Last week the 1-5 Fort Hamilton Tigers visited the 0-6 Engineers of Brooklyn Tech for the final game of the 2022 regular season. Eager to get their second win, the Tigers quickly scored first on a 35-yard pass play from Mark Kiss to Charles Kitsakos. Anxious to salvage their winless season, the Engineers quickly answered to take a 7-6 lead as Jackson Janes found Ronen Zinder on a 10-yard pass in the end zone to end the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Fort Hamilton’s “K-Connection” struck again as Kiss connected with Kitsakos on a 55-yard pass play to take a 14-7 lead. After pushing the Tigers back to their own 10-yard line on a punt, a swarming Tech defense forced Julian Lopez to fumble on a handoff. Tech’s Matan Abir then pounced on the ball for a short touchdown run to tie the game at 14-14. With the first half coming to a close, Lopez quickly redeemed himself as he picked off a Tech pass for a 35-yard touchdown return to give the Tigers a 20-14 lead at the half.
In the third quarter, the Tech offense drove down to the Tigers’ 20-yard line, threatening to take the lead until a leaping August Porter intercepted in the corner of the end zone to end the Engineers’ threat. After a scoreless third quarter, the Tigers made a sustained drive in the fourth quarter to ensure the win. Following a critical fourth-down measurement at the Engineers’ four-yard line for a first down, Kitsakos ran the rest of the way for his third touchdown of the game for the Tigers’ 26-14 win.
After the game, the “K-Connection” was honored as junior quarterback Mark Kiss and senior running back Charles Kitsakos celebrated the last game that they would play together. Their eight-year association goes back to their Parkville Pee Wee League days. In his best game of the season, Kiss made nine pass completions on 11 attempts for 162 yards with two touchdowns. In addition to Kitsakos’ three-touchdown game, he was honored as the Tigers’ top offensive player of the season. Over the course of six games, Kitsakos scored 13 touchdowns and led the team in pass receptions (398 yards), rushing (390 yards) and overall yardage (878 yards).