By Bob Stoll

 

BROWNS 13 EAGLES 7
 

The Browns rolled up an early lead and then survived a fourth-quarter scare as they defeated the Eagles, 13-7, in Minor Division action.
 

Before everyone had gotten settled in for the game, Tylor Martinez went coast to coast with the opening kickoff to put the Browns up, 6-0, just seconds into the game. Gianfranco “Torpedo” Pappalardi added the extra point. 
 

The game bounced back and forth, as neither team could generate much offense, but the Browns struck again late in the second quarter. This time the touchdown came through the air as Pappalardi hit Derek Hernandez with a 10-yard scoring strike for a 13-0 halftime lead.
 

The score remained the same until very late in the fourth quarter. With 2:47 left in the game, the Eagles’ Anthony Figueroa blocked a punt attempt to set the “Big Birds” up at the Browns’ 8 yard line. Three plays later, Matthew Sciarrone barged in from the 6 for the touchdown, while Jason Hockfeld added the extra point. The Eagles trailed by six at 13-7, but there was only 1:12 left on the clock. The Eagles tried an onside kick, but it was recovered by the Browns, who then successfully ran out the clock.   
 

For fans of defensive football, this was a beauty, as both Jonathan Hockfeld and Emanuel Ferreira registered fumble recoveries and Eric Torres had six solo tackles to pace the Eagles. Meanwhile, Nasser Maloley, Michael Correa and Shawn Claudio anchored a stingy Browns’ defensive squad that preserved the win.

 

VIKINGS 21 STEELERS 6
 

The Vikings broke open a close game with two second-half touchdowns as they defeated the Steelers, 21-6, in a recent Peewee Division clash.
 

Midway through the first half, the Vikings’ Matthew Rossetti put his team on the board on a 30-yard touchdown run down the right sideline. He also added the point-after for a 7-0 lead. The Steelers had a touchdown called back on a holding call, but right after the penalty call, they came back to drive all the way to the Vikings’ 1 yard line. 
 

A great goal-line stand turned a first-and-goal into a fourth-and-11 as Ryan Jimenez, Colin Trainor and Manny Aviles came up with key tackles to stop the “Steel Men.”
 

The Vikings scored again seven minutes into the second half, when Christopher Zullo raced 25 yards for the score. Rossetti added the extra point for a 14-0 lead. But that seemed to fire up the Steelers as they only took a little more than three minutes to score. Jack Ryan exploded for a 29-yard touchdown for the Steelers’ first points of the game, but when Jonathan Mendizabal stopped the extra-point attempt, the Steelers found themselves trailing, 14-6. 
 

Neither team scored on its next possession, but with time winding down in the game, the Vikings put together a long scoring drive with Zullo, Jason Porcaro and Nikolas Gargano marching the ball to the Steelers’ 2. From there, Rossetti scored his third touchdown of the game. Frank Scarpaci added the final point of the game as the Vikings now led, 21-6, with only 59 ticks of the clock left.  
 

The Steelers took the kickoff and drove the ball to the Vikings’ 21, but with no timeouts left, the drive ended with the sounding of the horn. Alex Gonzalez, Devin Belmer and Luciano DiPreta were the defensive standouts for the Steelers, while Michael Campo, Dallas Rivera and Daniel Lacata anchored the Vikings’ defense.