By John Torenli
From every indication given by nearly every local media outlet — including this column space — sophomore quarterback Wayne Morgan had virtually no shot of standing behind center for Erasmus’ playoff opener last Sunday afternoon against visiting Midwood in an all-Brooklyn first-round playoff matchup.
Hampered by a heavily bruised but not broken right wrist suffered during a regular season-ending loss at Totenville, the second-year signal-caller could have taken the Dutchmen’s first postseason contest off in order to heal for this week’s second-round matchup with red-hot Sheepshead Bay.
But then again, second-ranked Erasmus might not be playing its second straight showdown with a borough rival if Morgan hadn’t decided to suit up and lead the Dutchmen into battle against the Hornets.
“He’s a warrior,” coach Danny Landberg said after watching Morgan dismantle Midwood for 143 rushing yards, including a 60-yard touchdown scamper, on only eight carries as Erasmus (9-1) advanced to the next round with a gritty 28-12 triumph on its home field.
Landberg, who was non-committal at best regarding Morgan’s playing status last week, couldn’t have asked for more from his undisputed offensive leader.
Morgan, who completed only 1-of-2 passes for 14 yards, helped pace a 324-yard rushing attack for the Dutchmen, who will now turn their attention toward a Sheepshead Bay squad which pulled out a dramatic 34-28 triumph over Staten Island’s Wagner High School on Sunday.
Sophomore running back Shaquell Jackson amassed 130 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries for Erasmus, which will face its toughest test of the season against coach Fred Snyder’s Sharks (7-3).
Senior quarterback Deejay White’s 12-yard TD run with just under two minutes remaining capped a 10-play, 80-yard drive as Sheepshead Bay punched its ticket to Saturday’s quarterfinal affair at Erasmus Field.
The Sharks and Dutchmen have not met this year, but either will be a strong representative for Brooklyn in the P.S.A.L.’s Final Four.
Of course, the lone remaining unbeaten team in the Championship Division, top-ranked Fort Hamilton, continued its quest for a third city title this decade by dismantling Grand Street Campus, 42-6, in Bay Ridge on Sunday.
The Tigers’ talented trio of Alton “A.J.” Richardson, Frank Laino and Brandon Reddish each contributed to Fort Hamilton’s 10th consecutive victory dating to last year’s championship game loss to Port Richmond at Midwood Field.
Richardson collected 136 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries; Laino completed all six of his passes for 82 yards and a score, and Reddish returned a kickoff 70 yards for a TD as the Tigers (10-0) racked up more than 400 yards of total offense while surrendering only 133.
Fort Hamilton will now take on ninth-ranked Lincoln this Saturday in a rematch of the Brooklyn schools’ Oct. 17 matchup, which the Tigers won, 29-8, at the Lafayette Athletic Complex in Bensonhurst.
Though the final score may suggest a blowout, the Tigers went blow-for-blow with the Railsplitters before pulling away with two fourth-quarter touchdowns in what coach Vincent Laino’s dubbed Fort Hamilton’s, “toughest game of the year.”
Lincoln (7-3), which recovered from the loss to the Tigers by ripping off back-to-back wins to cap the regular season, kept its momentum going with a 28-6 triumph over Brooklyn Tech in its playoff opener.
Junior quarterback Andrew Vital ran for 164 yards and two touchdowns and also threw a TD pass as the Railsplitters readied for their rematch with the Tigers.
Senior tailback Douglas Butler spearheaded a dominant Lincoln ground game with 177 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries against the Engineers (6-4), who had a strong season under first-year coach Kyle McKenna.
In the other playoff matchups from last weekend: Tottenville derailed defending champion Port Richmond’s repeat hopes with a 33-30 home win; Clinton edged Flushing, 22-19; Curtis topped Lehman, 24-8; Campus Magnet eliminated New Utrecht, 26-14.
In other local high school sports news, the Brooklyn Friends School continues to draw interest for its upcoming two-hour documentary on the 2003 Class C State Championship Boys’ Varsity Basketball Team.
The school’s athletic director, David Gardella, and BFS tech department member Andy Cohen, had the forethought to document the team’s run to the state championships in Glens Falls, N.Y., paving the way for the development of the film, which will have its premiere at the Downtown school in two weeks.
“We knew we were onto something special, and we were very excited,” recalled Gardella, who was a first-year AD when the Blue Pride made its Cinderella run through the ACIS championships by knocking off No. 1 Poly Prep and No. 2 Horace Mann.
The Pride, anchored by star forward Kyle Neptune and guided by coach Vladimir Malukoff, stunned Cathedral Prep and Buffalo City Honors upstate to complete one of the more improbable championship seasons, considering the modest size of the school and lack of emphasis on athletics.
“I filmed the whole trip [to Glens Falls] and all of our experiences,” noted Gardella, who caught up with several of the team’s players nearly five years.
“I got things organized and interviewed all the players and then Andy and I have been working on this project for the last two years editing and putting it together on our time, late nights, weekends, summer, etc.”
The hard work the two put in will be on display Monday, Nov. 23, following BFS’ Boys’ Varsity game against the visiting Garden School on Pearl Street.
For information, call the school at (718) 852-1029.
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Just a reminder, though -- It’s not considered polite to paste the entire story on your blog. Most blogs post a summary or the first paragraph,( 40 words) then post a link to the rest of the story. That helps increase click-throughs for everyone, and minimizes copyright issues. So please keep posting, but not the entire article. arturc at att.net
