Fort Hamilton narrowly missed out on a top-four seed in the playoffs, making it the team none of the big four want to play in the postseason.
Fort Hamilton has come the closest to beating the two teams everyone else struggles against — Grand Street and Tottenville. In fact, those heavy hitters were the only ones to topple the Tigers. Fort Hamilton fell to unbeaten Grand Street, which was down quarterback Sharif Legree-Harris, by four points in the game’s last play and lost to perfect Tottenville by nine after holding a fourth-quarter lead.
It’s should be no surprise the No. 5-seeded team is still a contender, but there is plenty of uncertainty. No. 6 Erasmus Hall has lost two straight home games and No. 7 Port Richmond lost to its first round opponent Curtis in the regular season. New Utrecht is up first for Fort Hamilton, and coach Danny Perez’s team handed it a 20–0 loss two weeks ago.
Fort Hamilton can reach the semifinals and beyond because, the squad boasts a balanced offense that includes a ball-controlling running game, two of the best play-makers in the city (Troy Booker and Seba Nekhet), and a defense that can force turnovers. Quarterback Connor Fitzsimons has also done a good job retaining possession — he has thrown eight touchdown passes but just two interceptions.
The team has what it takes to pull off playoff upsets against likely quarterfinal opponent Lincoln and possibly Grand Street in the semis.
And Booker is the key, because, with his speed, he can wreck a game all by himself. The senior running back is the league’s fourth most productive rusher, netting 1,060 yards and 18 touchdowns in just 100 carries — an average of 10.6 yards per carry with only one fumble to his credit.
Secure, explosive running like that wins a lot of games, and Booker is also a special teams threat who can convert kicks and punts into pay dirt.
Nekehet is a bit of a wild card. The junior is heir to Booker’s workload next season, but he should be even more of game-changing force right now.
Nekehet is excellent at churning out extra yards after the catch, but he has only caught 17 passes for 335 yards this season for an average 19.7 yards per grab. Turning a few more targets into big plays could go a long way to opening up even more running room for Booker.
And it would be remiss to talk about Fort Hamilton without a nod to senior linebacker Jayson Magnani. Afterall, he’s only led the city in tackles with 107 and has an interception and fumble recovery to boot.
He’s just another reason why it wouldn’t be surprising to see Fort Hamilton on the field at Yankee Stadium — even hoisting the championship trophy. All the pieces are there for the Tigers. The road is not easy, but Fort Hamilton has proven it can play with anyone.
And that’s why no one should want to play them.
