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South Shore has proven to be among Brooklyn’s top football teams

October 15, 2014 By Rob Abruzzese Brooklyn Daily Eagle
As a sophomore, Jason Martin has already become one of the top quarterbacks in New York City and is a big reason that South Shore is a playoff team during its first year in the PSAL’s City Conference.
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South Shore head coach Matt Ciquera had a clear goal in mind after taking over the school’s football program three years ago: Turn it into one of the top high school football powerhouses in New York City.

The Vikings took a big step in doing just that last year when they went undefeated and won their second Bowl Division title in a row. This year, they took another big step by joining the City Conference, the top conference in the Public School Athletic League. On Sunday, South Shore proved it is among the best when it barely lost (14-12) to Erasmus Hall — currently the best team in New York City.

“We feel like we should have won this game,” Ciquera said. “It’s hard to take a loss when we felt like we could have won, but I’m really proud of the guys for going toe-to-toe with Erasmus. I think by now they’ve proven that we can play with any team in the city.”

Coming so close to victory was no fluke either. The Vikings were in the game for the entire 48 minutes and likely would have won if they had a kicker, as they got as close as the nine-yard-line in the final minute of the game.

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The next and final step for South Shore is to win a city title at Yankee Stadium. Challenging Erasmus Hall the way it did shows it might be close to ready for that step. However, as shown by the final four minutes of that game, the Vikings might need a little more experience at the top level first.

Over the last two seasons, South Shore dominated the Bowl Conference with authority.  Even last year’s final was a 34-12 blowout.

“We’ve been in tough games last year with Grady, but this year it’s been happening more,” running back Timothy Bowers said. “We don’t just blow teams out anymore, we have to really push through games. It’s important for us to learn from these experiences and get better.”

Jumping conferences tends to be a painful process for most teams — but South Shore has jumped well with starting off 4-2 this season. They have done this by focusing on other teams and staying determined on improving each week. Learning from their mistakes may be the team’s mantra.

“We focus on our mistakes,” Bowers said. “We can’t worry about if other teams are bigger or better than us. We pay attention to our mistakes and trying to make them better.”

Another reason for South Shore’s success at this level has been the plays of sophomore quarterback Jason Martin. Listed at 6-foot-2, Martin has thrown for more than 1,000 yards and 11 touchdowns throughout six games this year and is already one of the elite quarterbacks in the city. He has also rushed for 347 yards and a touchdown as he uses his large frame to barrel through defenders.

“He’s a big part of our offense,” Bowers said of Martin. “He runs over everybody. He’s big; he’s got an arm. He’s good for us because he gives us a chance to beat anyone we play every week.”

Martin being a sophomore is a good sign for South Shore — this allows them to prove that they’re not just a flash in the pan.

“This year has been a lot of fun,” Martin said. “It’s been a challenge, but we like being the underdogs; we like shocking people. If we keep working hard and keep improving, we won’t be the underdogs for long.”


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