Undefeated Madison Knights advance to semi-finals

In the first round of the PSAL Bowl Division playoffs, the first-seeded 8-0 Madison Golden Knights hosted the eighth-seeded 5-3 Seagulls of McKee/Staten Island Tech. Just a week before, the Knights closed out their undefeated regular season with a 48-0 win over New Dorp in Staten Island, sealing the game early with three defensive touchdowns in the first half.

To open this quarterfinal playoff round, McKee started aggressively on the kickoff with a 10-yard onside kick for the Seagulls to make a quick recovery at midfield. After stealing the ball on the kickoff, the Seagulls were stopped at the Madison 35-yard line, where McKee eventually surrendered the ball on downs. Mounting a 65-yard scoring drive on Madison’s first possession, quarterback Amir Cameron connected on a 30-yard touchdown pass to a diving Mikai Johnson for an 8-0 first quarter lead.

In the second quarter, the Knights scored early with a slant pass over the middle that Nicholas Willensky carried 45-yards to the end zone. On defense, the Knights pushed the Seagulls deep into their own end for a safety as Chad Lynch forced McKee quarterback Karym Cruz to fumble the ball out of the end zone to give Madison a 16-0 lead to end the half.

To open the second half, Asim Martinez fumbled a pitch that led to a McKee recovery.  In turn, the Seagulls gave the ball right back on an interception by Jaylen Cooper. With the ball back in Madison’s possession, Miles Jackson rambled 15 yards to the 25-yard-line to set up the Knights’ next score. From the 25-yard line, Cameron connected with Damon Emmitt on a pass to the three-yard line that Jackson punched in for the score on the next play.

The Seagulls made one last push to score in the last minutes of play, but came up short when Johnson intercepted a pass on the final play of the game for the 24-0 Madison win. Recording their sixth shutout of the season, Madison now advances to the semi-final round, where they will host the fourth-seeded Eagle Academy II.