Erasmus 34 South Shore 7
It was the 2018 PSAL championship football game that had been brewing all season as the first-seeded 11-0 South Shore Vikings took the field against the second seeded 10-1 Dutchmen from Erasmus Hall under the lights at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday evening, Dec. 4.
Earlier in the season, South Shore was the only team to beat Erasmus (20-12), and now was the time for payback, as well as another shot at the championship that just eluded the Dutchmen last season.
A championship would be redemption for the Erasmus team since the Dutchmen have lost to Curtis in the finals for the past two years, with the Warriors winning last year’s title game by just one point, 36-35.
Playing in their first championship game since 1978, the upstart undefeated Vikings put their 11-0 record on the line to play the perennial Dutchmen finalists who’ve made seven championship appearances at Yankee Stadium since 2011, including a PSAL championship in 2012.
Right from the first quarter, the Dutchmen took control of the game as Erasmus quarterback Jordan Armstead ran the ball to score on a 13-yard keeper.
Armstead then followed his touchdown with a perfectly thrown 35-yard pass to an outstretched Justin Bellido, who caught the ball with a one-handed grab in the end zone to put Erasmus ahead 14-0 at the end of the first quarter.
South Shore answered back in the second quarter as Darius Thompson drove the Vikings down to the four-yard line where he finished the drive on a quarterback sweep for the Vikings’ first score.
Unfortunately, that would turn out to be South Shore’s only score of the game as well as Thompson’s last play of the game due a left ankle sprain.
With Erasmus up 14-7 to begin the second half, the game appeared to still be up for grabs until the Dutchmen’s next possession that finished with a 30-yard scoring run by Andre Hines.
The junior running back further deflated South Shore’s hopes of going undefeated this season with another touchdown run for six yards to make the score 28-7 at the end of the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, the Dutchmen defense continued to dominate the Vikings, holding them scoreless until the end of the game.
A late quarter fumble recovery by Coby Callendar gave Erasmus the ball back in the “Red Zone” that Armstead converted for the last score of the game on a 13-yard pass to Andrew Thomas for the final score of 34-7.
Commenting on the win, Erasmus Coach Danny Landberg stated, “After they lost that game [to South Shore] they got better week by week and started trending. They didn’t blame anyone but themselves and fixed the problem and won a championship. I couldn’t be prouder of everybody. The coaches and players did such a great job.”