During the second quarter of the Browns Week 3 game against the Giants, the Browns recognized two high school football players, Edson Pacheco and Fatima Sardo-Longo, as nominees for the NFL Latino Youth Honors Program.
Both nominees were surprised earlier in the month with their individual nominations, recognized for their contributions to their respective football teams, schools and communities.
Before practice began at Jack Britt Stadium at Thomas W. Harvey High School, head coach Mick Mohner gathered his players on the field to make a special announcement. There, he revealed that Pacheco, a senior offensive and defensive lineman, was one of the Browns nominees for the NFL Latino Youth Honors Program.
"It's honestly everything to me," Pacheco said. "It's been such a great experience playing football and when I got nominated for this, I just feels like I'm on top of the world right now."
In addition to football, Pacheco plays baseball and participates in the marching band and videography club. His parents immigrated from Mexico and his father grew up loving soccer but was supportive of Pacheco's decision to play football.
Pacheco's passion for football began when he sat down to watch the Browns play the Steelers in the final week of the 2020 season – the first time he watched a game of football. Having been made aware of the rivalry, Pacheco was elated when the Browns held on to win and clinch their first playoff berth since 2002.
"I realized I wanted to play football myself," Pacheco said. "I got in the weight room and tried my hardest every day to learn this new physical sport. But it was just such a blast, especially with all the people around me, all these people on the field that I'm looking at right now, it was such a blast to grow up with them."
Sardo-Longo found out about her nomination after taking a tour of CrossCountry Mortgage Campus. After being invited for what was presented as a girl's flag football interview, DT Maurice Hurst II surprised Sardo-Longo with a custom Browns jersey and the news of her nomination.
"It feels really good to be nominated for the Latino Youth Honors, I think it's a really good experience," Sardo-Longo said after finding out of her selection.
Sardo-Longo is a senior defensive back, recording seven interceptions in one season of flag football. In addition, she is a four-spot athlete at Mayfield High School and volunteers as a coach for young student athletes.
Sardo-Longo grew up playing outside and when she heard her school was getting a flag football team, decided she had to give it a shot.
"Me and one of my friends said we have to try it," Sardo-Longo said. "And we loved it and kept coming back."
Both of Sardo-Longo's parents were born in Uruguay and have passed on their appreciation of Uruguayan culture to their children.
"It's a great feeling knowing that she's being nominated not only for her achievements in sports but also because of our Latino heritage, for us it's very important to be recognized and celebrate our heritage in that way," Claudia Longo, Fatima's mother, said.
The NFL Latino Youth Honors Program celebrates high school seniors across NFL club markets who excel both in the classroom and on the field. All 32 teams select one male and one female high school senior football player to represent their team. From those 64 nominees, a panel of NFL, HHF and Procter & Gamble staff to select eight finalists – each representing one of the NFL's eight divisions.
That group of eight finalists will each receive a grant award that can be used for college, including $25,000 grants for both the male and female national winners and $5,000 grants for each of the six other finalists. They also will participate in a variety of special events taking place in New Orleans during Super Bowl LIX Week. Activities will be designed to provide mentorship, guidance and resources to pursue careers in professional sports and all eight finalists will attend the Super Bowl. During that week, a male and female national winner will be announced at NFL Honors, with the recipients receiving an invitation to HHF's National Youth Awards ceremony later in 2025.
Learn more about the NFL Latino Youth Honors here: https://playfootball.nfl.com/discover/latino-youth-honors/.
