No. 4-seeded Curtis had a huge undertaking in the PSAL AAAA Conference semifinals against top-seeded, the state’s No. 1-ranked team, but penalties, miscues and turnovers contributed to a 43-12 loss Saturday at Sid Luckman Field in Brooklyn.
Head coach Pete Gambardella’s team, which lost to the Dutchmen 40-13 earlier this season, finished with a 6-6 record, while Erasmus improved to 10-2 (10-0 in the league). The Brooklynites will face Tottenville — which knocked off Abraham Lincoln, 43-15 in the other semifinal — in next Sunday’s title game at Midwood HS in Brooklyn at 1:30 p.m.
“Though the scoreboard doesn’t indicate it, we played better this time around,” said Gambardella. “So I’m happy we battled. But the turnovers put us in a bad spot.”
Erasmus threatened late in the first quarter, but the Dutchmen drive was stopped at the 1-yard line when Curtis defensive back Daniel Lewis intercepted a pass with 3:04 remaining.
But two plays later, an errant snap went into the end zone and Erasmus recorded the safety and had a 2-0 lead with 2:23 left in the first.
Erasmus extended the lead to 8-0 on a crazy play with 8:51 left in the second quarter when Curtis quarterback Michael Vanmanen had a pass blocked at the line of scrimmage. The ball went back to Vanmanen, who caught the ball and tried to pass it again but was picked off and returned for a TD with 8:51 left in the first half.
The Warriors then put together a long drive that ended with Quadare Gomez’s 5-yard scamper. But the two-point PAT was denied and Curtis trailed 8-6 with 6:35 on the clock.
The Dutchmen, however, added two late TDs in the second quarter to make it 22-6 at the intermission.
“We had the opportunity to score (before the half),” lamented Gambardella. “We had two dropped passes in the end zone that could have given us some momentum.”
An interception led to another TD with 5:05 left in the third and the rout was on as Erasmus extended its lead to 29-6.
Down 43-6, the Warriors’…
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