No. 8 Top Story of the Year: Contrasting fortunes for Cater and Maysonet

Two former Riverhead High School football stars, Malcolm Cater and Miguel Maysonet, saw their college careers take dramatically divergent paths in 2010.

Cater, a freshman middle linebacker for Syracuse University, was immediately thrown off the team following his arrest on Dec. 11 in connection with three burglaries on the campus. He was charged with three counts of burglary and one count of grand larceny, all felonies, as well as two misdemeanor counts of petit larceny, according to The Associated Press. He was arraigned and was being held in the Justice Center Jail with bail set at $150,000 or a $300,000 bond, syracuse.com reported. The 6-foot-1, 212-pound Cater was second on the depth chart behind senior middle linebacker Derrell Smith, and appeared headed for a starting position next season. Cater played in 12 games for the Orange, made 13 tackles — nine unassisted — and recorded one sack.

Maysonet, meanwhile, enjoyed a splendid sophomore season at Stony Brook University, the school he transferred to after Hofstra University dropped its football program. The running back ran for 1,128 yards, averaging 6.4 yards per carry. Twelve of his touchdowns came on runs, and another two on receptions. He was named to the Big South’s all-conference first team. “I’m having a great time,” Maysonet said. “I’m doing good. I’m doing whatever helps the team out.”