August Martin had enough.
After four consecutive losses to No. 1 Truman, including an overtime defeat last year and a close setback earlier this season, the fourth-seeded Falcons left little to chance.
Martin raced out to a big early lead and cruised to a 29-12 victory in the PSAL Bowl division semifinals in The Bronx. The Falcons (7-3) will meet No. 3 Thomas Jefferson at Midwood HS Athletic Field next Sunday at 1 p.m.
“They’ve beaten us three years in a row, and we were ready to go, probably more than ever before,” Martin coach Michael Scaduto said.
Shane Chambers had a pair of 60-yard touchdowns, one a reception and the other a punt return, and added a fumble recovery for good measure. Quarterback Thomas Greyer scored on a pair of short rushing TDs and threw the scoring strike to Chambers. Martin led 22-0 at halftime and was up 29-0 before Truman (8-2), which began the year 8-0 but lost its final two games, scored a pair of late touchdowns.
“This is probably the best game we’ve had all year,” Scaduto said. “We’re peaking at the right time. We’re much more consistent this week and we were able to put a full game together. The first time this year we came out with a bang and not a turnover or something like that.”
Scaduto was particularly proud of his defense, which shut down the electric Mustangs. Jason Kusimo, Tylique Darnley, Kelechi Ezeigwe and Greg Bethea each had sacks. The unit will have to be at its best next Sunday against Thomas Jefferson, who beat Martin, 18-14, in Week 3.
Cup Division
Automotive 20, Info Tech 0: Maurice Edwards threw a 75-yard touchdown pass to Dominic Gregory and a 60 yarder to Zorey Lewis and Dwon Williams took a punt 60 yards to pay dirt as the top-seeded Pistons (11-0) advanced to their first championship game in the program’s brief history.
David Genis recovered a fumble and had four sacks and Harrison Fontenelle had six tackles, three for losses, and two sacks for Automotive, which went 0-10 two years ago and won six games last fall. Info Tech fell to 7-4.
“It hasn’t sunk in yet, to be honest,” Automotive coach Haseeb Khawaja said. “It’s something that I know our team was good enough even at the end of last year to make the playoffs and be a serious contender for the finals. Going 10-0 was special, but winning our first playoff game was even more special than that.”
South Bronx 44, Petrides 12: Michael Walker completed 3-of-5 passes for 169 yards and three touchdown passes, two to Rafelito Mercedez, and Michael Drake Jr. and Devonte Arthur each ran for a score for No. 2 South Bronx (11-0).
The Phoenix, which also got a 90-yard kickoff return for a TD from Drake, will face No. 1 Automotive in the Cup division championship game at Midwood HS Field next Sunday at 10 a.m. Will Caban had a pair of rushing TDs and 70 yards on the ground for No. 3 Petrides (7-4)
