St. John Fisher College reminded Chris Biryla of Sachem once he stepped on campus.
He chose the Cardinals over Brockport, Utica and Misericordia, and will join Sachem teammate Justin Rivera, who had a similar feeling during his recruiting visit, at St. John Fisher.
“We come as a package on defense,” said Biryla, “both flying to the ball and making plays. We both work very hard together in the weight room and on the field. I can’t wait to share the college experience with him as a roommate and teammate.”
Biryla said his college coaches expect him to play a roving position as a hybrid outside linebacker and safety. If they got their hands on the game film from this year’s Suffolk County Division I championship game against William Floyd, they could see Biryla doing just about everything on the field. He was a force. That game alone may have defined his career at Sachem and that’s quite all right considering it was monumental in stature.
“Chris will always be our example that hard work pays off,” said Sachem coach Dave Falco. “Chris dedicated himself in the weight room joined spring track and excelled in the class room. His defensive performance in the Suffolk championship game was a key factor in our win that day. St. John Fisher is going to be very satisfied having Chris in their program. He has developed into a great leader and his work ethic will be an example to the entire program.”
He was outstanding in the Class I Long Island championship game as well and, for Biryla, that’s the moment he’ll cherish forever.
“When the clock hit zero the night of the LIC,” he said, “it still doesn’t feel real.”
Another moment that he has locked onto goes back to the beginning of the season when the team started chanting “LIC” at the top of Misery Mountain during training camp in Fishkill, N.Y.
“It feels like a movie,” he recalled.
Biryla will study to be a nurse in college and hopes to be a nurse and possibly a doctor in the future.
-Words by Chris R. Vaccaro