It is one thing to win a title.
Overcoming difficulty and succeeding? That’s a very different animal, though, and the 2024 Curtis Warriors can now add it to their long list of accomplishments.
In the Warriors’ 27-26 PSAL 4A division double overtime triumph at Midwood HS field in Brooklyn on Sunday, Curtis overcame a 13-point halftime deficit behind backup quarterback Vincent Canzoneri and a tenacious defense that kept Erasmus Hall scoreless for the final 27:59 of regulation.
In the second overtime, Erasmus Anaiyas King’s game-tying extra-point effort went wide right, sealing the Warriors’ PSAL-best seventh city title. Curtis wins its first championship since upsetting the Dutchmen by a single point (36-35) in the 2017 championship game, and it finishes the season with an outstanding 12-1 overall record.
What makes us the city champions? Nobody anticipated this group, but their passion and soul have been everything, said head coach Peter Gambardella, who led the Warriors to a city championship for the fourth time in his 17 seasons in charge. We presented them with challenges. Our training was different. What made the difference was that we pursued it and were active right away.
We restored physicality to Curtis.
Nick Moukazis, the senior running back for Curtis, adding, “It feels amazing, it really does.” In addition to rushing for 126 yards on a whopping 27 carries, Moukazis scored the second of his two touchdowns to give the Warriors the lead for good in the second overtime. It’s been difficult and crazy, but the amount of work we’ve put in since the start of the season—from the spring and the weight room—has brought us this far.
(Even when we fell behind, we continued to rely on and trust one another.)
The Brooklyn school intercepted four pass attempts in the first half, putting the top-seeded Warriors, who had defeated Erasmus 10-7 on the road during the regular season, behind 13-0 at the break.
Junior Kendu Brown was substantially engaged in two touchdown receptions that helped the Dutchmen increase their lead. In the first quarter, the wide receiver opened the scoring with a 20-yard touchdown pass reception from quarterback Justus Murray. Three minutes before halftime, he tossed a 16-yard score to Ameir Morrow.
Gambardella said the Warriors were behind at halftime but not out.
“I thought we were playing well and we just needed to settle down,” the coach added, “but I thought Erasmus made some big plays against us in the first half, got us with some trickery and stuff like that.” At halftime, they made some plays that set them apart from us.
Curtis, on the other hand, began to make plays in the second half, and the St. George school, predictably, gradually recovered.
With linebackers Javon Mitchell (12 tackles, TFL, forced fumble), Saquonne Lawton (5 tackles), Anthony Gambardella (4 tackles), lineman Jarrett Serate (4 tackles), and defensive back Akai Lewis (7 tackles, interception, fumble recovery), the Warriors’ mainstay defense lived up to their reputation by holding the Dutchmen off the scoreboard in the third and fourth quarters and limiting the Brooklyn school to just 38 total yards and two first downs.
Lewis pounced on the ball after Mitchell prodded it loose on a run play on Erasmus’s first play from scrimmage in the second half at the EHall 24. Charles Simmons’ crucial block helped facilitate a run along the right side that allowed Moukazis to score on the subsequent play. Almost the whole second half remained when Alkasimi’s extra-point made it 13-7.
“That right there was a swing in momentum,” Gambardella added. It’s 13-7 now, and we’re all set to go.
You sensed it. We really didn’t have anything good going on until then, so the kids needed that feeling of optimism.
Mitchell, whose team forced five Erasmus punts in the second half, stated, “We came out in the second half and just played with everything we had.” We simply went out and performed when it was necessary after learning from our errors in the first half. We believed we could make things better even after we fell behind.
Until the end of regulation, the score was still 13-7. With just 1:38 remaining, Canzoneri tied the game with a 25-yard touchdown pass to Kacy Royal after the Warriors’ 50-yard punt return for a touchdown was called back due to a holding call. On the extra-point try, Curtis had an opportunity to take the lead for the first time, but Thomas Kamaion stopped it to maintain a tie.
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