It was a game in which August Martin High School (Queens, N.Y.) football team desperately needed to win. But the Falcons struggled to mount any type of sustainable offensive, and repeatedly shot itself in the foot when it mattered most.
What resulted was a 13-0 shutout loss to host Petrides Saturday on Staten Island.
With the defeat, August Martin’s chances of making the Public School Athletic League (PSAL) 2A conference playoffs have begun to slip away, head coach Kyle Allen noted.
Allen said that the Panthers (3-3/4-3) did not do anything that was terribly difficult to figure out, but it came down to the Falcons (1-5/2-5) failing to execute and turning the ball over four times.
“It was a very winnable game. We had opportunities early on to go up, but we blew those opportunities,” Allen explained. “We had (other) opportunities, on two or three nice drives, but turned the ball over. We get to the red zone, but we miss wide open receivers. You don’t make plays, you don’t win. It’s that simple.”
Petrides struck first on a 22-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback David Lee, who completed six of eight passes for 86 yards and a TD, to junior Michael Giordano to put it ahead, 6-0, with less than three minutes left in the first half.
But the Falcons would have their opportunities. Driving down the field, however, they fumbled the ball, with Petrides recovering the pigskin at their own 31-yard line. But an unsportsmanlike penalty pushed the team back to the 11-yard line midway through the third quarter.
August Martin’s defense, which played well, held tight and forced the Panthers to punt the ball into the wind, which resulted in the Falcons started their drive with excellent field position at their own 19-yard line.
On third and goal inside the ten-yard line, August Martin snapped the ball high. Senior quarterback Henry Lancaster leaped up to snag the ball out of the air and brought it back down. But Lancaster failed to get off a play, as he was tackled back at the 14.
On the next play, with the Falcons needing to find the end zone, Lancaster missed an open receiver on fourth and goal, resulting in August Martin turning the ball over on downs with a little over seven minutes left in the contest.
After a few plays, Petrides made the Falcons pay for its costly mistake, as senior running back Ryan Alexander hit pay dirt on a 25-yard rush to extend its advantage to 13-0 with four minutes left in the tilt.
August Martin ended its final drive of the day with an interception, a microcosm of the game and season.
Alexander ran for a game-high 122 yards on 13 carries and a score for the Panthers.
The Falcons travel to Beach Channel Educational Campus Sunday at noon.
August Martin football picks up some yardage on a rush.
— Jerry Del Priore
NY NJ Sports World/Brooklyn Sports World 