STRONG ISLAND CITY
LIC Bulldogs roll to Cup Division title

Long Island City coach Stephen Agresti kept waiting for his new running back, Omar Mohran, to make a legitimate impact. Every week it seemed he'd tell his assistant coaches the breakout performance was coming.
&#8220I've been accused nine times of saying ‘this is the game right here,' ” Agresti said.
It may have taken awhile, but Mohran finally repaid Agresti's faith, saving his best for the season's grandest stage - the PSAL's Cup Division championship game.
Mohran practiced for much of the week as a wide receiver because LIC wasn't expecting electric sophomore wide receiver Troy Walker, still groggy from a mild concussion, to suit up. Although Walker dressed and started, Mohran, the bruising tailback, was the star.
He caught a 44-yard touchdown and set up another score with an acrobatic 46-yard catch, as top-ranked LIC (12-0) completed a flawless season with a 30-12 thumping of No. 2 McKee/Staten Island Tech for the title Sunday afternoon at Canarsie High School in Brooklyn.
Mohran returned home to northwest Queens after living in Kansas for many years, primarily, he said, for this kind of moment.
&#8220It feels great,” he said. &#8220When I came here, I had some doubts. I was questioning whether it was going to be worth it. But I've never been on a team this good in my life in any sport.”
He wasn't a bust this season - Mohran ran for 824 yards and five touchdowns - but he didn't make the impact LIC expected when they saw him during training camp. After a quiet first half, Mohran made a promise.
&#8220I told myself ‘it's my turn to step up. I have to make something happen,' ” he recalled.
With the Bulldogs narrowly clinging to an 8-6 lead, the senior tailback produced. He caught a 15-yard pass on a comeback route from quarterback Haris Lekaj, and then broke a tackle, turning it upfield for the momentum-turning score.
&#8220That set the tone for the second half,” said Lekaj, who put LIC on top for good with a 1-yard scoring run in the second quarter. &#8220We knew what we were here to do. We weren't fooled that they scored first.”
Mohran's leaping grab over a pair of defenders set up Nick Torres's 24-yard scoring jaunt, and Lekaj added a 17-yard scoring pass to a diving Walker in the back of the end zone for good measure.
In a down year for Queens on the gridiron, the Bulldogs were the lone bright spot. Many pointed to the weak Cup Division - the PSAL's lowest level - as a reason they could go from rags a season ago to riches this fall, sweeping the competition. Agresti, Lekaj and the Bulldogs, bolstered by their three busloads of fans chanting &#822012-0, undefeated,” as the final seconds ticked away, didn't want to hear it.
&#8220It's a great feeling, going undefeated,” Lekaj said.
&#8220Whether you're playing flag football with your friends or you're coming out here playing for the Cup or the Bowl or the City Championship, it's football,” Agresti added. &#8220You can't take anything away from them regardless of the division.”