Bayside drops anchor on Fort Hamilton

November 8, 2022 Jim Dolan

Fort Hamilton’s Charles Kitsakos puts a hit on a Bayside defender to open a lane for Julian Lopez to run the ball around the right end.

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Looking for a win after a disappointing homecoming loss to Tottenville last weekend, the 1-3 Fort Hamilton Tigers hosted the 2-3 Commodores from Bayside High. From the very start of the game, the Tigers played a high-energy defense that resulted in a blocked punt by Manny Dimitrakios and a recovery by Julian Lopez.

With the Tigers starting from the Bayside 35-yard line on the recovery, quarterback Mark Kiss quickly went to work to throw Charles Kitsakos a screen pass down the left sideline for the first score of the game. With a pass to August Porter for a 2-point conversion, the Tigers appeared up for a Bayside challenge as the Fort Hamilton defense held the Commodores scoreless for an 8-0 first quarter lead.

In the second quarter, the Commodores found a hole in the Fort Hamilton defense as Darwin Welcome pulled down a 40-yard pass deep in the end zone for Bayside’s first touchdown to tie the game for a score of 8-8 going into the half. The Commodores then opened the second half on a 40-yard drive that featured Sadique Simkins’ diving end zone catch that put Bayside up 16-8 to end the third quarter.

By the fourth quarter, the Commodores suppressed all of the Tigers’ attempts to score, and wrapped up the game with a 10-yard scoring run on a quarterback keeper by David Robinson Jr. In the waning minutes of the game, the Tigers made one final push for a comeback. With the clock ticking down from the Bayside 30-yard line, Kitsakos took another screen pass down the sideline to make the score 24-14 as time ran out for Fort Hamilton.

On a positive note for the Tigers, senior running back Charles Kitsakos continues to be Fort Hamilton’s top offensive player as the team’s leading scorer with 10 touchdowns over the past five league games. Next week the Tigers will again be at home as they host the Madison Golden Knights, last season’s Bowl Conference Champions.