Scholastic Roundup: Tigers look to take another bite

November 8, 2024 Andy Furman

Share this:

It is another challenge for the Fort Hamilton High School football Tigers. They moved to 6-1 with their 36-0 shutout over FDR High School last week — and Saturday (Nov. 9) they will face a 6-1 Franklin K. Lane squad — they are 3-0 on the road, and they topped Cardozo High last Sunday, 28-20.

Sophomore Emanual King III rushed for 125 yards on 11 carries, including two touchdowns in the win. Junior quarterback Aiden Farley was nine for 21 passing with two touchdowns and 146 yards. The F.K. Lane kickoff is set for noon.

Speaking of FDR High School, their basketball coach, Glenn Thomas, reports he attended the annual New York City Public Schools Athletic League (PSAL) preseason coaches’ meeting last week at Brooklyn’s Boys and Girls High. He was impressed, when he noticed famous alums that played for the Kangaroos. He lists SiHugo Green, Solly Walker, Connie Hawkins, Lenny Wilkens and Dwayne (Pearl) Washington. “There are many more,” he writes.

* *

Don’t look now, but Transit Tech High’s football team is a perfect 7-0 in PSAL-A — overall they are 7-1, with their opening loss to August Martin on Sept. 1. The Engineers traveled to Evander Childs Friday (Nov. 8) — they defeated Douglass Academy (New York City) 38-0 last Sunday.

New Utrecht High’s football alumni social media account mentions the school’s Food Drive, taking place through Nov. 22. Donations are accepted in the school’s Guidance Suites.

There will be no women’s basketball for the 2024-25 season at Pratt Institute because of low roster numbers and out of a concern for student-athlete safety and well-being, according to a school news release.

“Despite this difficult and disappointing news, I am optimistic that our women’s basketball program is moving in the right direction under our new head coach,” said Director of Athletics and Recreation Walter Rickard in a news release. “We are committed to rebuilding a roster that will compete next season.” Carlos Acevedo was named head coach in late April.

The Pratt Institute women’s volleyball team honored seniors Emma Leavey and Natalie Dziadzio on Senior Night last week when they faced Mercy University at the Activity Resource Center for an Atlantic East Conference match. They dropped a straight-set decision.

Dziadzio led the Cannoneers (6-14,1-3) matching her career-high of nine kills while also bringing up eight digs with two aces.

* *
Brooklyn Tech High School placed first in the PSAL Freshman Division Saturday at the Freshmen/Sophomore PSAL Cross Country Championships at Van Cortlandt Park in The Bronx.

The Engineers, with 66 points, edged Bronx Science (72) and High School for Math, Science and Engineering (91 points). Aldo Hilpert-Navas, Bronx Science was the boys’ individual winner (8:55).

In the Girls’ Team Championships, Tech was second (78) to winner Susan Wagner (37) with Stuyvesant third (96). DeWitt Clinton’s Aisha Wajid was the girls’ individual winner (10:02).

In the Sophomore Division, Brooklyn Tech (43) was second to Bronx Science (17) in the boys’ team championship. Tech’s girls won the soph title (81) with Townsend Harris (89) and Bronx Science (102) following. Melia Murphy from The Clinton School was the girls’ individual winner (15:59).

* *
Jennifer Sarji, a sophomore runner at Brooklyn’s St. Joseph’s University (Fontbonne Hall Academy), narrowly missed All-Conference honors, achieving a personal-best time of 28:21.7 for 16th place overall at the Skyline Conference Championships, Sunday. The women’s team placed eighth in the 6k race, while the men finished 12th in the 8k event. Sarji’s teammate — senior Danielle Bourne (Christ the King High School) — followed closely in 29th place in 30:24.6.
On the men’s side, senior Tariq Belma (Bishop Loughlin) crossed the finish line in 35:20.2; followed by Brooklyn residents Stephan Direny, sophomore Nazareth Warren and grad student Joshua Gordon (Bishop Loughlin). They rounded out the team, finishing in 78th to 80th place, all within 45 minutes of each other. Gordon and Lauren Van Der Kamp were selected to represent the Bears on the Skyline Conference All-Sportsmanship Teams, earning the honor for the second consecutive season.

* *
For the second time in three seasons, St. Joseph’s University of Brooklyn men’s soccer forward Victor Naci, who hails from Bordeaux, France, has been honored as the Skyline Conference Offensive Player of the Year. Naci scored 14 goals during the regular season, ranking second in the conference, and led the league in both shots and shots-on-goal. He had a hat trick against Mount Saint Vincent and braces against SUNY Maritime and Sarah Lawrence. In non-conference play, his goal in the 10th minute at NYU made him the all-time leading scorer in the program’s history, with 34 career goals.

Senior Matthew Kieblesz earned recognition as the league’s Co-Defensive Player of the Year — he placed second on the team with five goals. He becomes the first player in program history to receive the league’s Defensive Player of the Year honor.

The St. Joseph women finished their 2024 soccer season with a 9-0 loss, last week to Purchase College at Aviator Field – the Bears finish the season with a record of 1-13 and 1-9 in the Skyline Conference.

* *
Alan Martinez was one of eight players honored at LIU Soccer Park last Sunday, and he scored the game winning goal to give the Sharks a 1-0 victory over Central Connecticut State. The players who were honored pre-game for their accomplishments and special contributions to the program included Martinez, the 2023 and 2024 team captain (he was the 2023 NEC Tournament MVP); Jack Fridman, a member of the 2023 Championship team; Joseph Rigano, a member of the 2021 NEC conference-winning and 2023 NEC Tournament winning teams; Eoin Gawronski, a 2024 captain and a 2023 All-Tournament member; Saidou Diallo, a member of the 2020 All-Rookie team, and 2021 NEC conference-winning and tournament winning team, second team All-Conference in 2023, led the NEC with nine assists; Jonathan Villacis, member of the 2023 NEC Tournament winning team; Papa Sow, member of the 29021 NEC conference-winning and NEC Tournament winning team; and the 2023 NEC Tournament winning team; Jesper Mikkelsen, a transfer from Adelphi, scored three goals and one assist, including the game-winner against Albany.

The LIU Lady Sharks honored six soccer stars on their Senior Day, when they took on Wagner last week. The honored seniors included Lauren Mathews, an NEC All-Academic; Gina Proviano, multi All-Academic and senior captain who scored nine goals and six assists in her career; Grace Hennig, Fall 2023 NEC Academic Honor Roll whose six goals this season rank her third in the NEC in goals scored and second in points; Yanelia Fernandez, a three-time NEC Commissioner’s and Academic Honor Roll recipient who recorded her first career goal this fall in a win over Delaware State; Matiana Valdez, a multi-year All-Academic Honor Roll recipient; Aliya Couillard, senior captain and multi-year NEC Academic Honor Roll recipient.

* *
The Brooklyn College women’s soccer team closed out the 2024 season Saturday, falling to John Jay, 6-0 in the CUNYAC Championship Tournament Semifinals – the Bulldogs end the season with a 6-9-3 overall mark.
Andy Furman is a Fox Sports Radio national talk show host. Previously, he was a scholastic sports columnist for the Brooklyn Eagle. He may be reached at: [email protected] ; Twitter: @AndyFurmanFSR