Matt Fitzsimons taking the next step has Somers football back in the final four
Through October of 2021, Somers' football coaches had treaded lightly around the topic of Matt Fitzsimons' future.
They had known him and seen his talent since early middle school, but they also respected one truth: Fitzsimons considered himself a basketball player first.
The Tuskers took some steps to accommodate their new quarterback last year, like rarely asking him to run in order to maintain his health. However, in what was just his fifth career start, the quarterback enjoyed something of a personal and athletic breakthrough.
That night, he completed 9 of 10 passes, four of which went for touchdowns. They all came in the first half as Somers crushed Lourdes, 44-8.
"After the game, coach (Anthony) DeMatteo told me I should reconsider," said Fitzsimmons, who had spent every summer from third through 10th grade playing AAU basketball. "I thought, 'Wow, I am pretty good and I kind of love football."
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That mentality might've carried him and the Tuskers to the Carrier Dome last fall, but it's really paid off in a significant way this season. Fitzsimons, who is now a senior, has taken control of the offense like never before. He has brought a team back to the state semifinals that had to endure significant losses to graduation last June and has suffered a couple of key injuries this postseason.
Nonetheless, Somers is here, 11-0 yet again.
"Last year we were a well-rounded football team and the staff was honestly trying to figure out who we were and what we wanted to be offensively," DeMatteo said. "This year is no doubt his team. We've committed to running him now because of his athleticism. He's exceeding our expectations and we had pretty high expectations for him. He's all of a scholarship quarterback and we're glad to have him as a part of our program."
Fitzsimons was arguably never better than in Friday's state quarterfinals. In a rematch with Lourdes, which moved to Section 9 this season and won the Class A title, the Tuskers played without four-year star lineman Jake Polito, who just signed with Navy, and with a hobbled running back/kicker Luke Savino, who had scored four times in the Section 1 final the previous week. That left more responsibility on Fitzsimons and he shouldered it, going 19 of 26 for 254 yards and three touchdowns and running for the winning touchdown in overtime.
"Last year I would have done my thing, but it wasn't my place to make the big play," Fitzsimons said. "It was on the other guys. This year it was up to me."
Somers football:Football: Somers edges Lourdes in overtime of the Class A state quarterfinal
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Through 11 games, all Somers wins, Fitzsimons is now 115 of 156 (74%) for 1,798 yards, 22 touchdowns and just four interceptions while also running for 10 touchdowns.
He's now 23-1 overall as a starter, losing the only game when he was intercepted on a two-point conversion attempt with 1:19 left in a 32-31 loss in last year's state championship game. Fitzsimons hasn't lost otherwise, having completed 70.8% of his passes for 3,557 yards, 40 touchdowns and nine interceptions in 24 career starts.
But DeMatteo said he's seen a marked improvement this year. He pointed to Somers converting on third-and-12 and third-and-20 plays in last week's game.
"He won us the Mahopac game. He won us the Lourdes game. We've never been this efficient on third and long in the history of Somers football and it's all because of him," DeMatteo raved. "He's the one we trust in those situations."
Fitzsimons has built that trust to the point where the coaches leave him in charge of most play calls. He has the freedom to audible in addition to calling the shots on the offense's frequent run-pass options.
Fitzsimons still led Somers in scoring and was named all-section last winter, but he made a complete commitment to studying football and training his body.
He has put on 15 pounds in the weight room (he's now 6-4½ and 185 pounds), spent more hours watching film and finally scrapped AAU basketball last spring and summer to attend college showcases.
Fitzsimons has also ramped up his skill work, throwing more with Rob Higle, who was once Section 1's all-time leading passer at Briarcliff and now runs Alpha Arms QB Club, as well as former NFL quarterback Matt Simms.
Higle, who began working with Fitzsimons in 2019, said "he checks all the boxes. He's tall enough, fast enough, he's only lost one game as a starter. As far as the kids I've worked within Section 1, he's probably the best and definitely has the most potential."
Colleges have taken notice, but Fitzsimons, whose dad, Terry, played Division I basketball at Fairfield, is still waiting on his scholarship offers. He remains in touch with several programs and has received the most interest from New Hampshire and Dartmouth.
"The feedback is that he's absolutely an FCS Division I thrower," DeMatteo said. "Five-to-seven schools are recruiting him heavily. He has no offers yet, but we're very hopeful that schools come in with offers after the season."
"I think something will happen," Fitzsimons said. "But right now I'm not focused on that. I'm focused on the rest of the season."
He and Somers return to the field at 6 p.m. Friday. The Tuskers play Section 2 champ Niskayuna at Middletown High School for a return trip to the state final in Syracuse.
Josh Thomson is the Sports Editor for The Journal News, Poughkeepsie Journal and Middletown Times Herald-Record. He can be reached by e-mail at jthomson@lohud.com, on Twitter at @lohudinsider, and on Instagram at @lohudinsider.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: QB Matt Fitzsimons leads Somers football to NYSPHSAA state semifinals
