEAR

Keith Croft, Hendricken

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