Ted Cooney

TED COONEY

CLASS of 1987

FOOTBALL & LACROSSE

In 1984, Ted Cooney recalled many naysayers questioning North Rockland’s ability to compete with Westchester schools after having dominated in Orange County’s Section IX for many years. Initially, the critics looked right after a season ending, 14-10, loss to Roosevelt in the 1984 Bowl Championship game. However, that game was the fuel Cooney, a sophomore starting quarterback at the time, and the Red Raiders needed to ignite an impressive future in Section I.

Cooney and the offense, which included standouts, Derrick Owens, Joe Mackey, Cedric Dawkins, Dave Dietrich, and Mike Guido, led North Rockland to back-to-back Section I Bowl Championships (Colgate Cup) and a #1 ranking in the final 1985 NYS Poll. The team also won 19 of 20 games between 1985 and 1986.

As a junior, Cooney and the Raiders powered past Scarsdale, 17-6, in the 1985 championship game at Memorial Stadium in Mount Vernon. The team finished the season with a 10-0 record, which further ended any thoughts of whether they could compete in Section I. They returned to a frozen field at Memorial Stadium in 1986, and once again faced Scarsdale in the title match. Cooney, now a senior, engineered one of the great comebacks in Red Raider history. Down by 16 points, he calmly led a second half rally. He scampered for a late fourth quarter touchdown to cut the deficit to 27-25. Ted then tossed the game-tying two-point conversion, which sent the game into the first ever overtime period in New York State. After running a few plays in the extra stanza, senior kicker Pat Fitzpatrick booted the game winning field goal and the Raiders won 30-27. He finished the game going 11 for 18 and 118 yards.

Cooney threw for 1,227 yards his senior year, which earned him a spot on the All-State, All-Section, All-County and All-League teams. He and Dietrich set a NYS record with a 99-yard pass play, and he was named the Rockland Journal-New Athlete-of-the-Season in 1986.

Ted was also three-year starter on the varsity Lacrosse team. He was named All-County and Third Team All-State, and in one season helped the Raiders to the Section I tournament. At 6’3” and 180 pounds, he was recruited by such schools as Syracuse, Army West Point, and Delaware to play lacrosse. Ultimately, he opted to play football for legendary coach “Tubby” Raymond at the University of Delaware. He spent a season as a backup to future NFL quarterback Rich Gannon, before returning to RCC. He transferred and finished his final two seasons at Iona College.

Now in his 25^th year working in cybersecurity, Ted is consulting for IBM. He has two daughters Isabella and Samantha. Isabella is currently a student at Marist College, while Samantha was this past season’s captain on the Nyack High School Volleyball team. He and his family currently reside in Nyack.