Tough Last Second Loss for Peglegs in Opener

By Ava Quarles

On Thursday, September 14, the new-look Stuyvesant Peglegs visited the Franklin K. Lane Knights for their opening game of the 2023 season. Last year, the Peglegs defeated the Knights 12-8 early in the season on a rainy Sunday, and the excitement was tangible heading into the rematch. After kicking off, the Peglegs got off to a strong start and forced the Knights to punt on their first drive. Then at the start of the second quarter, from the 25-yard line, Eric Tang spotted Joseph Kim in the end zone and Kim caught the perfect pass mid-air to start the scoring with a touchdown. After Evan O’Reilly nailed the extra point kick, the Peglegs were up 7-0. Though the Knights rallied back with a touchdown on their next drive, the Peglegs defense prevented their two-point conversion attempt, retaining a 7-6 lead. However, Lane was able to score one more touchdown at the end of the second quarter, securing a 12-7 lead at halftime.

Going into the second half, the Peglegs were locked in on regaining the lead. On the Knights’ second drive, rookie Pegleg Bodhi Sabongui intercepted a pass and ran for 15 yards to give the Peglegs the ball at the 20-yard line. The Peglegs were able to get down to the 1-yard line and scored their second TD of the game when QB Eric Tang scored on a quarterback sneak on a crucial fourth down. O’Reilly kicked one more extra point to put Stuyvesant up 14-12. Spirits were high as the clock ticked down and a fumble recovery by Mekhi Edwards gave possession back to the Peglegs. But there were still over seven minutes left in the game and the team’s excitement proved to be premature. With just 25 seconds left in the game, the Knights put up eight points with a touchdown and successful two-point conversion. The Peglegs’ hard-fought season opener ended as a tough loss, 14-20.

Stuyvesant played a run-heavy game on Thursday, utilizing the talent of Sabongui and Edwards for a combined 103 yards rushing. Tang went 8/11 passing, and Tobias Oyaniran was a defensive anchor with a sack and seven tackles (two for loss). Ultimately, Thursday was a solid start to a long season, and it came down to a matter of seconds, swayed by small mistakes.

After the loss, the Peglegs immediately turned their attention to their contentious home game next week against specialized high school rival Brooklyn Tech. Coach Eddie Seo said, “We used to play Brooklyn Tech. We were their warm-up game. We were their confidence-builder before they started their season.” On Friday, Stuyvesant will face off against Tech for the first time in over two decades. There is no question about the team’s mindset heading into game two. Sabongui said, “This was a wake-up call. I’m woke.”