Going into its PSAL non-league football game against A.P. Randolph, New Dorp head coach Brian Murphy said he knew that the Central Cougars were not facing a typical B Conference team after watching some film on the opposition.
In fact, it took a fierce goal line stance from New Dorp’s defense, spearheaded by two-way player Jack Kay’s game-saving stop with 0.45 left in the tilt, to preserve its 20-12 victory over the Cougars Saturday on Homecoming Day.
It was a tough, physical game, indeed, and extended the A Conference Central Cougars winning streak to six games this season.
“We watched them on film, and we saw that they had a lot of talented players, and they were well coached,” Murphy said. “It jumped off the screen, that they would be well coached, so we expected a dog fight and that’s what exactly what we got.”
The Central Cougars scored first on running back Anthony Luna’s one-yard touchdown run, followed by the successful extra point kick for a 7-0 lead with 5:46 left in the first quarter.
But A. P. Randolph (5-1) responded on 6-foot-2, 195-pound Siba Aboudoulay‘s 15-yard rushing TD to slice the deficit to 6-7 with 11:21 to go in the first half.
Not to be outdone, New Dorp junior quarterback Kay connected with Tyler D’Avino on a 27-yard scoring strike to the left sideline of the end zone to swell the advantage to 13-6 with 2:13 left in the second period.
Senior signal Nathiel “Nate” Nurse hit paydirt on a six-yard rush midway through the third quarter, making it 13-12. But the Cougars missed the two-point attempt again to keep it a one-point contest.
The Central Cougars’ D’Avino scored an eight-yard TD and a successful point after widened the gap to eight points with 7:05 to go in the affair before Kay’s tackle put an end to A.P. Randolph’s scoring threat.
While the Cougars didn’t play their best game and lost to higher conference A team, head coach Eric Perlowitz did take solace in their all-out effort to the end.
“We play hard, we didn’t play mistake free, that’s for sure,” Perlowitz said. “But I asked the kids to just play as hard as you can, and that’s what I got out of them. So, I’m very proud of their effort, even though the execution wasn’t there at times, the kids played their hearts out. That’s all I can ask for.”
— Jerry Del Priore
Photo and video by Jerry Del Priore
Brooklyn Sports World/NY NJ Sports World 
One thought on “New Dorp Football Survives Dog Fight Against A.P. Randolph, 20-12”