By Marc RaimondiErasmus Hall had its perfect season ruined last Friday night in a 21-8 loss at Tottenville in PSAL City Championship division football. But, with the playoffs this weekend, the Dutchmen have bigger problems.
Sophomore quarterback/safety Wayne Morgan, one of the most highly touted players in New York City, injured his wrist in the second quarter and never returned under center. He did play the rest of the game on defense. Coach Danny Landberg feared the worst.
“I think it might be broken,” he said.
The speedy Morgan will almost certainly be questionable for Erasmus Hall’s first-round playoff game next Sunday, but the chances of him playing quarterback again this season are slim to none, Landberg said.
The Dutchmen (8-1) do have Omari Matthews, who has split time with Morgan all year, and he did a yeoman’s job against Tottenville (7-2), leading Erasmus Hall’s lone scoring drive with two long runs. But the loss of Morgan sent shockwaves throughout the locker room at halftime.
“Psychologically, of course it hurt,” Landberg said. “He makes things out of nothing.”
The coach was down after the loss, but feared something like this could happen in front of a raucous crowd on Tottenville’s Homecoming. For three straight weeks, the Dutchmen had close wins against inferior opponents.
“We haven’t been tested like this in awhile,” Landberg said. %u2026 “They just beat the [heck] out of us. They just played tougher.”
The loss, he said, could be a positive, perhaps a wake-up call for his kids. Erasmus came into the week second behind Fort Hamilton in the Championship division standings and Landberg doesn’t figure that will change.
“We’re in the same place we were before the game,” Landberg said.
With one caveat: the Dutchmen could be without their best offensive playmaker the rest of the way.
