By John Tolis
If there’s one thing a football team has to do, it’s to take advantage of the other team’s mistakes. Springfield Gardens did exactly that against Mott Haven.
The Bronx school committed a couple of crucial penalties early in the third quarter that helped the Eagles score what turned out to be the decisive touchdown in a 19-13 home win last Saturday in PSAL Bowl Conference football.
“I’m happy we won,” Eagles Coach Charles Yarborough said with a huge smile. “We’ve had a couple rough defeats throughout the year, so we’re always concerned about it slipping away and we’re happy that we finished the job today.”
The Mavericks grabbed a 6-0 lead early in the first quarter after star running back Samuel Appiah rushed it in the end zone. The Eagles answered right back late in the frame when sophomore Nnamdi Uchendu ran in for a touchdown to tie the score at 6-6.
“I couldn’t do it without my O-line,” said Uchendu.
The momentum switched over to Springfield Gardens right before halftime as quarterback Allassane Coulibaly found Ronald Johnson in the end zone 11 yards away with seconds left and the Eagles headed into the break with a 12-6 lead.
Springfield Gardens moved the ball from the 46-yard line to the three due to penalties on Mott Haven (3-3). The Eagles (4-2) made the score 19-6 in the third quarter after junior Carl Coleman calmly rushed the ball in for a score from the 3-yard line.
The Springfield Gardens’ defense, which had been superb all afternoon, gave Mott Haven a glimmer of hope when Mavericks’ quarterback Saivon Fergerson found William Benjamin around the midfield. Benjamin would run it all the way in for a 62-yard score to pull Mott Haven within 19-13. The Eagles finished off the Mavericks by recovering the onside kick. Yarborough believes it was the defense that gave them the win.
“Defensively we did well,” he said. “They have a couple of really great running backs and we were able to kind of chorale them today.”
The Eagles’ season has turned around and they are currently on a three-game winning streak after losing two straight games. This win allowed Springfield Gardens to jump Mott Haven in the standings and gives the Eagles plenty of momentum going into their next games against Franklin K. Lane and one-loss Bayside.
“We have a lot of confidence going into Lane and we just have to finish the job because Bayside looms,” said Yarborough. “We have to stay the course and beat Lane.”
