Fort Hamilton honors its first Tigers

September 23, 2022 Jim Dolan

Retired coach Vince Laino, center, with members of Fort Hamilton’s first varsity football team.

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During halftime of the Sept. 17 Midwood game, Fort Hamilton H.S. honored members of its inaugural team, which won back-to-back championships more than 30 years ago.

Football at Fort Hamilton started with a JV team in 1990. Then in 1991 the PSAL let the school expand to a JV and a varsity team, which went 4-5-1. With two years’ experience under the leadership of legendary coach Vince Laino, the fledging varsity went 10-0 in two straight seasons to win PSAL B championships in 1992 and 1993.

Laino also led the Tigers to championships in 2005 and 2006. He retired in 2009. Dan Perez, the present coach, succeeded him and led the 2010 team to a 13-0 record and to the first-ever PSAL Championship game to be held in Yankee Stadium.

This week the Tigers hosted their home opener against the Midwood Hornets. Midwood quarterback Dezmond Smith threw four touchdown passes in the first half and the Hornets led 32-0 at halftime. They padded the lead to 38-0 in the third quarter.

Fort Hamilton made a final push to get on the scoreboard. Quarterback Mark Kiss marched the Tigers down to the 2-yard line from his own 45. Using short passes to German Castelan and rushing plays up the middle with George Tuma, Kiss got the Tigers into scoring position. Hungry for at least one score, the offensive line opened the middle to allow Tuma to score his first varsity touchdown in the 38-6 loss.