38 JANUARY 6 - JANUARY 12, 2017 BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP SPORTS Tiger returns to the Bronx gridiron for second award BY JIM DOLAN For senior running back Troy Booker, this would be his second visit to Yankee Stadium to collect a PSAL award as a standout player for the Fort Hamilton Tigers Varsity football team. As just a sophomore in his first season as a full time player, Booker was the league’s leading rusher for total yardage in 2014. Now in 2016, Booker was named Player of the Week for the PSAL’s Week 5 of the regular season. This season’s award came after a return to Fort Hamilton’s defensive backfield after four weeks of solely playing on offense. Booker’s return to defense came at the right time to give Fort Hamilton a lift onto a winning track (5-4) after starting with a 1-3 record. For the Tigers’ 32-16 Week 5 win over Campus Magnet, Booker scored two rushing touchdowns and a “Pick-6” on defense along with 13 tackles to earn his league recognition after healing from a nagging thumb injury. Noting the effect of Booker to play on both sides of the ball, Fort Hamilton Head Coach Dan Perez recalled, “That game gave us the spark for the rest of the season. Troy is just one of those impact players for a team.” Additionally, in the locker room Booker was known as “The Man of Steel” who could bench press 350 pounds and inspire his teammates in the weight room. As well as providing impact, Booker was one of the two engines that helped the Tiger offense run. “It’s rare to have two 1,000-yard rushers on one team,” stated Coach Perez. Over the course of the regular season, Booker ran for 1,119 yards to score 14 touchdowns, while quarterback Seba Nekhet ran for 1,149 yards for 17 touchdowns. Looking back at the senior’s four years on the Varsity, Coach Perez declared, “We’ll miss the experience that Troy brought and shared with the team. Over the course of his past seasons I would consider him to be the best running back in the league.” Currently Wagner College has shown early interest in Booker where he could join the ranks of the Seahawks next season on the gridiron. Photo by Jim Dolan On December 2 during halftime of the PSAL’s Championship Game at Yankee Stadium, Fort Hamilton senior running back Troy Booker was honored as Player of the Week for Week 5 of the 2016 regular season. Fontbonne finishes a successful December run BY JIM DOLAN After beginning the season in late November, the Bonnies reeled off three more wins in the month of December for a 4-0 record before the holiday break. FONTBONNE 58 ST. JOSEPH BY THE SEA 55 In a non-league encounter, the Bonnies played “a hard fought contest” according to Fontbonne Head Coach Steve Oliver. In a game where the Bonnies’ point guard Katie Marquardt (nine points) saw limited minutes due to early foul trouble, the team pulled together to capture rebounds and eventually win by a slim margin against one of Staten Island’s top teams. Brianne McDonnell stepped in as the team’s high scorer with 15 points, accompanied by Meaghan Glynn with 13 points and Jill Howard with eight points. FONTBONNE 70 ST. JOSEPH 38 In what Coach Oliver described as “a well-balanced attack,” the Bonnies beat an energized St. Joseph team that had just previously beaten Bishop Kearney and last season’s champ, Monsignor McClancy. Having a breakout game, newcomer Jill Howard scored 24 points, going 10-14 from the foul line, while teammates Brianne McDonnell (nine points), Meaghan Glynn (nine points), Natalie LoCognata (eight points) and Katie Marquardt (seven points) also contributed to the final score. FONTBONNE 51 COLD SPRING 39 In another non-league contest, the Bonnies faced Long Island’s Cold Spring team, which the Bonnies had lost to by only three points in the championship game of the December 2015 Cactus Jam Tournament in Arizona. In this highly anticipated rematch, the Bonnies came out strong for the win as Jill Howard scored 13 points, Brianne McDonnell scored 12 points, Katie Marquardt scored nine points and Erin Kennedy scored eight points. With a record of 4-0 (2-2), the Bonnies resume their January, 2017 schedule against the some of the league’s top teams with games scheduled against St. Edmund Prep, Bishop Kearney and McClancy for the first two weeks of the month. Photo by Jim Dolan Fontbonne seniors Olivia Chell, Erin Kennedy, Meaghan Glynn and Natalie LaCognata (left to right) give a “Thumbs Up” after the Bonnies start the 2016-17 basketball season with a 4-0 record.
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