Josue Zamora ’02 was a three-time All-American and New England player of the year in leading the dominating defenses of the 2001 and 2002 Westfield State championship football teams.

In his first of two seasons playing football at Westfield, Zamora’s impact was remarkable. He was a Hewlett Packard first team All-American, a d3football.com third team All-American, the New England Writers Gold Helmet Divisions 2/3 player of the year, the Gridiron Club of Boston Divisions 2/3 defensive player of the year, and the New England Football Conference (NEFC) unanimous selection as defensive player of the year.

“Josue is the best player that I have coached,” said Steve Marino, Westfield State’s head coach for the past 24 years. “He had great instincts and quickness, and could totally dominate games from his middle linebacker position.”

Spearheaded by Zamora’s All-America efforts at linebacker, the Owls led the nation in total defense during their storybook 2001 season when they posted the only undefeated regular season in school history and captured their first and only NEFC championship and NCAA Tournament berth.
 
Westfield’s defense was even more dominating during Zamora’s senior season in 2002 when the Owls set many of the team defensive school records and again led the NCAA Division III in total defense. Despite playing most of the 2002 season with injuries, Zamora was a third team All-American, an All-New England first team all-star, and an unanimous repeat selection as the NEFC defensive player of the year.
 
Westfield finished its 2002 season with an 8-3 record, dropping its final three games after setting a school record with 18 straight regular season victories. The Owls captured the NEFC Bogan Division title for the second straight year and participated in their first and only ECAC postseason tournament game at Cortland State in New York.
 
Zamora also excelled in baseball. He played the sport his first two years at Westfield State and was a standout catcher. He led the Owls with a .351 batting average in 2001 and was the team’s second leading hitter in 2000 with a .354 average. Zamora struck out twice in 29 games during the 2000 season, ranking in the top 10 nationally for fewest strikeouts.
 
Zamora has been a police officer for the past eight years at the state of Connecticut’s Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services in Middletown. The Hartford native resides in Southington and is a member of the Nutmeg Big Brother/Big Sister program. He has received several certifications in the CrossFit exercise program.