See this story at BrooklynDaily.com.
By Joseph Staszewski
Brooklyn Daily
Bishop Ford was more upset with its poor execution than the questionable spot on the game’s final play.
Falcons’ receiver Rodney Gonzales battled Hayes corner McCoy Scott for a pass over the middle on fourth down with Ford trailing by six and 20 seconds left to play. The referees ruled it a simultaneous catch, but spotted the ball a yard and half short of a first down at the Cardinals 20-yard line. Gonzales thought he’d gotten more.
“I knew I had the first down,” he said. “I wasn’t sure I had the ball, but the ref told me we had the ball. So it was a first down.”
Instead, it was just one of many good drives Ford left unfinished in a tough 18–12 loss to Cardinal Hayes in Catholic High School Football League action on Saturday night at Aviator Sports Complex. The Falcons saw two key drives stall. Quarterback James Esposito (10 of 20, 175 yards) was picked off twice, including on fourth down in the end zone after Ford started first and goal from the six.
“The game shouldn’t have came down to that,” Ford coach Jim Esposito said of the final play. “If we pushed it in when we had to push it in, we would have been fine.”
The Falcons (1–1, 0–1) held a 12–6 lead early in the second quarter. Running back Dante Aiken (22 carries, 150 yards) got them on the board by taking a screen pass down the left sideline 72 yards for a touchdown on the final play of the first quarter. On the ensuing Hayes drive, Jevon Smith intercepted a pass from Juan Cruz and returned it 64-yards for a score to give the Falcons their only lead early in the second quarter.
Hayes (1–0, 1–0) tied the score at 12–12 on a 1-yard touchdown run from running back Tim Poindexter, who rushed for 111 yards, with 5:56 left in the second quarter. The Cardinals went ahead for good on another 1-yard scoring run from Poindexter with 1:00 to go in the third.
James Esposito looked like he was going to lead a potential game-winning drive on Ford’s final possession. He connected with Gonzales (seven catches, 91 yards) five times for 45 yards on the drive to bring his team from its own 15 to the Hayes 20, but they fell just short.
Ford put them blame on its own shoulders for letting a winnable game get away even before the final drive.
“We killed ourselves,” Jim Esposito said. “When you are inside the 10-yard line two or three times and you come out with nothing, that’s a big issue. The last play that goes either way.”