By John Tolis
Flushing’s Cinderella season came to a crashing halt.
The fourth-seeded Red Devils exceeded preseason expectations by reaching their first PSAL City conference football semifinals since the early 1990s, only to see the run end 55-7 on the road to No. 1 Abraham Lincoln Saturday afternoon. Even though Flushing was the football underdog, again it expected to put up more of fight.
“I thought we would be a little more competitive,” Flushing Coach Jim DeSantis said.
The Red Devils (9-3) had no idea how to control the undefeated Railsplitters, who controlled them from the first whistle. Flushing’s star running back Deandre Ross-Lomax was kept in check the entire game. Lomax finally got free and ran the ball into the end zone from 40 yards out, but due to a penalty the touchdown did not count with his team down 27-0 with 7:00 left in the first half.
The Lincoln defense even deflated Flushing’s passing game and picked off quarterback Terrance Chavis three times. Antoine Holloman Jr. ran for three touchdowns for Abraham Lincoln (12-0), which takes on No. 3 Tottenville in the tile game Dec. 10 at Yankee Stadium.
The Red Devils managed to get on the board early in the fourth quarter when Chavis snuck it in from the goal line, but by then the score was 55-7 leaving Flushing with no hope.
Despite the loss, the Red Devils don’t plan on dropping their heads. DeSantis thought he had every reason to be proud of his squad and is satisfied where the program is now.
“Overall, it was good,” he said of his team’s performance. “As an ‘A’ team, they competed.”
Lomax-Ross and his teammates understand that they’ve now been further than any other Flushing team in school history and were so close to reaching the championship game.
“I feel pretty good, but I still wanted to get a chance to take my team to Yankee Stadium,” the senior running back said.
Despite the loss, his fellow Red Devils seniors have stepped up to the challenge all season long and left DeSantis unable to ask for more from this group.
“Collectively, they’ve been phenomenal,” he said. “I’ve been doing this for 20 years, the best senior group I’ve ever been around.”
DeSantis has high hopes for next year even with the graduation of such a strong class. He believes the juniors will make an immediate impact after playing with these seniors.
“I’m pleased with where we are right now,” DeSantis said. “Now, hopefully, we take the next step.”
