Tigers celebrate a season of success  

On March 8 the Tigers of Fort Hamilton H.S. celebrated the efforts of their varsity and JV teams at their annual football awards banquet in the Fort Hamilton Army Base Community Center.

While each member of the program is honored, this year’s banquet also honored the accomplishment of the top-seeded 7-1 varsity team that won its division and made it back to the PSAL Division 3A Championship.

As explained by varsity head coach Dan Perez, Fort Hamilton’s teams are not only about playing a fall schedule, but a year-round program that teaches the life lessons of mental, emotional and physical toughness. Throughout the school year the student athletes are guided by “The Three H’s” – hard work, humility and a hunger to win.  

The first of the six major award-winners was two-way freshman player Jayden Pagan, who earned the JV’s MVP Award. Routinely, Pagan has played an important role for next season’s varsity team. This past season, he gave every indication of his varsity success as the JV’s top running back and the leading tackler at middle linebacker.

August Porter won the Coach’s Award as a four-year varsity senior. Porter was a two-way player at corner back and was the team’s leading receiver.

Senior Tim Tan won the Scholar Athlete Award by earning a 99.8 academic average.  Tan was also a two-way player who played guard and linebacker.

Playing alongside Tan on the offensive line was senior center Syed Qasim, who earned the Iron Man Award for his reliable blocking and sure snaps from center.

This season’s MVP Award went again to another two-way player, sophomore Trey Marshall, who starred as a defensive tackle and was the team’s leading rusher and scorer.

The evening’s most coveted honor went to senior quarterback Aidan Farley, who won the Heart and Soul Award. Farley set a winning tone for the Tigers over the past two seasons with a brilliant passing record as the top Division 3A quarterback. His performance brought the team back to the playoffs in 2023, and this season ended a 14-year drought that finally brought the team back to a championship appearance.

Looking forward to the summer, Farley will be leaving to go to Ottawa University in Arizona, where he will play on a football scholarship as the school’s lone freshman quarterback recruit.