They’ve been Panthers for the past four years, and in the fall, they will be Mustangs.

Three Wallkill football players – Sean Perrin, Mason Ondreyko and Gabe Crespi – have officially committed to continuing their athletic and academic careers at SUNY Morrisville starting in the fall at a signing ceremony on May 9 at Wallkill High School.

“It’s exciting,” said Crespi, who is expected to play linebacker for the Mustangs. “I’ve always thought about playing college sports, and I thought I was more of a basketball player when I was younger. I switched over to football when I was in eighth grade, and I just fell in love with it. This is really a dream come true.”

The coaches from Morrisville came to Wallkill and recruited them together, but even though they took some separate trips to Morrisville, Ondreyko said they went through the process together.

“It’s unimaginable,” Perrin said. “We’re all going to be living together, as well, and we’re going to be pushing each other to the next level. We’re going to be working out together and playing football together like we know how to.”

Wallkill High School Principal and co-athletic director B.J. Masopust described them as the “gifts, the brawn and the lynchpin” identified Ondreyko as the “lynchpin” but declined to identify the other two.

“Over the past six years that I’ve been doing this, this is the first time we’re seeing Panthers going on to the next phase of their life, representing the school, and playing on the same team,” Masopust said. “How awesome that must be.”

During the past season, Ondreyko caught 48 passes for the Panthers for 661 yards and six touchdowns. That also put him at over 1,000 yards for his career. Crespi, who Wallkill coach Joe Pillitteri said will likely start as an inside linebacker, amassed nearly 100 tackles over the course of his career. He’s also had about four interceptions and 10 passes defended as an outside linebacker.

Perrin had a difficult senior year that saw him battling injury. Even with that, he still ran for 652 yards on 123 carries and eight touchdowns.

“I think he’d be very successful playing running back or he could work himself into a rotation as a defensive back as well,” Pillitteri said.

This trio helped lift the Panthers to a 4-5 overall record in Pillitteri’s first year as head coach and gave him his first win with a 55-6 win over the Monticello Panthers on September 9, 2022.

“We’re changing the culture of Wallkill because people came out of Wallkill recently and are playing college sports,” Crespi said. “I feel like we’re setting the tone for the younger group that you can do whatever you work for.”

Pillitteri took over for longtime coach Brian Vegliando, who had two tenures as Wallkill coach. Pillitteri played for Vegliando when he wore the Panthers uniform a decade ago.

“I feel like a football grandpa,” Vegliando said. “The guys I coached are now coaching the team. Their guys, I got to coach growing up and it’s special to me to see the state that the program’s in because we’ve built it up over the last couple of years collectively.”

So many Panthers have returned to the district. In addition to Pillitteri, Vegliando, Masopust and basketball coach Hunter Andrews, and others, have graduated from Wallkill High School and come home for their careers.

“Wallkill is like a family,” Perrin said. “That’s who we play for. We play for each other. We play for our coaches, and we play for our family. That’s really what we’re trying to make Wallkill about. For the younger kids coming up, I hope they follow the same lines.”