As the A7FL’s April 19 season opener approaches, we’re going to bring you inside stories of the players who are set to make an impact in 2020.
If it’s true that the future of any sports league can be measured by the success of its rookie class, then things looks bright for the A7FL. The 2019 A7FL rookie class was arguably the best in league history and 22-year-old running back Khaleel “MambaStackz” Greene shined as one of the brightest stars in that illustrious group.
The first time I saw MambaStackz was on a Sunday night early last Spring when LJ Smith and I were calling a New Jersey Hawks game and we noticed Greene was just tearing up the Spanktown Boys of Rahway, NJ. To be honest, I left that game wondering whether Spanktown was really that bad or if the 5’8” 175-pound running back out of Toms River, NJ, was really that gifted.
As the season progressed, it became evident that MambaStackz was the real deal. In week 3, Greene recored 2 TDs the first coming on the longest 3 on 1 return in league history (104 yards) and the second on a 22 yard reception lifting the Hawks to a 3-0 start.
While he spent most of his childhood in the rough areas of Irvington, NJ, Greene came from a “huge” football family and was always focused on athletics. His talent led him to a dual sport collegiate career – playing basketball at Ocean County College and football for Delaware’s Wesley College.
“I always saw myself as a professional football player,” says Greene, “so I will always have aspirations to play at the next level.” Although 90% of Greene’s A7FL success in 2019 was with the ball in his hands, he describes himself as a versatile athlete who can also play corner or safety (which we saw last season).
Currently a supervisor at Dicks Sporting Goods, Greene is working towards becoming a corrections officer. In the future, he also hopes to travel and if he had the opportunity today to go anywhere he’d head down under to Australia and help the animals and people that have suffered from the wildfires.
In 2020, MambaStackz will once again line up for the New Jersey Hawks who finished last season with a 4-3 record and the first playoff birth in franchise history. “I feel like the Hawks can make a deep run in the playoffs this go around,” said Greene. Last year’s team accomplished a lot but we were only scratching the surface.”
“Only time will tell the rest,” he concluded. “To be continued.”
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