Chiefs Come Up Flat, 20-14, Against Boys & Girls

By Jerry Del Priore

The Canarsie Chiefs knew their football game against Boy & Girls was a big one if they wanted to stay in the PSAL City Conference playoff hunt. But they played flat for most of the tilt, missing a prime opportunity to make a dent in the postseason picture, losing, 20-14, Saturday at home.

While head coach Kyle Allen said there were some debatable calls, and a few non calls, that didn’t go in their favor, it should’ve never gotten to that point. in which refs play a major part in a game.

“There were questionable calls that hurt us in key situations, but we put ourselves in position where those were key situations,” Allen told BrooklynSportsWorld.com. “That should’ve never happened.”

After playing to stalemate for a quarter and a half, junior Adisa Isaac blocked a punt that went out-of-bounds at the Kangaroos’ five-yard line. A few plays later, senior running back Johnny Watson rumbled in from the seven for a 6-0 lead midway through the second quarter.

Boys & Girls (3-4) answered right back with a rushing touchdown of their own that tied up the score at 6-6 with 0.41 seconds left in the first half.

The Kangaroos tacked on a four-yard TD run, plus the two-point conversion for a 14-6 advantage late the third period.

However, Canarsie (3-4) was able to put together a solid ground effort, moving the ball to Boys & Girls’ two-yard line before senior quarterback Sameer Akesson punched it in to slice the deficit to 14-12. A successful two-point play knotted the game again, at  14 all early in the fourth quarter.

But the Kangaroos were able to orchestrate a 72-drive, capped by a one-yard touchdown plunge by quarterback Zyaire Bender that had them up by six points with 3:10 remaining in the affair.

Unfortunately for the Chiefs, they failed to sustain any type of offense drive in the final minutes, as they went down in disappointing fashion to Boys & Girls.

Canarsie managed a mere 140 yards of offense, and committed three turnovers in the game.

Another matter that has plagued the team most of the season, Allen said, is lack of quality practices.

“We practiced for two and half days this week,” he said. “If our kids come to school late, they’re not allowed to practice. And one day we had 14 kids late out of 31. Another day I sent all the kids home because of a big argument. Friday, there was a soccer game, so we had a half a practice.”

On the plus side, Watson rolled up 103 yards and a TD on 10 touches before an ankle injury sidelined him for the rest of the affair (he said he should be back Saturday).

Isaac and senior Calvin Hutchison registered 10 tackles each while senior Esaunte Latimer recorded nine and a sack in the losing effort.

While the Chiefs went down in defeat, they currently hold the tenth position in the City Conference with 501 Power Points, good enough for a playoff spot at the moment with two contests remaining in the regular season.

The Chiefs travel to Brooklyn Tech Saturday for a noon game.