Yonkers Force celebrate after winning the Superintendent’s Cup over the Yonkers Brave on September 9
Yonkers Brave QB Noah Oelkers scrambles out of the pocket. Oelkers broke a Brave record, passing for 275 yards. He threw for 3 TD’s and ran for another. Photo by DocWszolek photography
By Dan Murphy
We spoke to Force Coach Anthony Fava about last weeks win over the Brave. The Force are now 2-0 after a win over Magnus 39-0 in week one. “Offensively we had a great day, with over 480 total yards. We had two kids with over 100 yards rushing and a receiver with over 100 yards.
“If we played a little better in the secondary, the game would not be as close as it was. Our defensive front line shut down the Brave’s rushing game. They had minus 2 yards. But they had three big plays, and their Quarterback (Oelkers) is good,” said Fava.
The final result was in doubt in the 4th quarter, with the Force holding a slim 27-26 lead. “We drove down the field and scored on 4th down. That put us up 33-26. We went for 2 points, which put the game out of reach,” said Coach Fava, who pointed to three Force players that had a great game.
Senior Wide Receiver Angel Aquino, who was the MVP of the game, with 6 receptions for 139 yards and 3 TD’s. “He was great for us last year and stepped up again. He scored the last 8 points for us and is phenominal.
Junior Quarterback Nazir Fields, rushed for 159 yards, threw for 2 TD’s and rushed for one TD.
Senior running back Corey Everett, rushed for 133 yards and a TD.
“We played reallyl well, but they Brave played tough all game. Their coaches have worked hard and they perservered and never gave up.”
Now at 2-0 the Brave play on Thursday September 14 at home against North Rockland, one of the better teams in the division. “We beat Magnus and we beat the Brave. We did what we were supposed to do. Now we play the meat of our schedule and it starts with North Rockland. “
“I do think we are better than last year. This is my third year and we have been building every year. COVID put us back two years ago but now the kids are coming out to play and work hard. Two years ago we had 27 kids, this year we have 47 on the JV and 39 on the Varsity. That is a solid number of kids who all worked hard for the past 9 months, in the gym and at summer camp. We have established a work ethic and the kids have bought in, and I’m proud of them, “said Coach Fava.
If the Force are able to beat North Rockland, look out. Game time 4pm at Roosevelt Sept. 14.
