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By Joseph Staszewski
Brooklyn Daily
Fort Hamilton saw things unravel fast in the opening round of the Public School Athletic League City conference playoffs.
The No. 10-seeded Tigers football team was in a tight game with host No. 7 Kennedy for most of the first half, only to see things slip away in an eventual 36–18 defeat last Saturday. The Knights scored 28 points in the second quarter, including 20 in the final 2:30 of the frame to take a 28–6 lead into the half.
“We were in the game, back and forth, and all of a sudden we were down three touchdowns,” said Fort Hamilton coach Danny Perez. “I was like, ‘What the heck just happened?’ ”
The Tigers led 6–0 early in the second quarter. Sharif Legree connected with Mohammed Masoud for an 11-yard touchdown. But poor tackling and a massive Knights offensive line quickly undid Fort Hamilton (5–5).
Kennedy (7–3) soon got scoring runs of 15 and 48 yards for Caine Caldwell, to go up 14–6 with 2:25 remaining in the half. The game spiraled out of the Tigers’ control from there.
Legree, who had 197 yards of total offense, fumbled on the first play from scrimmage. Kennedy, win of five straight, recovered and, a play later, Demetrius Davis ran for a 40-yard touchdown. The Knights recovered the ensuing onside kick. Caldwell scampered in from 13 yards out to put Kennedy up three scores four plays later.
“That really killed our momentum,” Tigers running back Isaiah Washington said of the half’s final touchdown.
Perez chose to ride Washington, who is nursing multiple minor injuries, in the second half. The senior, who had been limited to carrying the ball in recent weeks, broke a 58-yard touchdown run down the left side to get Fort Hamilton within 28–12. Washington carried the ball 14 times for 102 yards.
But Kennedy answered right back with a 3-yard touchdown run from quarterback Anthony Cruz. Legree added a 4-yard score in the fourth quarter for the Tigers.
“We kept fighting back,” Perez said. “I’m proud of the boys the way they fought back. They didn’t give up, got couple of touchdowns in the second half. It sets us up for the future.”
The season was a step forward nonetheless for Fort Hamilton, which won just two games in its injury-plagued 2012 campaign. It started 5–1 before losing its last four games. In the Tigers’ eyes, it was still a successful season with a young squad.
“It was a long ride, but we stepped it up,” Washington said. “Coming off last year, we showed people we can still compete.”