By Joseph Staszewski
Prince Klutsey wasted little time making a good impression in his new home at defending PSAL city champion Abraham Lincoln.
The Jamaica, Queens, native had to leave Holy Cross prior to his senior season because he no longer could afford the school’s tuition, he said. The situation was a hard one for Klutsey, as he was in line to be the starting running back on the football team after playing behind Brandon Pelzer a year ago.
The only people behind Klutsey in his debut with the Railsplitters were the Tottenville defenders.
“It was tough,” Klutsey said of leaving Holy Cross. “I miss some of those guys, but I have to keep going.”
The 5-foot-10, 190-pound running back carried the ball 12 times for 76 yards and a touchdown in Lincoln’s decisive 28-6 season opening victory over Tottenville last Friday night in Coney Island. The numbers don’t tell the story of Klutsey’s day. He ran hard, fast and pushed Tottenville defenders around seemingly every time he touched the ball.
On the Railsplitters’ second drive, he broke a 14-yard scamper and collected 33 of the 55 yards on the drive. His 17 yards on the opening drive of the second quarter helped set up another Lincoln score. Klutsey’s touchdown run came right up the middle from 5 yards out to give Lincoln a 28-0 advantage in the third quarter.
He wasn’t afraid to take it right to the Pirates defense and taking defenders with him. Klutsey’s teammates have taken him in and appreciated his effort.
“Prince is my man,” Lincoln quarterback Paul Litvak said. “He did really good today and I was cheering up the sidelines when he scored his touchdown.”
Klutsey felt he couldn’t lose at either school, calling both Holy Cross and Lincoln great programs. He would have been a big weapon for the Knights and quarterback Joshua Evans and would have helped open things up for their improved receiving core.
Klutsey, however, said he likes the style of the Railsplitters’ offense, something that should allow him to further showcase his talents.
“Lincoln, we have a high tempo offense,” he said. “At Holy Cross we didn’t really have that.”
There probably won’t be too many games with a gaudy number for Klutsey at Lincoln. The Railsplitters have so many weapons that the ball will spread around. Klutsey will get his fair chance to shine and prove he is one of the best running backs in the city. It appears he is ready to take advantage of them.
“I wasn’t here last year, but I fit in,” Klutsey said. “They brought me in as a family. We are family. We are going to keep going.”
