August Martin Football’s Sloppy Play Leads to 30-8 Defeat to Stevenson

August Martin football stayed within striking distance of Adlai Stevenson in the first half of its PSAL B conference tilt, only trialing by eight points. But the Falcons allowed big offensive plays to the Ambassadors and made several costly mistakes throughout the second half, which led to their ultimate 30-8 demise Sunday in the Bronx.

After a bad snap on a punt, Stevenson (2-0) cashed in on a 25-yard touchdown run a few plays later, with the successful two-point play making it 8-0 early in the second quarter.

But August Martin (0-2) responded when junior Richard Thomas, who rushed for 86 yards on 18 carries, hit paydirt on a three-yard rush, and senior quarterback Glorious Enabulele made good on a two-point run to tie the score at 8-8 midway through the second period.

But the Falcon defense surrendered a 39-yard TD run, and Steveson even fumbled the ball on the two-point attempt but managed to convert the play for a 16-8 lead late in the second half.

In a pivotal moment, after an August Martin punt pinned the Ambassadors to their 13-yard line, poor tackling and missed defensive assignments led to an 87-yard touchdown rush, followed by a successful Stevenson two-point conversion for a 24-8 advantaged late in the third quarter.

The Ambassadors capped the game’s scoring with a 19-yard rush late in the fourth period.

Suiting up with only 19 players due to school and team violations, plus two student-athletes school transfers, the Falcons failed to recover at least four Steveson fumbles and had difficulty finding their offensive footing for most on the tilt.

“We beat ourselves three weeks ago when we lost 60 percent of starters, and still haven’t gotten them back yet,” August Martin head coach Kyle Allen lamented. “But we were still in the position to be able to win this game. We did beat ourselves, though.”

Allen said that the defeat came down to multiple reasons, including “Kids playing position they don’t normally play, coming out of position, not doing the right thing, missing tackles…growing pains. It’s young team issues. And lack of being able to break away. We had so many opportunities to score. We just didn’t have any breakaway speed today.”

The Falcons travel to Mott Haven on Friday for a 7:00 p.m. matchup.

— Jerry Del Priore

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