By Phil Foley
Sept. 8 was a beautiful day for a football game, and both Yonkers teams were in action. The Yonkers Force, coached by Yonkers legend Dan DeMatteo, shut-out Portchester High School 7-0 at the Gorton H.S. field.
At the Saunders H.S. field, the Yonkers Brave lost to Ossining H.S. 21-7. Coached by Vic Chiappa, the team played a hard-hitting game. Watching Chiappa from the sideline, one realizes he is a great coach in every aspect of the game.
For the Force, Tyrek Greene scored the game’s only touchdown while rushing for 101 yards on 20 carries. Jason Garcia and Tyler Hamilton rushed for 34 yards each, both on five carries each. Jason Garcia was one for three for 27 yards passing with the completion going to Justin Broquadio. On defense, Eliajah Chambless had 10 tackles for the Force. Also for the Yonkers defense was an interception by Mahari Wills.
“I told my team all during the week that up to this point we were more like an all-star team than a football family… we have taken strides to develop into a ‘team,’” said Coach DeMatteo after the game. “We talked in pre-game about playing for each other as opposed to playing for ourselves. The kids played hard and played together. I am very proud of them and they deserve all the credit for this hard-fought win.
“On a side note, the Yonkers Police Department did a tremendous job and I am honored to work with them,” he continued.
The Yonkers Force plays White Plains H.S. on Saturday, Sept. 15 at Gorton H.S. at 1:30 p.m.
At Saunders H.S. field, the Yonkers Brave put up quite a fight until the final whistle. The score was 21-7 Ossining, but the game was much closer than the score indicated. Scoring the first touchdown in the Brave’s history was Javel Mc Nair on a 17-yard run to pay dirt.
“Kids played hard and never gave up,” said Coach Chiappa after the game.
The next game for the Brave is Saturday, Sept. 15 at 1:30 p.m. at Portchester H.S.
