Tiger homecoming to celebrate 2005 and 2006 championships

In 1990, Coach Vince Laino came to Fort Hamilton H.S. to start a new football program after several years as an assistant coach to the legendary Moe Finkelstein (202-57-3) at Thomas Jefferson H.S.

Starting in his third year as head coach, Laino won two PSAL Division B Championships with a perfect undefeated record of 20-0 for the 1992-1993 seasons. Playing in the A Division, the team reached its pinnacle in 2005 when they beat 12-1 powerhouse Herbert Lehman H.S. by the score of 46-22 for their first PSAL Division A Championship. That year the Tigers also went 12-1 and were led by sophomore quarterback Jeff Legree, who eventually went on to play professional football in Europe. 

In 2006, the Tigers topped their previous record and went undefeated (13-0) to win the championship again by beating a 12-1 Curtis H.S. team. In that game, Fort Hamilton shut out Curtis 28-0 on Antonio Walcott’s three touchdown runs along with Legree’s lone score. From that roster, safety Jaiquawn Jarrett went on to star at Temple University and played for the New York Jets in 2014. Receiver Keith Stroud played for Rutgers University and lineman Sal Astuto returned to teach at Fort Hamilton and to coach the JV team.

From 2007 to 2009, the Tigers fell short of a title in the playoffs as Laino retired and handed the reins over to Fort Hamilton 1997 grad Dan Perez in 2010. Perez, a two-way Tiger lineman, acted as an assistant to Laino right up to his head coach appointment in 2010. In his rookie season, Perez managed the Tigers to a 13-0 undefeated season where they went on as the PSAL’s first finalists to play for the championship at Yankee Stadium. Meeting Lincoln, the other undefeated Brooklyn finalist, the Tigers beat the Railsplitters in a hard-fought 8-6 contest for the title.