In two previous statement games, Brooklyn Tech fell short. The defense yielded 25 points to Fort Hamilton and 34 to Erasmus Hall in the setbacks, but it was the inability of the offense to move the ball and produce points that was the Engineers’ undoing.
In their third chance, history didn’t repeat itself. Tech rushed for 174 yards and the defense was there when it counted, leading the Engineers to a momentum-building, 24-14 victory over traditional power Canarsie Sunday afternoon.
“When we’re able to do things on offense, when we’re able to run the ball, it allows the defense to be that much better,” coach Kyle McKenna said. “They don’t have to carry the weight all the time and be on the field as much.”
The result was holding the explosive Chiefs (3-3) to one offensive touchdown, a Steven Rene run. The Syracuse-bound back, however, was mostly held in check. Quarterback Jarrel Turner threw for 227 yards, but was picked off twice, by James Brown and Tanber Zaman. Rene lost a fumble to Jamere Lanier. Turner was sacked seven times, three by Michael Plonski.
“When the time came and the game was on the line, the defensive line really stepped up,” McKenna said. He added: “We know we have a team that can go out and play with anybody and win a game like this.”
For Tech (4-2), Denzel McLarty ran for 85 yards and a touchdown and Tarrance Taylor added 70 yards and a score. The Engineers also answered each Canarsie touchdown with a special teams score. In the first half, Brown took a kickoff 90 yards to the house and in the second half it was Oyeleye Odewunmi going 85 yards to pay dirt.
After the losses to Fort Hamilton and Erasmus, McKenna talked about the experience of such setbacks helping the team down the road. This was the example he had in mind.
“It puts us in a position where we’re in control of our own destiny and it tells us that we’re capable of good things when we practice hard and we go out there and make few mistakes,” McKenna said. “The season is long and there’s still a lot more football to be played. We want to keep everything in perspective. But it’s definitely a great win. It’s the type of game we really needed to go out there and win.”