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<\/p>\nBROOKLYN, N.Y, — Even when it was over; after his Curtis Warriors had seen their reign as PSAL 4A city champions come to an end Sunday at Sid Luckman Field in Brooklyn as Erasmus Hall beat the Warriors, 44-27, to avenge an overtime loss in last year\u2019s title game, it was hard for Curtis head coach Pete Gambardella not to smile through the disappointment. <\/p>\n
\u201cI asked the kids to play 48 minutes and we\u2019d see where we\u2019re at,\u201d he said. \u201cThey did exactly what I asked. I couldn\u2019t ask for anything more from them. I\u2019m not upset. I\u2019m ecstatic that they played as hard as they did. Everybody stepped up today.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
1\/86<\/p>\n
PSAL 4A Semi-Final Game; Erasmus vs Curtis, at Sid Luckman Field, on Sun. Nov. 23, 2025. EHall advances<\/p>\n
While the Warriors closed the books on a 7-3 PSAL season (9-3 overall), Erasmus advanced to next \u2019s Sunday\u2019s championship game to face Tottenville at Eagle Academy II in Brooklyn.<\/p>\n
From the outset, Curtis was in catch-up mode. Amier Morrow (two TD) took the opening kickoff and returned it 80 yards to the Curtis 1-yard line before Jaire Lewis scored to give the Dutchmen a 7-0 lead.<\/p>\n
Enter Vincent Canzoneri, who would give Erasmus fits all day. The senior signal-caller turned in a performance for the ages, completing 26 of 38 passes for 303 yards and three touchdowns; rallying the Warriors each time the Dutchmen took a lead in the first half. <\/p>\n
Canzoneri completed his first six passes, leading Curtis to the Erasmus 1-yard-line before a penalty turned the Warriors away. However, he would not be denied a second time. After Chuckie Simmons recovered an Erasmus fumble, Canzoneri began to, once again, slice and dice the Dutchmen defenders, taking just six plays to put the Warriors on the board with a perfectly-thrown pass to Jayden Melendez (6 catches, 79 yards) to tie the score at 7.<\/p>\n
On the strength of Canzoneri\u2019s accurate arm, the Warriors would rally twice more after Erasmus scores in the first half on TD throws to Toriano Lewis (nine catches, 95 yards) and Akai Lewis (seven catches, 123 yards), the latter on the last play of the half.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s dynamic,\u201d said Gambardella of his quarterback. \u201cHe\u2019s just a football player. Things happen and he\u2019s going to make mistakes but I\u2019ll go to battle with him any time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite the fact that a number of questionable calls on scoring plays went the way of the home team, the resilient Warriors went punch for punch with Erasmus throughout the first half.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe tell the kids all the time that they can only control what they can control,\u201d said Gambardella with regard to the officiating. \u201cThe refs may make judgment calls that go against us but we have to move on because they\u2019re not going to change. We have to focus on the next play.\u201d<\/p>\n
A tough bounce on the second-half kickoff pinned Curtis on its own 9, where things started to unravel for the Warriors. Canzoneri was called for intentional grounding in the end zone; resulting in a safety that stretched the Dutchmen lead to 23-20. Then, after the ensuing free kick, Erasmus scored on two plays for a 30-20 advantage. On the next possession, Canzoneri led Curtis to the Erasmus 10 before the Dutchmen\u2019s Ahkiem Brown stepped in front of a pass to Michael Vanmanen and raced 95 yards to paydirt for a 37-20 lead that, essentially, put the game away. Quadare Gomez would post the Warriors\u2019 final score on a 3-yard-plunge in the fourth quarter.<\/p>\n
After the game, Gambardella took a minute to reflect on the contributions to the program made by his senior class. <\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a great group of seniors,\u201d he said. \u201cSome have been with us for four years, some just came on this year but they\u2019re a great group. Anything I asked them to do, they did. That\u2019s all a coach can hope for.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of those seniors is the coach\u2019s son, A.J. Gambardella choked up when asked what it was like to coach his son before saying, simply, \u201cIt was priceless.\u201d <\/p>\n
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