Staten Island HS football: Will third time be the charm? Neville faces Erasmus again in title game

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Tottenville head coach Brian Neville is hoping the third time is a charm!

After bringing the Pirates to two previous PSAL 4A city championship games against perennial power Erasmus Hall and falling short both times, Neville will get another shot at the Brooklyn school Sunday at 1 p.m. at Midwood HS in Brooklyn.

A city crown is the one missing link on Neville’s impressive resume for a football program that already has two city trophies in its trophy case, both under former head coach Jim Munson.

And Neville, who has posted an 80-32 record now in 10 seasons in Huguenot, knows if he can bring the Pirates another crown he will be mentioned in the same breath as the legendary Munson.

But first things first: He must beat old nemesis Erasmus, which has won six PSAL city crowns, including its most recent vs. Tottenville in 2023.

The teams met during the regular season with the Pirates prevailing, 38-35, in a game that wasn’t decided until the final seconds when Erasmus turned the ball over on downs inside the Pirate 5-yard line.

But Neville said you can throw out the result of that game versus Erasmus (9-2 overall, 7-1 in the league), its only league loss coming at the hands of the Pirates.

“The outcome in September has no advantage,” said Neville, who brings his 12-0 squad into Sunday’s game. “It was a back-and-forth game that could of went either way.”

And the feeling is this game could resemble the first, not that Neville wants it that way, other than the final result.

“Hopefully, we can play better defense,” he said. “We don’t want to be in a shootout. They are too explosive and can score quick.”

Neville says Erasmus quarterback Kendu Brown (1,182 yards passing and 14 TDs) and receiver Justus Murray are the big threats (538 yards receiving and six TD receptions) in the Dutchmen attack. Ameir Morrow and Richaurd Dobbin make for a formidable backfield.

“Slowing down their offense is going to be tough,” said Neville. “Their QB is a dual threat and their running backs, led by Morrow, are physical and elusive with breakaway speed.

“We have to be able to tackle and play with gap integrity to contain them in the run game and then be able to cover in the back end where their receiver group, led by Murray, is deep.”

Erasmus may have an explosive offense, but Tottenville’s may be better.

All the Pirates have done this season is average 36.3 points per game behind a balanced passing and running attack.

QB Justin McGuire has passed for 1,426 yards and 19 TDs, while being picked off just twice. His favorite receiver is Nic Constantino (30 receptions for 667 yards in the league and seven TD receptions).

Senior RB Tyshawn Bent has rushed for 928 yards and 11 TDs, while junior back Kory Brown has rushed for 636 yards and 13 rushing TDs.

“Offensively, we need to not turnover the ball because you don’t want to give them extra possessions and don’t want to give them free yards with penalties which we have been doing,” cautioned Neville, whose team is coming off a 41-13 semifinal win versus Abraham Lincoln last week. “We have to play disciplined in all three phases.”

Erasmus has a stingy defense, but looked pretty pedestrian during a 44-27 semifinal win over Curtis on Sunday, when Warrior QB Vincent Canzoneri passed for more 300 yards and three TDs.

The Pirates are built differently than Curtis and will most likely come up with a different game plan.

Neville doesn’t own the best record against Erasmus, losing 10 of 12 games to Danny Landberg’s club during his tenure. That’s because Erasmus has had loads of talent through the years and are well coached. And this year is no different.

“Everything about Erasmus scares me,” said Neville with caution. “They have athletes all over (the field) with size, speed, athleticism. We are going to have to play our best game of the year, but let’s see what happens.”

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NOTES: The Dutchmen’s six PSAL city crowns has them tied with Susan Wagner and Bayside for second place. Curtis leads the PSAL’s top tier with eight championships … This will be the Pirates’ eighth trip to the title game. They are 2-5 heading into Sunday.