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By Joseph Staszewski
Brooklyn Daily
The championships rolled into Brooklyn again this year. So which teams were the cream of the crop?
Our sports editor Joseph Staszewski ranked the Top 10 Brooklyn high school teams regardless of sports for the 2013–14 season. The squads were selected keeping in mind their level of dominance in their sport, the level and difficulty of any title won, the historic nature of its season and quality of their overall year. Here is how the teams stacked up:
1. Abraham Lincoln football (13–0)
The Railsplitters were the unquestioned king of New York City football. The senior-heavy roster, which included All-American Thomas Holley, won the school’s second undefeated Public School Athletic League City Conference football title in three years with a heart-stopping win over Tottenville in the final. Lincoln outscored opponents 178–72 in the playoffs.
2. Poly Prep baseball (21–3)
Poly Prep completed its seniors’ goal and made history by becoming the first team to win four-straight private school state titles. The Ivy League champs sported the city’s deepest roster and were arguably its most consistent team all season. The gritty Blue Devils will continue to reach new heights.
3. Xaverian baseball (20–5)
The Clippers put together one of the most memorable playoff runs in Catholic High School Athletic Association history en route to their first crown since 2011. Xaverian won seven elimination games and beat Archbishop Molloy twice in the same day to bring home the title. What first looked like a rebuilding year turned into a championship campaign.
4. Bishop Loughlin boys’ basketball (23–6)
A Catholic High School Athletic Association Class AA intersectional championship eluded the Lions as they fell to Christ the King for the second-straight year in the final. But Loughlin did shellac the Royals to claim the school’s first Brooklyn-Queens crown since 2008 behind 42 points from league most valuable player Khadeen Carrington.
5. Abraham Lincoln boys’ basketball (26–4)
Lincoln and star Isaiah Whitehead’s season didn’t end with a Public School Athletic League Class AA city title as was expected, but there was no better team in the city until its loss to Jefferson in the city semifinals. The Railsplitters won the Brooklyn borough crown, blew out league opponents all season and also had national champion Montverde on the ropes.
6. Fort Hamilton girls’ volleyball (19–0)
The Tigers won a second-straight Public School Athletic League Class B title, and proved that Fort Hamilton can hold its own against the city’s Class A teams. Fort Hamilton earned non-league wins over Class A runner up Midwood, semifinalist Susan Wagner and, Fontbonne Hall, and Poly Prep. A promotion next year is deserved.
7. Medgar Evers Track and Field
Call it the “Year of the Cougars” on the track. The Medgar Evers’s boys’ and girls’ teams swept both Public School Athletic League indoor and outdoor titles in unprecedented fashion. The rest of the city has to catch them after the girls’ team surpasses powerhouse Cardozo and the boys have finally leaped over Jefferson and Boys and Girls.
8. South Shore Football (12–0)
The Vikings fully announced themselves as a program on the rise. South Shore won its second-straight Public School Athletic League Bowl Division title — this time in convincing fashion, with a 34–12 victory over McKee-Staten Island Tech. The successive crowns and an undefeated season earned the Brooklyn program a move up to the top division next year.
9. Poly Prep Wrestling (13–2)
Poly Prep has long been one of New York City’s top programs, but the Ivy League championship had long eluded it. The Blue Devils ended the drought by winning the division crown for the first time since 2000 as well as the private school state title. Noah Malamut, Lenny Merkin, and Roman Accetta all took home state crowns in their respective weight classes.
10. Brooklyn Community Arts and Media boys’ basketball (30–1)
Brooklyn Community was the only Brooklyn basketball team to bring home a city title. The Lions got 14 points from center Christopher Benjamin in a 47–44 victory over defending champion Fannie Lou Hamer in the Public School Athletic League Class B final. The win eased the pain of past playoff losses for coach Lawanda Greene and the Lions.
Honorable mention:
Bishop Kearney girls’ basketball
Brooklyn Tech boys’ swimming
Poly Prep football
Poly Prep boys’ soccer
St. Edmund girls’ soccer
St. Edmund softball