Even when it seems like the chips are down, there’s never any “quit” in the Mamaroneck football team.
On Friday night, the Tigers took the field against a hungry New Rochelle squad, and despite falling behind early—and playing without the services of one of their standout weapons—they managed to gut their way to an impressive 18-12 victory over the Huguenots to clinch a spot in the Class AA playoffs.
The Huguenots made the most of a Tiger miscue early on to jump out to an early lead, returning a fumble for a score on the opening drive. But despite the early fireworks, that would be the last time the Huguenots would find the end zone on the day, as each of their subsequent drives would stall, as the hosts forced New Rochelle to pick up the remainder of their points off field goals.
Mamaroneck head coach Anthony Vitti credited his defensive unit’s relentless attitude for limiting the Huguenots despite surrendering a few big plays on the night.
“There were a few times [New Rochelle] got loose and went for big gains, but you saw the way our guys pursued and were able to bring them down,” said the head coach. “That turned out to be important, because it’s hard to win on field goals; eventually you’re going to have to score a touchdown.”
On the offensive end, the Tigers took their cues from quarterback Henry Kelly, who got the start in place of the injured Kieran Jacobson. The unflappable junior showed steady improvement throughout the course of the game, completing 17 passes for 108 yards and a first half touchdown to Jack Davidson before leading the Tigers on a game-winning drive late in the fourth quarter that was capped off by a touchdown run by Mark Lebowitz.
Lebowitz would finish with 117 rushing yards.
“Homecoming, playoff spot on the line, playing against your rival; that’s not an easy proposition for anybody, but he handled it so well,” said Vitti. “All year, Henry has been calm, steady, waiting for his opportunity and he obviously showed up tonight.”
For his part, Kelly said that being prepared for the Friday night homecoming game came down to confidence and preparation.
“I knew I’d be starting, so the week in practice was just about making sure I was ready,” said Kelly. “This week I was just more focused on the details, trying to make sure I got everything right, taking reps just to make sure I had everything down.”
Kelly credited an instant connection with Davidson—his leading receiver on the night—for helping him to settle in and shake the early-game jitters.
“It was a little rough early on, but I feel like once we got that touchdown in the first half, it started to feel a little bit easier,” said Kelly. “Jack is so good, he just catches everything.”
With the win, the Tigers (5-2) punched their ticket to the postseason, but they will have one more game on Friday against a 1-5 John Jay East Fishkill team.
As his team wraps up the regular season and looks ahead, Vitti believes that the adversity and tough competition his team has faced all year will help the Tigers prepare for the wide-open Class AA tournament.
“This league is so up and down, and each and every week, someone can knock someone else off, so we’ve got a lot more football left to play,” said Vitti. “With us and the teams that are out there, we can be a No. 2 seed, we can be a No. 6 seed; who knows?”
