Grand Street’s passing attack finally took the air out of Erasmus Hall.
The Wolves scored three passing touchdowns in the fourth quarter to pull away for a 40–12 victory over the host Dutchmen Oct. 24 in Public School Athletic League City conference football.
Erasmus, which saw injured quarterback Aaron Grant play sparingly, was within 10 points heading into the final period. It was too close for Grand Street’s liking so it decided to do what it does best — throw the ball deep to its talented receivers.
Quarterback Sharif Harris-Legree threw three touchdown passes in the fourth to three different receivers: Ahmed Bah, Taysir Mack, and Rahmel Ashby.
“We wanted to make some adjustments,” Harris-Legree said. “We believe that our receivers are the best playmakers in the city.”
Grand Street, which was held scoreless in the third quarter, didn’t wait long to begin its barrage. On the second play of the fourth quarter, Sharif Legree fired deep and found Bah for a 48-yard touchdown, to push the lead to 24–6.
An interception by Dale Morris got Grand Street (8–0) the ball back again. It was the third pick off by junior quarterback Shockuone Bobbit for Grand Street on the day. Outside of the early touchdown, Erasmus (6–2) was unable to escape the pressure and close the gap.
Legree proceeded to fire deep again, this time to Mack for a 57-yard touchdown to push the lead to 32–6. Then, with four minutes left in the game, he tossed a shovel pass to Ashby for a 22-yard touchdown to cap the scoring.
“We realized that wasn’t us, the team that was playing,” Mack said. “Coaches were telling us why respect any [defensive back]? We have the best wide receivers in the Tri-State,”
Grand Street took the first lead about seven minutes into the game on a rushing touchdown by fullback Sha Mel Jones on fourth-and-goal at the one-yard-line. Erasmus responded with a one-yard touchdown on fourth down by Oniel Stanbury to tie the score at 6–6. Following a goal-line stand by the Dutchmen, Grand Street caused a safety when Angel Ortiz tackled Nelson Tyler in the end zone to regain the lead. Erasmus pushed it to 16–6 on a touchdown run by Ashby, plus the two-point conversion. The Wolves never let Erasmus get closer.
The victory keeps Grand Street tied with Tottenville atop the standings. The two teams do not play head-to-head in the regular season, so powerpoints will decide the top seed if both teams remain unbeaten. The Wolves proved just how good a team it is against E-Hall.
“Erasmus has been the big boys,” Grand Street head coach Bruce Eugene said. “The big brothers of the league, so it’s always good when the little brothers come in and beat up on the big brothers.”
