Everett High football fans will have to wait until the spring to see the No. 1-ranked player in Massachusetts.
The MIAA Board of Directors voted to move the high school football season to the spring of 2021, which means that super-talent Ismael “Ish” Zamor and the Crimson Tide won’t begin playing games at Everett Memorial Stadium until March.
“They [the MIAA] will have guidelines that will allow us to practice as a team in the fall,” said Zamor. “Right now, we’re scheduled to begin practice on Sept. 18. I’m a little upset that we won’t be playing this fall but I respect the decision.”
This fall was going to be a breakout season for the 6-feet-2-inch, 185-pound junior. A highly skilled wide receiver, Zamor is rated by nationwide recruiting services as the top college prospect in Massachusetts from the Class of 2022 and one of the best players in the nation.
Humbled by his blue-chip recruiting status, Zamor is very excited about the prospect of the Everett High football team bringing a much sought-after state title to the city.
“I feel it’s going to be a big year to show everybody the type of player I am,” said Zamor, who turns 17 in October. “And I’m excited about this year’s team. I think we have the group of guys that can win it all. We’re all in it together. There’s no selfishness, We work hard. We have fun and compete. And we have a great coach to lead us.”
The College Football Recruiting Process Begins
The offers have been pouring in for Zamor who holds nine, including one from the University of Michigan, where his former Everett teammate, Mikey Sainristil, is a second-year wide receiver for the Wolverines (The Big 10 Conference season has been canceled due to the coronavirus). The other schools in the “Mix for Ish” to-date are Syracuse, Boston College, Rhode Island, Central Connecticut, Howard, Merrimack, UMass Amherst and Buffalo.
Zamor noted that two of his classmates, juniors Josaiah Stewart and Tyrese Baptiste, have also been busy in the recruitment process. Stewart has committed to Coastal Carolina, where former Everett football player Isaiah Likely is an All-Sun Belt Conference Third-Team tight end and a President’s List student. Baptiste has also received a number of college offers, including one from Michigan.
An Interest in the Study of Law
Ismael Zamor has other schools he is considering, including Penn State. While the Nittany Lions are a perennial college football powerhouse and play in the Power Five Big 10, it is Penn State’s outstanding law school that interests the scholar-athlete.
“It’s my dream school,” related Zamor. “I want to study pre-law and eventually attend law school.”
Credit Everett High and teacher Carolyn McWilliam for his interest in the field of law. “I took an Introduction to Law class this year and I found it really interesting,” said Zamor. “I was trying to figure out what I wanted to study in college and this class really got my attention about how the justice system works. At the beginning of the class, it was new to me, but I put all my efforts into it.”
Zamor received the highest grade possible in the class and he intends to take a Law and Government Class this year.
He credits his parents for his ardent focus on academic excellence.
“My parents [Pierre Zamor and Marie Zamor] have always been big on coming home with good grades and making sure school is first,” said Ismael. “The colleges have let me know that’s one of the reasons they have made offers. They like what I’m doing on the field but most importantly in the classroom.”
Ismael was born in Haiti and came to the United States in 2010. “I’d like to go back and visit Haiti. Hopefully, if everything works out, the dream that I keep working on, I want to go back and give back to my homeland.”
Ismael has a younger brother, Christian Zamor, who is beginning his freshman year at EHS and will be a candidate for the varsity football team. Like his older brother, Christian excelled in the Everett Pop Warner program, benefiting from the excellent instruction he received from coaches such as CarolLyn Manuel, Victor Ruiz and Frank Cafarelli.
“Our ‘A’ team came one game short of making it to Florida,” said Ismael.
Another brother, Jerol Zamor, is nine years old and plays quarterback for Everett Pop Warner. “I’m trying to get him to come to my workouts but sometimes he wants to stay home and play video games, but I’m not going to let that happen. He needs to be active,” offered Ismael.
A Meeting with Chief Mazzei
Ismael said he was working at the Everett Recreation summer camp when he met Everett Police Chief Steve Mazzie for the first time and they began chatting about the high school football season.
“I hadn’t realized that is was his son [Central Catholic placekicker Nick Mazzie] who kicked that field goal against us,” said Ismael.
That dramatic 41-yard field goal by Mazzie ended Everett’s quest for a Super Bowl title in Ismael’s freshman year. “I know he [Nick Mazzie] has had other long field goals as well.”
Last year, Everett was again derailed by Central Catholic in the state playoffs.
But come this spring, keep an eye on No. 3 in your program, the state’s premier junior, Ismael Zamor.
“I just have to keep working hard, keep doing what’s right,” he said.