Haris Lekaj was already a dynamic strong safety - he led the city in interceptions with five last year - before Long Island City Coach Stephen Agresti asked the 5-foot-9, 160-pounder to try his hand at quarterback. It's just one game, but Lekaj has proven to be a quick study thus far.
In his debut under center, the 17-year-old Long Island City resident threw for 105 yards and a pair of touchdowns in leading the Bulldogs to an easy victory, 32-12, over Springfield Gardens at home Saturday afternoon. Lekaj also showed he didn't forget about his other duties, registering nine tackles, a sack and an interception.
“The kid's just a great athlete,” Agresti said. “He keeps it together on both sides of the ball for us.”
It was a fine performance by LIC, who received a pair of special teams touchdowns courtesy of newcomers Troy Walker (83-yard kickoff return) and Omar Mohran (75-yard punt return). Ndubisi Charles ran for 53 yards and a touchdown in a losing effort for the Golden Eagles.
Campus Magnet got off on the right foot, as opposed to last fall when they dropped their first five games, edging August Martin, 20-19. “The team showed a lot more character than last year,” Campus Magnet Coach Eric Barnett said. “They showed if they get knocked down, they can get back up and fight. We had individuals that refused to let the team lose.”
Junior quarterback Datalia Holness was one of them, throwing for 234 yards and three touchdowns. Wide receiver Stephan Benjamin was his favorite target, hauling in five catches for 143 yards and two scores. He also was a force defensively, with seven tackles, a sack and an interception. Irique Johnson contributed with 78 yards receiving and a touchdown catch.
August Martin was paced by the running attack of Kwaku Kontoh and Murphy White. Kontoh ran for 168 yards and White 72, including a touchdown. Freshman linebacker Thomas Greyer had a game-high 14 tackles in his debut.
Jamaica fell to Madison, 40-8. Nyles Bynum led the Beavers with 86 yards rushing and a touchdown. Adrian Berry made a team-high nine tackles.
Elsewhere, John Adams fell to Erasmus Hall, 14-8; William Bryant managed just 100 yards of offense, falling to McKee/Staten Island Tech, 8-0; Far Rockaway dropped a 36-8 decision to New Utrecht; and Beach Channel was shutout by Brooklyn Tech, 27-0.
