Since August Martin High School (Queens, N.Y.) football head coach Kyle Allen restarted the program in 2018, the Falcons played without a home field. A true warrior squad, indeed.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Friday night marked the first time August Martin suited up on its own home field in a long time, and the team did not disappoint its raucous fans. Behind five interceptions, the Falcons edged Petrides, 20-14, to run their Public School Athletic League (PSAL) 1A Conference record to 3-0.
But Allen said this 2026 August Martin squad is built different, erasing the past disappointments, and turning them into wins, with the defense, among other factors, providing the glue to its success thus far this year.
“I always say we played the tale of two halves,” Allen explained. “We came out swinging. We were controlling the line of scrimmage; we were running the ball pretty much at will. We had some open receivers. Nooa (Allen) was throwing good balls; The receivers weren’t finishing. That kind of hurt us. We had a dropped touchdown in the corner of the end zone. Just those types of things, and you let teams like Petrides linger, eventually, you’ll lose those games.
“But these are the games in the past we would have lost,” he continued. “This group of kids found a way to stay consistent and win the game. Our defense kept us from falling apart.”
Junior running back Kaziem Burroughs opened the scoring on 28-yard touchdown run, and the Falcons followed with a successful two-point conversion play for an 8-0 advantage 1:33 into the second quarter.
Junior Michael Glasgow hit paydirt on a one-yard TD rush to push the score to 14-0 midway through the second period.
With the Panthers moving the ball down field, Glasgow intercepted the pass and returned it to 31 to thwart their scoring attempt.
August Martin’s defense picked up its second pickoff of the tilt to turn aside Petrides again near the end of the first half.
With the Panthers in the redzone, senior Lebron Fisher victimized senior quarterback Travis Ortega with an interception, keeping the game at 14-0 early in the third quarter.
While the Falcons’ offense struggling to move the pigskin in the second half, their defense came through again, as Glasgow picked off the ball for a second time midway through the third period.
“It just felt like it was the right thing,” said Glasgow–who recorded two interceptions and a rushing touchdown–of playing before home fans. “It’s been so many years (since August Martin had a home game), and we finally get to show it to our school, what we can do. Plus, it felt great to get two interceptions. I saw it in the air and went and got the second one.”
However, after August Martin turned over the ball on downs, Petrides marched down the gridiron, and then cashed it in on an eight-yard touchdown rush to slice the deficit to 14-6 with 1:18 remaining in the third quarter.
But Fisher made another outstanding defensive play on a 56-yard pick-six to swell the score to 20-6 early in the fourth period. It turned out to be the game-winning play.
“Since freshman year, we’ve been trying to get these guys. It was about time,” said Fisher, who had five tackles, two pickoffs, a TD interception return. “Stuff comes full circle. It was Martin’s turn. We did what we had to do to get the job done.”
It did not take the Panthers long to work their way back into the contest, as they scored on their first play from scrimmage, a 48-yard rushing touchdown by sophomore Kaden Mangual. in the fourth period. The ensuing two-point run closed the gap at 20-14 midway through the fourth quarter.
After a Falcons’ punt, their defense forced a Petrides’ turnover-on-downs.
However, August Martin eventually punted the ball away, and its defense went to work, forcing the Panthers to punt.
The Falcons’ offense took over with 4:00 minutes left in the game. From there, August Martin gained a few first downs before taking a knee to secure the victory and thrill the crazed home crowd.
“It felt amazing,” Allen said of winning his first home game at the helm. “Coming out of the locker-room, that was one of the most emotional moments I had, to be able to just, one at a time, let my kids get introduced and hug them and watch them run out as people cheered for us. Feeling that hometown energy, band playing, the principal and everybody there; teachers there. It was just a wonderful experience.”
A little home cooking and a huge win will do just that: change the football culture at August Martin.
Burroughs rushed for a game-best 178 yards and a TD. He added six tackles on defense, while senior Keyan Howell made seven tackles in the triumph.
The Falcons face Adlai Stevenson Campus Sunday, October 11th at noon at a yet to be determined field.
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