QB Mirabile staying busy
Three-sport senior set to lead team during flurry of activities
Shaker senior Joey Mirabile, in a span of two months, will don uniforms for the boys’ basketball, football and baseball teams. Friday night, the thirdyear quarterback will lead the Blue Bison into a tremendous season-opening Class AA road contest at Shenendehowa.
Headed to Saint Rose to play baseball next year for coach Wayne Jones, Mirabile is looking forward to competing in a football season altered by the coronavirus pandemic. Fall Season II will be held in a sevenweek season that includes sectional playoffs.
“It is very crazy to think about. In September and December, I did not think I would play football or basketball this year,” Mirabile said. “It is really weird. Usually, I would have been done playing football the rest of my life. Now we are playing and it is cold. We all thought we wouldn’t get the chance, so we’re excited for the opportunity to play football again.”
After serving as a backup as a sophomore, Mirabile took over the starting job in 2019 and led
the Blue Bison to the No. 1 seed. Shaker was upset by Guilderland in the semifinals and finished 8-1 overall.
“I am 100 percent focused on football right now. I will worry about baseball after,” Mirabile said. “We are grateful to have the chance to play.”
The talented 5-foot-11 lefty guard averaged 15 points per game and shot 43 percent from 3-point range for first-year Shaker boys’ basketball coach Aric Kucel.
Asked about having Mirabile on his first roster with the Blue Bison, Kucel said, “I love him. He is the ultimate competitor. Joey is what you want a high school athlete to be: a three-sport kid and he is committed to all three. He is just a fantastic kid and a really good basketball player.”
“He is a great high school athlete,” Shaker football coach Greg Sheeler said. “He is a three-sport athlete and a leader in all three sports. He is a very unassuming kid. You wouldn’t know that he made a game-winning shot in basketball or threw a touchdown pass to win a game. He is a very even-keeled young man.”
A devout supporter of Sheeler’s football camp, Mirabile grew up wanting to be a key component of the varsity football team. He has become quite adept at running the Wing-t attack, whether it is throwing the ball, running it himself, handing the ball off or carrying out fakes.
“We are looking for the complete player and fakes are a part of it,” Sheeler said. “It is also knowing when to check out of a play by what he sees at the line of scrimmage. A lot of what we do is predicated on the quarterback reading the defensive front and finding the weakness. He can check out of a play if it warrants it. His knowledge has been elevated over the last year to help put us in the best position to be successful.” Mirabile said his sophomore season learning at the varsity level helped in his development.
“I was a lot more ready as a junior,” Mirabile said. “It is fun that I get to play quarterback here. It really is.”
Mirabile grew up idolizing Aaron Rodgers, and Sheeler said the first thing he noticed about Mirabile was his calm demeanor.
“He is not a yeller or screamer. When he talks, he commands the huddle,” Sheeler said. “The kids look to him for guidance.”
Before turning his attention to the baseball diamond, Mirabile wants to lead the Blue Bison to a Class AA championship.
“We definitely know there is something at the end, instead of just ending the season,” Mirabile said. “It gives us something extra to work towards. It is good to have that opportunity.”