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By Joseph Staszewski
Brooklyn Daily
Timothy Bowers cried twice in the final moments of the same game, but for completely different reasons.
The South Shore junior thought he cost his team its perfect season and a chance for second straight Public School Athletic League Bowl conference city football title when his interception allowed rival Grady to set up a potential game-winning field goal in the final seconds of regulation in a rematch of last year’s title game.
“I thought we lost,” Bowers said. “I was crying. My head was down.”
But then teammate Elijah Watkins blocked the kick to force overtime. Grady managed just a field goal on its possession and Bowers made sure it wasn’t enough.
He ran 6 yards untouched into the end zone to give the top-seeded Vikings a thrilling 20–17 semifinals win over visiting No. 6 Grady on Sunday afternoon. The emotions overcame him even before he crossed the goal line.
“When I saw that space and room I just started crying before I even hit it,” Bowers said.
Vikings coach Matt Ciquera took the blame for putting his team in that situation. He called for a half back option pass on third down from his 17-yard line that Keanu Mouchette intercepted at the 35 and ran back to help set up a potential 23-yard field goal by Grady’s Marckenson Desgrottes for the win.
Watkins told his teammates and coaches he wasn’t going to let the season end that way. He rushed straight up the middle and batted down the kick. It was the second field goal block of the game for the Vikings (11–0).
“I was not going to let that be our last snap,” Watkins said.
South Shore was in control for much of the game. It went up 8–0 on the final play of the first quarter when Darrius Nichols (7-of-14, 142 yards) connected with Equan Yunus for a 19-yard touchdown pass over the middle on fourth down. Bowers ran in the extra point.
Grady (7–4), which lost the regular season meeting just 8–0, got on the board when Keith Dyer hauled in a 41-yard pass from Alex Adams (8-for-12, 133 yards) that was tipped in the end zone.
The Vikings built off its 8–6 half-time lead when Bowers hauled in a 38-yard touchdown pass to make it 14–6 with 4:26 to go in the third quarter. Grady got even when Dyer and Adams connected for an 11-yard score and Lawrence Albert recovered a fumbled two-point conversion in the end zone. Dyer made four catches for 100 yards.
The back and forth was typical of games between the two teams.
“I felt from the beginning that Grady was going to be one of the toughest competitors for us,” Ciquera said. “I was praying we did have to see them at all in the playoffs.”
Falcons coach Andrew Jashyn was not sure his club could get this far when the year began. A 0–3 start made it less likely, but Grady rattled off six straight wins after that and nearly pulled the upset to get back to the final.
“Last year’s team was the better-talent team, but this is the biggest-heart team,” Jashyn said.
South Shore showed plenty of grit as well, and is a win away from claiming another city title. It faces No. 2 McKee-Staten Island Tech at 12:30 p.m. at Springfield Gardens in the championship game
“We did it last year for our senior group,” Nichols said. “This year we are going to do it for the seniors and the freshman and the sophomores, whoever is on the team. We are going to do it for us.”