Fort 25 - Tech 6

Brooklyn Tech's rally falls short
Engineers outplay Fort Hamilton in second half, but run out of time

By ZACH BRAZILLER

Brooklyn Tech outgained Fort Hamilton, 161-73, on offense and out-rushed them, 125-4. The turnover battle was even, as was the scoreboard.

Unfortunately, that was just the second half.

Taking advantage of two Engineers turnovers, the Tigers led 19-0 at intermission and prevailed, 25-6, Thursday afternoon in the Fort Greene section of Brooklyn.

“If we come out like that,” senior running back Tarrance Taylor said, referring to the final 24 minutes, “we can beat anybody.”

Taylor capped Brooklyn Tech’s lone scoring drive, of 13 plays and 75 yards, finding pay dirt from 13 yards on 4th-and-1. The drive to start the second half set a tone that the Tech wasn’t going anywhere. Twice more, the Engineers drove into Tigers territory but failed to produce points.
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Fort Hamilton (3-0) failed to pick up a first down after halftime until quarterback Frank Laino hit wide receiver Brandon Reddish on a 69-yard touchdown pass with 3:00 remaining, a scoring strike that iced the victory.

“We came out and we stood there and we fought,” Brooklyn Tech's first-year coach Kyle McKenna said. “My hat goes off to our kids.”

McKenna took heart in his team’s effort. There was a fighter’s mentality, he said, that trickled down throughout his entire roster. It had nothing to do with any speech he delivered or X’s and O’s adjustments.

“They came out and decided they wanted to play as good as they are,” he said. “It’s not like I became Bill Belichick.”

Brooklyn Tech (2-1) made the extra blocks that sprung running backs Denzel McLarty (14-67) and Taylor (7-44) for first-down runs. It gave quarterback Hisham Dola (6-of-14, 78 yards) that extra split second to find an open receiver. Defensively, the Engineers kept containment on Fort Hamilton stars AJ Richardson and Frank Laino, not allowing either to get the edge.

“We have to work on keeping our intensity up the whole game,” wide receiver/quarterback/defensive back James Brown said.

Like any coach, McKenna wasn’t taking a moral victory out of the performance. He felt after Taylor’s touchdown, and the defense forced Fort Hamilton to go three-and-out, Brooklyn Tech was in the driver’s seat. But with what he described as a top-tier schedule looming, a loss isn’t the worst thing that can happen.

“When you have a lot of success early it’s good to get tested and see how you react afterwards,” McKenna said. “It’s not like we’re on a bed of roses and everything is great. You got to face some adversity to get to the point where you can peak.”

zbraziller@nypost.com