After a fall full of wins against schools like Abraham Lincoln, Midwood, John F. Kennedy, Wagner, and Erasmus Hall, the Curtis High School football players earned their way into the PSAL City Conference Championships where they faced Erasmus Hall. The wins they had were astronomical, leading by 10 points or more in every game that came before. Despite their loss in the game, the Warriors put up a huge fight till the very end. Sam Martin, a running back and wide receiver, went on to make 2 consecutive touchdowns during the game. When about to lose the ball to the opposing team, he managed to pass the ball off to Justin Garcia, the captain, who then made a clean touchdown for the Castle on the Hill. On the impressive play, Garcia said that “(Martin) trusted me and made a heads-up play. It gave us some momentum going into halftime. It was exactly what we needed at the time.” Maurice Hinton, the senior running back/linebacker, made several defensive tackles that prevented Erasmus from taking a lead early on. 

It was a tough game, and at many points it seemed like either team could take the win. There’s no doubt about it though: the Warriors stayed strong the whole way through. Head coach Peter Gambardella agreed fully. “I’ve been coaching as an assistant and head coach for a long time and (this year’s team) is a special group. We asked them to play for 48 minutes and they did until the bitter end.” Osahan Noruwa, a senior on the team, felt the same way. “The football season was really fun as a senior. We didn’t have a full season last year so it was fun getting out there and playing with my teammates that have turned into brothers over time. It’s been a great four years with Coach Gambo, I used to play basketball but dropped it for football. Best decision I’ve made in high school. The championship game was really exciting and I loved the moment. Didn’t turn out the way we wanted but it was an experience I will never forget.”