Lou Vesce has yet to see the team he boldly talked about in August. Through two weeks, Port Richmond has struggled to put all three phases of the game together over 48 minutes.
Fortunately for the Red Raiders, Aaron Yates has been omnipresent for the final two. Eight days after his last-second kick return led Port Richmond past Kennedy, the dynamic junior played the role of hero yet again, scoring on an 80-yard touchdown catch and the ensuing two-point conversion in Port Richmond’s dramatic, 16-14 victory over winless New Utrecht on Staten Island.
“We knew going into the season he was gonna be one of our biggest playmakers,” the coach said. “He’s our playmaker down the field. We figured to give him a shot. Two weeks in a row he came up big for us.”
Yates didn’t even touch the ball before Port Richmond’s final possession, but more than made up for his quiet afternoon. On 3rd-and-14 from the PR 20, quarterback Michael Goffredo, who earlier found Tarrel Aiken on a 28-yard strike, got single coverage with Yates on the outside and put the ball up. Yates outleaped the cornerback, broke a tackle and was off to the races.
Though pleased to be 2-0, Vesce was far from happy. The offense, which he felt would be dynamic with a solid of core of explosive junior skill position players behind an all-senior offensive line, never found its rhythm against a New Utrecht defense that was shredded for 54 points by Lincoln in Week 1. The defense wasn’t lights out either, allowing long scoring drives in the first and third quarters.
“We could easily be 0-2, we just feel like we need to get better, a lot of things we could do better,” Vesce said. “In the locker room, it’s not like there is a lot of cheering going on. Players and coaches, we know we have to get a lot better to get to where we want to be.
Of course, Vesce isn’t giving the wins back. He’s thrilled to be 2-0 without his team at its best, Port Richmond’s first 2-0 start since winning it all in 2008. It is also building character, Vesce said, these last-second wins.
“We have a lot of talent,” Vesce said. “I think we can make a good run.”
Yates’ star turn is somewhat surprising. Of the juniors Vesce mentioned during the preseason, he focused on Goffredo, the quarterback, and slot receiver Mario Villafane, who has hardly played this season because of injury and illness. Instead, it’s Yates largely responsible for the two thrilling victories.
“By the time the end of the game is coming, I do like to have all the pressure on to make a big play because I know I can come up big for my team,” Yates said. “I have to be a leader, make plays in clutch moments.”
No one has done more of that early this season.