Jaden Innocent's sack in final seconds helps Tottenville hold off Curtis in PSAL 4A

Tottenville held a one-point lead with 10 seconds left. Curtis quarterback Vincent Canzoneri stepped up in the pocket but was sacked by Pirates defensive end Jaden Innocent. Curtis had no timeouts, the clock ran out, and a sold-out crowd in Staten Island erupted.

Tottenville’s offense has been winning games the past few years. But now it’s the Pirates’ defense — including Innocent, who was constantly in the backfield — making the difference.

“He’s come a long way from never having played football until his sophomore year,” Tottenville coach Brian Neville said. “We found him in the hallways, and now he has a chance to play at the next level. He’s one of the best rushers in the city, and I credit his position coach.”

Innocent had two sacks on the final drive to lead visiting Tottenville past Curtis, 14-13, in PSAL 4A on Friday night.

Tottenville reclaimed the Lt. Nick Lia and Capt. John Drennan Memorial Trophy in the storied rivalry.

This year’s matchup had an added twist. The NFL and Jets chose Curtis vs. Tottenville as part of their national Rivalry Week campaign.

Dick’s Sporting Goods sponsored the event, with representatives from Nike and the NFL amplifying the game on social media. There was a DJ, giveaways, and stadium light shows to enhance the atmosphere.

“It was one of the top high school events I’ve been involved in,” Curtis coach Peter Gambardella said. “They took over the lights — it was insane. And on top of it, it’s Curtis-Tottenville.”

“It was unbelievable,” Neville said. “Curtis’ field is an iconic place to play, and with the Jets, the lights, the crowd — it was some atmosphere.”

Tottenville struck first. Kory Brown took a pitch to the right side and scored on a 4-yard run to make it 6-0 with 4:25 left in the first quarter.

In the second, Curtis answered. Canzoneri connected with Akai Lewis over the middle for a 44-yard touchdown as the stadium lights flickered, giving Curtis a 7-6 lead.

Later in the quarter, Canzoneri hit Lewis again for a 27-yard gain before Quadare Gomez scored on a 7-yard run to make it 13-6 with 2:53 left in the half.

But Nicolas Constantino immediately responded. The ensuing kickoff bounced once into his hands, and he returned it 73 yards to the Curtis 15. That set up a Tyshwan Bent touchdown and a two-point conversion, putting Tottenville ahead 14-13 at halftime.

“We’ve never been losing at any point this year,” Neville said. “You don’t know how your team will react, but we did what we do — got back into scoring position and punched one in.”

The second half was all defense, as both teams were held scoreless. Eli Jones added a sack and Omar Mendez recovered a fumble for Tottenville in the fourth.

Curtis held Tottenville to its lowest point total of the season, as Jarrett Serate, Armani Kamara and Ndiame Diouck anchored a strong defensive front.

“We executed what we wanted,” Gambardella said. “We wanted to eliminate their big plays, and I thought we did that, but there were moments that could’ve changed the game — that’s on us.”

With the win, Tottenville clinched the top seed in PSAL 4A.

“It’s Tottenville-Curtis — you know it’s gonna be a dogfight,” Neville said. “Last year we couldn’t hold up our end, but this is how it usually is — a back-and-forth battle for bragging rights.”

PSAL 1A

East Harlem 42, Frederick Douglass Academy 6: Asher Lipman completed 7 of 9 passes for 104 yards and two touchdowns and Tre Harris carried 10 times for 92 yards and a touchdown and caught a TD pass to lead the East Harlem Pride (7-1) in the regular-season finale.  

Cody Arevalo had three receptions for 70 yards and a score and made four tackles, three for a loss, including one sack. After Frederick Douglass Academy (2-6) took a 6-0 lead in the first quarter on an 85-yard run by Cleon Clarke Jr., Lipman threw a 63-yard TD pass to Arevalo and followed with a two-point conversion pass to Arevalo. Harris scored his two touchdowns in the second quarter, first on a 21-yard throw from Lipman and then on a 10-yard run, helping the Pride build a 24-6 advantage by halftime.

Emmanuel Hernandez rushed for a 6-yard TD in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, Russell Francis ran for a 46-yard touchdown and Kalidy Yafa had a 10-yard fumble return to the end zone.

A-Tech 14, Long Island City 8: Justin Rivera passed to Tashaffe Peloy for a 44-yard fourth-quarter touchdown to give A-Tech (4-4, 4-4) a come-from-behind win in the regular-season finale. Rivera finished with 188 yards through the air. Peloy, who had six catches for 138 yards, ran for a 6-yard score in the first quarter. Long Island City (5-4, 5-3) took an 8-6 lead in the second quarter, getting an 18-yard touchdown run from Armani Johnson and a two-point conversion pass from Timothy Hernandez to Christopher Robinson. Andrew Debique had eight tackles and Zedecki Laster had seven tackles for A-Tech. Jacob Bennett and Robinson had interceptions for Long Island City against Rivera.

Petrides 1, Evander Childs 0: Petrides (10-0, 8-0) won by forfeit over Evander Childs (0-8) in what was scheduled to be Petrides' regular-season finale in PSAL 1A. Petrides coach Dave Olah wrote in a text that Evander Childs said that its bus never showed to take the team to the game.