Finley Football Tops Stimson, 26-6

The J. Taylor Finley Middle School football team played its best game of the season in topping crosstown rival Stimson, 26-6.

A crowd numbering in the hundreds filled the bleachers and surrounded the fence that encloses the new sod playing field at Finley. It was a memorable afternoon for Finley’s players as well as for coaches Jordan Ioviero, Gregory Dieterich and Jonathan Garland.

It was a hard fought battle. Stimson came into the game without a loss and its roster includes many skilled players along with an excellent coaching staff.

Finley’s defense held firm throughout the contest. Stimson’s points came off a fumble recovery scoop and score. Finley’s defense was led by Braedan Kline, who recorded five tackles in the game. Wesley Privele and Blake Bender had four tackles each. Brady LaCosta, Edgar Castro, Erick Anariba, Ricardo Berry, Shamell Spratley and Jude Creegan each had three tackles.

Luis Chavez had two tackles and forced a fumble and Colby Curran also recorded two tackles and sacked the quarterback. Dylan Michaelson and Rasiere Blizzard both had a pair of tackles.

Brendan McNulty was four-for-four passing for 121 yards, two touchdowns and a two-point conversion. Charles Rosselli completed one-of-two passes for 10 yards. On the flip side, Ricardo Berry caught three passes for 81 yards and a touchdown and two-point conversion. Colby Curran caught a pass for a 40 yard touchdown and Dylan Michaelson caught a pass for a 10 yard gain.

Finley’s ground game was also impressive, rushing 14 times for 281 yards and two touchdowns. Rasiere Blizzard ran for 115 yards and a touchdown on three carries. Patrick Tortora ran for a 47 yard touchdown. Kingsley Evan gained 33 yards on two carries. Ricardo Berry carried twice for 17 yards. Brendan McNulty ran three times for 18 yards. Charles Rosselli (one carry for six yards), Sha’Quan Wilson (one carry for 21 yards) and Shamell Spratley (one carry for 24 yards) also contributed to the offense.

The Finley defense was bolstered by the play of Ben Burke, Brendan McNulty, Eli Rodriquez, Nikolay Caldwell, Jose Walter, Rocco Caruso and Sha’Quan Wilson all made tackles in the game.

When the final whistle sounded, Finley celebrated its first win of the fall.