Lincoln football reintroduces itself with huge win over Tottenville

September 8, 2014 By Rob Abruzzese Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Everyone knew about Paul Litvak’s arm going into Lincoln’s first game of the year, but he shocked everyone by running for more than 50 yards and two touchdowns in a big 28-6 victory over Tottenville in a PSAL championship game rematch.

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As Lincoln’s head coach Shawn O’Connor watched for his team’s reaction as a new banner was unveiled celebrating last season’s championship, he liked what he saw — nothing.

There was no celebrating, clapping or cheering coming from his players. As nice as it was to see the banner unveiled, the current players recognized that it represented last year’s team.

“We talked about the guys introducing themselves and starting off their legacy,” O’Connor said. “I really liked when the banner went up and the guys weren’t even cheering. We have to [unveil the banner] and I’m glad we did it, but it was good to see they weren’t cheering.

“Instead, they were focused and came out to show that they are a team to be dealt with.”

The new Railsplitters did a great job reintroducing themselves as they came away with a big 28-6 victory over Tottenville in Coney Island on Friday night. It was a rematch of last season’s championship game that Lincoln won with ease.

New quarterback Paul Litvak led the way with 107 yards passing and, surprisingly, 57 yards rushing, including two touchdowns. After the game, O’Connor said that he thought the game was a big confidence booster for his new quarterback, but joked that he needed to teach him to slide if he’s going to run so much.

“It felt great,” Litvak said after the game. “Last year, I had a great quarterback to learn from in Spanky (Javon Moore) and I’m coming out here not to try to fill his shoes; I want to fill my own shoes. It’s time to go out there and prove myself.”

Litvak led the charge as Lincoln jumped out to a quick start against Tottenville. Backup quarterback Roget O’Neill scored the first touchdown on a five-yard run midway through the first quarter. Litvak added a touchdown on a three-yard run at the end of the quarter and scored again to make it 20-0 early in the second quarter on a 13-yard run.

Prince Klutsey, a senior transfer from Holy Cross, also made a name for himself right away as he rushed for 93 yards, including a touchdown early in the second half that raised the team’s lead to 28-0. All three transfer students — Klutsey; Justice Seales, a receiver from Bishop Ford; and Romello Martin, also from Bishop Ford — had big first games at Lincoln.

“The kid Justice made a nice play today; he’s earning his way,” O’Connor said. “Nobody has given him anything. Prince, too, and Romello had a sack. They are here working hard. It’s not like they were given anything.”

The only time Tottenville scored in the game was on a 55-yard pass from quarterback Josh Rainey midway through the third quarter. Aside from that play, the defense did a great job shutting down the Pirates’ offense to close out the game strong.

“The last two times we played them we got out to fast starts and then let them back into the game,” O’Connor said. “So I was glad to see them finish strong the way they did.”

Lincoln has now won 14 games in a row, following a perfect 13-0 record last season. The team heads to Queens next week to take on Campus Magnet.