Fort Hamilton has practically ensured a new Public School Athletic League football champion.
The Tigers surged to a 40–28 victory over two-time defending City Conference champion Abraham Lincoln with a powerful second half in Coney Island on Nov. 21. It is Fort Hamilton’s first semifinal appearance since 2011, and coaches couldn’t be prouder.
“Our kids really rose to the occasion, I’m really proud of them,” Fort Hamilton coach Danny Perez said.
Fort Hamilton jumped ahead on its first drive of the second half. Lincoln struck back with a rushing touchdown from Faruq Shittu, but the Tigers grabbed control for good after that.
Lincoln missed a golden opportunity midway through the third quarter. Fort Hamilton failed to get a punt off, and the Railsplitters recovered the ball at Fort Hamilton’s 10, but The Tigers’ defense denied the team a third and fourth down from the one-yard line. That may have sealed the deal for Lincoln, the coach said.
“The change in the momentum happened when we didn’t score on that at the one-yard line,” Lincoln coach Shawn O’Connor said. “Two shots to score, we didn’t get it and they went 99 yards. You’ve got to punch it in.”
Fort Hamilton’s offense fed off the goal-line stand and took the lead back and for good. An 11-play, 99-yard drive capped by Connor Fitzsimons’ 27-yard touchdown pass to Ayorinde Idowu gave the Tigers a 32–28 advantage early in the fourth quarter.
Fitzsimons lead three Tigers touchdown drives in the first two quarters and a go-ahead score early in the third. Booker scored twice on the ground before the break — when his team turned it up even more.
“All we had got to do is finish,” Fitzsimons said. “That’s what we did when we went into halftime. We just have to finish, make sure we keep the lead, and we’ll win.”
The Tigers again made a big play on defense, forcing a fumble by Lincoln quarterback Jordan Hannah that Josh Duke recovered — his second takeaway of the day. Booker scored his third touchdown of the game on the ensuing possession to extend the lead.
Fort Hamilton was in position to win because it kept pace with Lincoln’s (8–3) high-powered offense in the first half. The Railsplitter led just 21–18 at the break. The Tigers, who blew fourth-quarter leads in both of its losses, out-scored Lincoln 24-7 over the final two quarters. It showed it can close out a big game, Booker said.
“Everybody doubted us, everybody said we weren’t a second-half team, but we proved them wrong,” he said. “We had to step up to the occasion, come out and be a second half team.”
The Tigers host No. 6 Erasmus Hall in the final at noon on Nov. 28.
