The game at hand seemed rather meaningless for Sheepshead Bay for about 25 minutes in the second half.
Senior Paul Fyffe, an impact player on offense, defense, and special teams, was face down on the turf at Port Richmond, motionless. He was hit hard with his head down on a PR kick return and, for awhile, had no movement in his legs.
“It was kind of scary,” Sheepshead Bay running back Devontai Carlie said after a tough, 26-20 loss to the Red Raiders on Saturday in PSAL City Championship division football. “He’s one of our best players. He’s a team leader.”
Fyffe was taken off the field on a stretcher as his teammates, coaches and the school’s cheerleaders gathered by his side. Fyffe was moving his limbs as EMTs loaded him into an ambulance and rushed him to a nearby hospital. Coach Fred Snyder said everyone was just taking precautions and Fyffe would have an MRI.
“I think he’ll be fine,” he said.
Just minutes earlier, Fyffe had drawn Sheepshead (4-3) within 20-14 on a 75-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. On the next series, though, Port Richmond (3-4) drove down the field and Rob Schroeder’s 9-yard touchdown run made it 26-14.
The Sharks still had some life. Kalan Smith scored on a 2-yard touchdown with 4:02 left in to make it 26-20. The big play of the series was quarterback Deejay White’s 25-yard scamper on 4th-and-4. Sheepshead stopped PR on the ensuing possession and had a chance to tie, starting a series at its own 8-yard line with 1:24 left. But the Red Raiders held strong and picked up their second straight win.
“I knew [the Red Raiders] were a good team coming in,” Snyder said. “I don’t know if the kids believed it.”
The coach was worried that his players would overlook the below-.500 defending PSAL city champions. Whether that was the case or not, the Sharks turned in what Carlie called their worst performance of the season. They couldn’t move the ball against the PR defense and the Red Raiders piled up 379 yards on the ground against the usually stout Sheepshead defense.
“Underestimated them? Yeah we did,” Carlie said.
One questionable call raised Snyder’s ire in the third quarter. Corneh muffed a punt return and the ball rolled into the Port Richmond end zone. It looked like Sheepshead Bay recovered it for a touchdown, but referees ruled it a touchback and gave the Red Raiders the ball. The Sharks trailed, 12-8, at the time.
“I don’t think that was right,” Snyder said.
The coach protested the game, but he isn’t sure if anything will come of it. Sheepshead, which looked so good in reeling off four straight wins after starting the season 0-2, loses playoff positioning with the defeat
“Starting today, everybody has to come together as a team, as one,” Carlie said.
