Queens Gridders feel agony of defeat

Far Rockaway, the only team from Queens still playing football on the final weekend, saw its season come to a heartbreaking end on Sunday, November 23. Nearly all playoff teams must cap their successes with a loss: Beach Channel was overwhelmed by Port Richmond in the PSAL quarterfinals; Christ The King fell short versus Cardinal Spellman (Bronx) in its CHSFL semifinal. But the feeling of failure was thick for the Sea Horses, who were seeded first in the Cup Division and lost to George Washington (Manhattan) in an ultimately teary overtime.
The final score, 20-14, of the PSAL Cup title game, the deciding contest in public-school football’s third-highest division, seemed like a fair reflection of George Washington’s breakout performance. Yet it was wholly unsatisfying for the Sea Horses, who had capitalized on few possessions and managed to erase a 14-0 deficit through a quarter and a half. A 14-14 tie carried the game to overtime, where an interception by Trojan senior Chayanne Hidalgo put the final nail in Far Rockaway’s chances.
League policy dictates the following format for overtime: Each team has a close-range opportunity to score from the 20-yard line, and overtime rounds continue so long as each team’s drive yields an identical outcome. Once a team turns the ball over to the opposition, its chance is over; once a team tallies more points than the opposition, it is declared the winner.
Such is how Far Rockaway’s season ended, with the Sea Horses unable to counter Hidalgo’s touchdown on the first drive of the period. Senior quarterback Daniel Marc, in a surprising departure from a run-centric strategy, jogged backward and lofted a pass intended for junior wide receiver Jevaughn Pinnock. When Hidalgo, playing defense, caught it, his Trojan teammates were quick to storm the field in jubilation. For the Sea Horses, the primary emotion was anger.
“A lot of them were very upset. For a lot of them, it’s a big disappointment,” said Far Rockaway head coach Walter Wilkerson, teary-eyed himself. “I told them [in the locker room] that it was a great game, and especially that the seniors should be proud to play on this team.”
Whether Wilkerson scolded them for their post-game behavior is unknown. Perhaps shocked that Wilkerson had strayed from his principal weapon all game - senior running back Gregory Ibe - the Sea Horses responded to Hidalgo’s interception with as much rage as sadness. While senior tight end Justin Williams lay prostrate on the Midwood Field turf and Ibe covered his face with his shirt, Marc shouted and flailed his arms in frustration, and offensive lineman Vashoun White Bain threw off his shirt and shouted “Don’t touch me!” at assistant coaches who tried to calm him down.
After the Sea Horses cleared the field, approximately ten minutes passed before anyone emerged from the locker room.
Likely adding to Far Rockaway’s irritation was the team’s tendency to make mistakes in big situations on Sunday. A fumble on the Sea Horses’ opening drive led to the Trojans’ first touchdown. Within a span of six minutes in the third quarter, with the Sea Horses one touchdown away from tying the game, Far Rockaway had a first down called back (thanks to an offside penalty) and lost the yardage on a great run by senior tight end Justin Williams (thanks to an illegal block). Most importantly, it relinquished midfield possession - and a chance to win in regulation - by fumbling with three minutes left in the game.
“Those things are killer,” Wilkerson said. “Fumbles and penalties hurt us a lot, at key times and at key opportunities.”
Far Rockaway was able to block George Washington on its final drive, accepting the sizable challenge of senior rusher Brandon Garcia - whose 159 yards made him the Trojans’ answer to Gregory Ibe -and repeatedly stopping him cold. The clutch defensive effort made Ibe into an almost-hero, with his two touchdowns that began with weaves up the middle and ended with 30-yard runs down the left side. After Ibe’s second touchdown narrowed the score to 14-12, Marc’s entirely-plausible fake to Ibe opened up a game-tying two-point conversion with 10:36 left in the fourth quarter.
It was Far Rockaway’s departure from the Ibe strategy that ultimately contributed to the Sea Horses’ downfall. George Washington was forced to pursue new offensive avenues when Garcia went down with a broken foot in overtime, and his injury turned the eventual touchdown into a sort of moral victory. But Far Rockaway altered its plans by choice. Marc’s pass, while unexpected, was limp. And the Sea Horses entered the locker room angry, while Wilkerson, a gentle and humble soul, apologized to fans who adamantly refused to lay any blame on their coach.
He spoke after the game about owing the program something after “so many losing seasons on my watch” - a reference to the two past years, in which Far Rockaway accumulated four total wins. Of course, that story neglected to mention the remarkable turnaround his program achieved by going 8-1 in the regular season. It was indeed a “Season to Remember,” just like it says in white lettering on the back of the coaches’ jackets.
“These kids played very well. Maybe in the aftermath, they’ll say, ‘It felt good to get hit,’ ” Wilkerson said. “But it would have been better if we could have won it.”