46 NOVEMBER 25 - DECEMBER 1, 2016 BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP PYO Raiders and Bucs tied 6-all BY ROBERT CAVALIERE The PYO Bucs with strong determined blocking from Alessandro “Freight Train” Alioto, Ethan Veliz, Nicholas Esposito and Robert Navarro made it a piece of cake for Jack “Sure Thing” Lally to rip through the Raiders’ defenses. He charged 25 yards to draw first blood, leaving a stream of unsuccessful tacklers along the way. The point after was denied by Gabriel “Meat Grinder” Ferguson and Dennis “Hulk” Urena. The first quarter ended with the Bucs holding a six point advantage. After the Bucs failed to capitalize on their possession at the top of the second quarter, the Raiders began their fierce plunge toward the goal posts. Charles “Rocket” Kitsakos made the first down by zig-zagging and breaking three tackles. He got the Raiders to first and goal and rallied the team for the next play. Adel “Guardian” Odeh took the snap, handing it to the “Rocket.” There was plenty of opposition from Luis Martinez, Luis “Sizzler” Cruz and Mario Orlando but guts and muscle blasted the “Rocket” to golden soil to tie the score 6-all. Neither team was successful in the third quarter with each line crashing into the other. There was very little movement on the field. Then in the top of the fourth, the Bucs fought hard to get to first and goal. Time and again, “Sure Thing” Lally tried to penetrate the raider line with Kevin Yangaraula, Donavan Nunez and David Rivera not yielding an inch. It was fourth and goal when “Sure Thing” Lally charged up the middle and scored the second Bucs TD. When he tried for the extra point, Steven Perez, Thomas Robert Fegan and Donovan Nunez said no way, no how. The Raiders took control of the ball and with seconds ticking away on the clock, the “Rocket” broke free from two tackles to save team pride and scored the tying touchdown. In the Peewee Division, the players were anxious to start their first game of the season. They were eager to show off their newly acquired skills on the gridiron. Joseph Rodriguez was hot to trot and nothing could stop him when he got his chance to carry the ball. Adrian Cortez, Lucas Giocoli, Nathaniel Gonzalez and Lucas Stewart were tough as nails and made textbook tackles. The game ended in a six-all tie but everyone had a good time. SPORTS Lincoln pushes past Pirates to reach semi-finals BY JIM DOLAN LINCOLN 32 TOTTENVILLE 14 “We’re starting to click now, so let’s go, ” was the message that Lincoln Head Coach Shawn O’Connor gave to his Railsplitter team as they stood on the sideline at Tottenville’s home field before the coin toss of this season’s 2016 PSAL quarterfinal playoff game. In addition to the previous week’s 43-22 first round playoff win over Boys High, O’Connor also set a new milestone when he surpassed Coach Henry Kahan’s school record (1939-1956) of 118 wins to become Lincoln’s top win leader with 119 wins since becoming head coach 17 years ago in 2000. Traveling to Staten Island to play the 6-3 fourth seeded Pirates, the fifth seeded Railsplitters had also earned an identical 6-3 regular season record with just six power points (1,117 to 1,111) separating the two teams from being the higher seed. The Railsplitters got an early start on their first possession as Lincoln quarterback Faruq Shittu hit Jordan Jones with a pass in the flat on an 85-yard pass play for the game’s first score to put Lincoln up 6-0 just minutes into the first quarter. Holding the Pirates scoreless on four downs at the 25-yard line, the Railsplitters gave the ball to their leading scorer, running back Niam Coakley, who raced down the sideline for a 40-yard touchdown to give Lincoln a 12-0 lead at the end of the first quarter. Coakley scored again to open the second quarter on a 45-yard run up the middle, as Tottenville answered back with their first score on a 12-yard Chris Maestralles touchdown reception to end the half with Lincoln in the lead by the score of 18-7. Entering the second half, it was still “anyone’s game” until Lincoln’s first drive opened up the game on a 24-yard pass to a wide-open Dayquan Audain to make the score 25-7. Audain’s touchdown was followed by an interception by Anthony Vaughns that immediately sealed the momentum shift to Lincoln. Despite the interception, Pirate quarterback Jason Feldman returned to the air to get back into the game and connected with Charles Chustckie for a 35-yard reception to trail Lincoln 25-14 by the end of the third quarter. “Give me one more quarter,” said O’Connor at the start of the fourth quarter. Heeding that message, Shittu and Coakley pounded the ball down to the 15-yard line where Terrell Wallace scored on a double-reverse to put the game out of reach for Tottenville, 32-14. An interception by Jones put an end to Tottenville’s last attempt to score, as the Railsplitters gathered in the end zone for their victory huddle. Noting that he’s a patient runner who follows the holes opened for him, Coakley stated that a week of good practice with his offensive line allowed him to “hit the hole hard” to gain his yardage. “If we keep clicking, we’ll be fine for next week,” said the PSAL’s leading scorer. “Hats off to you today, you came to play. Now it’s back to work on Monday,” said O’Connor to his semi-finalist Railsplitter team. For those semi-finals, Lincoln will visit familiar rival number 2 seed Erasmus, while Staten Island’s number one seed Curtis will host last season’s 2015 PSAL’s champs, number 7 seed Grand Street on Saturday November 26. Photos courtesy of Robert Cavaliere Leo Walsh with the help of the “Rocket” put an end to Jack “Sure Thing” Lally’s charge. Photo by Jim Dolan The PSAL’s top scorer Naim Coakley eludes the Pirate defense to score one of his two touchdowns in Lincoln’s 32-14 quarterfinal win over Tottenville.
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