Port Richmond football downs New Dorp behind Kasiem Cromwell's all-around play

It wasn't the first time a star player pleaded with his coach to call a specific play. Except this time, Kasiem Cromwell wasn't demanding the ball.

Instead, during halftime Cromwell was imploring Port Richmond coach Louis Vesce to throw the ball to Connor Oliver.

It paid off.

On the first offensive play of the second half for Port Richmond, quarterback Cameron Smith dropped back and threw a long strike downfield to Oliver, who gathered the ball at the 45-yard line and outraced two defenders for an 82-yard touchdown on the way to a 47-16 rout of New Dorp Saturday afternoon at the Port Richmond High School athletic complex in Staten Island.

“My boy Coop. Oh my God. I asked coach to do that at halftime,” Cromwell said. “I wanted to see my boy in the end zone because I knew he could do it.”

Cromwell’s lobbying and belief played a part in helping Port Richmond improve to 2-0 overall and 1-0 in PSAL 4A play.

So, too, did his play.

The senior rushed for 106 yards and accounted for three touchdowns, the first of which was a bit of improvisation.

Cromwell is an all-purpose player who plays quarterback, running back, wide receiver, defensive back and punts for the Raiders.

Midway through the first quarter, with Port Richmond leading 8-0, Cromwell was set to punt from the Raiders’ 39-yard line.

However, the snap was high and the senior had to leap to corral the ball. When he landed, he juked to the left and began sprinting up the sideline. Seventy-seven yards later, Port Richmond had a 14-0 lead and New Dorp (1-1, 0-1) was headed to its first loss of the season.

“That’s part of his game. It’s part of his game. When the ball’s in his hands you have to hold your breath a little bit,” said Vesce, who would emphatically stress his belief in the senior. “If it doesn’t work out on a play like that I’m not going to say anything because in his mind he said to himself this was an opportunity to make a play. I don’t get in the way of playmakers.”

Cromwell's seven-yard touchdown sprint to open the second quarter extended the lead to 21-0, and two possessions later, he added a 22-yard score that gave the Raiders a 27-8 cushion at halftime.

As well as reinforce their belief in what they are trying to accomplish in 2025 following a 2024 campaign in which Port Richmond went 0-9.

To hear Cromwell and Vesce, the plan is to build a team that supports itself collectively and each individual player. To reinforce the aim, the word ‘family’ is stitched upon the nameplate of every Raiders jersey.

“Whatever happens, good, bad, or indifferent, I want them to stay together. I don’t want any finger-pointing,” Vesce said.

But, just to be clear, what transpired in 2024 is not far of mind for the Raiders.

“We all have something to remind us that it can go either way, bad or good,” Cromwell said. “Every week we get better. Every day we get better. One percent better every day.”