Fieldston scores comeback win against RCS

Private schools

Fieldston 27, Riverdale Country 13

Scores by quarter for RC: 7, 0, 6, 0

Scores by quarter for F: 6, 14, 7, 0

The Fieldston football team lacks depth on its roster, but its small numbers are mastering the comeback win.

Senior quarterback Henry Miller threw three touchdown passes and the Eagles (3-0, 2-0 Metropolitan Independent Football League) earned their third come-from-behind win to start the season on Saturday against visiting Riverdale Country.

Riverdale (0-4, 0-2) scored first, but sophomore running back Justyn Rogers, senior tight end Jake Godosky and senior wide receiver Sam Millstein all caught touchdown passes to give Fieldston a 20-7 third-quarter lead.

Riverdale pulled to within 20-13, but senior running back Jack Upton ran in his third touchdown of the season to close the scoring.

“It’s the biggest game [of the season] for us, and for them, too,” said Fieldston coach Gus Ornstein. “They are right down the street, and because this is the first year in the same league as them, it adds even more importance to it.”

Senior defensive end Sam Green had two sacks, senior outside linebacker Alex Jalazo led the team in tackles and Miller now has seven touchdown passes and only one interception this season.

Ornstein keeps praying for cooler weather because he only has 30 players on his roster, and he is worried about them becoming fatigued late in games. They also had only five days to prepare for today’s game at Montclair Kimberley Academy (2-1, 2-0).

“When I talked to the kids, I feel like I’ve made the same speech two weeks in a row,” Ornstein said. “’It was a monster win for our program against Hackley [two weeks ago], but we can’t enjoy it anymore. We have to worry about Riverdale.’ And now we beat Riverdale and it’s, ‘We can’t enjoy it anymore. We’ve got to turn around and play MKA.’

“But for our kids to get back up and answer the call on Saturday, that was awesome.”

Fieldston, which is in the midst of playing all four of its league games in consecutive weeks, has another hurdle this week — no field to practice on. 

Because of the Jewish holidays, all the school’s games were condensed into the first three days of the week. So the field hockey team had the football field on Monday and Wednesday and there was a middle school football game on Tuesday.

“We’re making the best of it,” Ornstein said. “We’re sneaking behind the soccer field and then stealing 10 minutes at halftime of the field hockey game. I don’t know if it’s a bad thing because maybe we get a chance to get our feet back under us. But it’s certainly unique.”

After today’s game, Fieldston gets eight days off before its Oct. 11 date at Pennington, New Jersey.

Public schools

DeWitt Clinton 24, Harry S. Truman 0

Scores by quarter for T: 0, 0, 0, 0

Scores by quarter for C: 18, 0, 6, 0

Junior quarterback Brandon Harris was 9-of-17 passing for 118 yards and threw two touchdowns to senior wide receiver Joe Kennedy for the Governors (4-0), who are one of three undefeated teams left in the 24-team City Conference.

Senior running back Solomon Reed ran for 96 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries, and junior Dashown Wilson Jr. returned a fumble for a touchdown and had a sack, one of the team’s five on the day.

The Governors’ defense, which has allowed 41 points through four games, held Truman to 109 yards of offense.

Clinton visits Port Richmond (1-3) at 11 a.m. on Sunday.

Kennedy Campus 21, Lehman 13

Scores by quarter for L: 0, 7, 6, 0

Scores by quarter for JFK: 7, 6, 0, 8

Senior Jaire Blackwell had 154 rushing yards and two touchdowns on only five carries for the Knights (3-1), and senior quarterback P.J. Franklyn threw a 58-yard touchdown pass to senior tight end Tyshawn Boykin. Blackwell also ran in a two-point conversion to give JFK an eight-point, fourth-quarter lead.

Senior middle linebacker Damien Diaz led the defense with seven tackles, while junior defensive tackle Richie Bermudez had three tackles for a loss, including two sacks. The Kennedy defense held Lehman to only 75 offensive yards.

JFK plays host to Campus Magnet (0-4) at 7 p.m. on Saturday.