Erasmus earns seventh PSAL Championship  

Fittingly, the first-seeded 10-0 Tottenville Pirates put their record on the line to host the second-seeded 9-1 Erasmus Dutchmen at Midwood Field for the PSAL’s 4A championship game Nov. 30.  For the Dutchmen, this would be a rematch of their sixth 2023 title win over the same Pirates in a very close 28-21 game.

With four previous championship appearances since their last 2003 title win, the Pirates appeared ready to end their 22-year championship drought. Having beaten Erasmus 38-35 in the regular season, the Pirates came into the game with the confidence that this could be their year.

The Pirates shocked everyone as Tyshawn Bent returned the opening kickoff for a 77-yard touchdown run straight up the middle on the rain-soaked field for the first score of the game. However, after the opening shocker, the Dutchmen gained control and began to turn things in their favor starting with a 10-yard run by Ameir Murray to end the first quarter at 7-7. The second quarter remained scoreless until Justus Murray picked up his own fumble and raced 17 yards to close out the first half for a 14-7 Erasmus lead.

In the second half, Murray scored again on a leaping 23-yard pass reception in the end zone to give the Dutchmen a substantial 21-7 lead. Regaining the ball, Tottenville quarterback Justin McGuire put together a drive from mid-field and scored himself on a four-yard plunge to narrow the Erasmus lead to 21-13. Nearing the end of the third quarter, Morrow would follow his blockers into the end zone on a five-yard sweep for his second touchdown to give the Dutchmen a 28-13 lead.

Needing two touchdowns to at least tie the score to begin the fourth quarter, McGuire brought the Pirates down to the six-yard line on fourth down, where an errant snap led to his sack back to the 13-yard line for a turnover on downs. McGuire continued to persist and engineered another drive that allowed his running back Dent to score on a two-yard push to cut the score to 28-20 with just 2:53 left in the game.

With his team separated by just one touchdown, Erasmus quarterback Kendu Brown brought his team down the field looking for an insurance score with the clock winding down. After entering Tottenville territory, Brown ran out of the pocket and found an opening to score on a 33-yard sweep to give the Dutchmen the much-needed two touchdown buffer at 34-20. With under a minute left, McGuire hurriedly connected with Nicholas Constantino on a 66-yard too-little-too-late “Hail Mary” that would make the final score 34-27 for the Dutchmen’s seventh PSAL championship.

Addressing his team after the game, Erasmus coach Danny Landberg said, “We were six-point underdogs for this game. You listened to your coaches and showed heart and fought hard today. Of all of our seven titles, I am most proud of this one. As great as this day is, don’t let this day be the greatest day of your life. Let the rest of your life be greater than this. Use this to remember how hard you have to work in life when it hits the fan.”