Fort Hamilton beats FDR to advance in standings

This week the surging 5-1 Fort Hamilton Tigers hosted the 1-5 FDR Cougars in a rare Friday afternoon game just before the NYC Marathon. Having beaten Brooklyn Tech last week to jump into second place, the Tigers were facing a “trap game,” where they were heavily favored to win against a team eager to get their second win of the season.

On its first possession, the Tiger offense came out strong as QB Aidan Farley drove his team down to the FDR end to connect with Aiden Porter for a 24-yard pass for the first score of the game. The Cougars answered right back as QB Benjamin Harris drove down to the Fort Hamilton 20 yard line, where his team was prevented from scoring on four downs by captain Tim Tan (eight tackles and a sack) and the Tiger defense.    

Leading by 6-0 to start the second quarter, Adem Mehmedovic recovered a fumble that set up a 44-yard Manny King touchdown run. King then followed his first score with a 16-yard slice into the end zone to give the Tigers a 22-0 lead at the half.  

With the score still standing at 22-0 in the middle of the third quarter, Tiger coach Dan Perez inserted this season’s flourishing two-way sophomore player Tom O’Neill at running back. The substitution paid off as lineman Jayden Roman connected with a block to set O’Neil free to score after his reception. On his 17-yard pass play, O’Neill scored his first varsity touchdown to increase the lead to 28-0.

In the fourth quarter, the Tigers took advantage of a short punt that August Porter returned for a 60-yard touchdown return to increase the score to 36-0. With time running out, King capped off his two-touchdown game with an interception that ended the game. In addition to his two touchdowns, King rushed for 125 yards as the Tigers’ featured running back.

After the game, the Tigers and their supporters were treated to a pizza and taco snack from Mancini’s Pizzeria and Taco Loco that was hosted by Tiger fan Councilman Justin Brannan. For next week’s last game of the regular season, the 6-1 second-seeded Tigers will host the 6-1 fourth-seeded Knights of Franklin K. Lane to decide the final seeding for the playoffs.