John Jay flag footballers rally for win over Peekskill

Above, Julie Berisha carries for an extra point in John Jay win over Peekskill. JIM MACLEAN PHOTO

At left, Ava Baiocco adds yards after a reception. JIM MACLEAN PHOTO

By  JIM MACLEAN

Riding a two-game winning streak, the John Jay girls varsity flag football team was hoping to make it three straight when the Wolves hosted Peekskill on April 10.

However, John Jay fell behind in the first quarter as Peekskill came out strong and opened up a 7-0 lead. John Jay was able to respond when quarterback Gianna Pelosi connected with Dani Weisfelner on a pair of long touchdown passes and another to Nonie Whelan, and the Wolves rallied for a 20-13 victory.

“We started out rough, but we pulled through, which was amazing,” said Pelosi. “Dani is outstanding, she’s only an eighth grader and one of the fastest people I know. When she breaks it she’s gone and it’s amazing to see how she plays.”

With the win John Jay improved to 3-2 overall as the Wolves won their third-straight after starting the season 0-2. The Wolves recorded their first win over Clarkstown by the score of 24-6, and then defeated Yonkers by a score of 35-26. That set the stage for the Wolves against Peekskill.

It was a slow start as Peekskill scored to take the lead, but Pelosi hit Weisfelner on the second play of the second quarter to cut the lead down to 7-6.

That touchdown provided the spark and John Jay carried it over into the second half to get the win.

“We played really well against Yonkers and I think maybe we were a little complacent today in the first half,” explained John Jay coach Jason Kuhlmann. “Under a little pressure at half time, they came out and played much better in the second half and were more aggressive.”

It didn’t start well in the second half as John Jay had possession to start, but Peekskill came up with a pick-six interception to increase the lead to 13-6.

However, the rest of the half John Jay took control as the Wolves answered right back. It was the same connection from Pelosi to Dani Weisfelner as they hooked up on a 60-yard touchdown pass. Pelosi then hit Ava Baiocco for a completion on the extra point to tie it up at 13-13 with 3:30 left in the third quarter.

After stopping Peekskill on its ensuing possession and forcing the Red Devils to punt, John Jay struck again. This time it was Pelosi connecting on a 35-yard touchdown pass to Nonie Whelan to give the Wolves their first lead of the game at 20-13.

The Wolves defense did the rest as Julie Berisha came up with several flag pulls for a loss, and she made the stop on fourth down to halt Peekskill on its final possession of the game at the Wolves 40-yard line.

John Jay took over and put together another long drive to close out the game, as Pelosi connected once again with Dani Weisfelner on a long 40-yard pass, and the Wolves downed it at the Peekskill one-yard line rather than running in for the meaningless touchdown as time expired.

“Gianna and Dani have made a little connection there and that’s been a big help for us,” Kuhlmann said of Pelosi and Weisfelner. “We had a lot of girls involved and that makes us more dangerous. We’re not just relying on two or three girls and we can spread the ball around.”

John Jay was scheduled to host rival Fox Lane on Thursday, April 16. The Wolves then travel to Brewster on Wednesday, April 22, and host Horace Greeley on Friday, April 24.