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ARMONK, N.Y. Pelham High School took advantage of the chaos that occurred in Class A football earlier in the weekend with a win at Byram Hills (3-1) on Sunday afternoon.
The Pelicans (3-1) overcame a stingy Bobcats defense in the first half and rode running back Ke'shaun Stallworth to a 27-13 victory. The stellar senior finished with three touchdowns against a Byram Hills defense that had only given up eight points all season and helped give Pelham a leg up in the group of teams jockeying for playoff position in Class A.
Head coach Dave Moskowitz knew about the losses suffered by Harrison, Nyack and Horace Greeley on Saturday but said the playoff picture is still not clear.
"It's such a crazy formula, I'm not even going to pull my hair out trying to do it," Moskowitz said. "It'll crystallize a little bit more over the next couple of weeks."
Still, Pelham capitalized on the opportunity and erased a 10-0 deficit in the second quarter thanks to a relentless rushing attack. Aakiel Anthony made several cutbacks, burst through the defense and ran more than 60 yards to the end zone late in the second quarter to pull Pelham within three.
From there, Stallworth took control. The senior scored on a one yard run with 51 seconds left in the second quarter to give Pelham a 14-10 lead that the Pelicans would never relinquish. He scored again with 5:51 remaining in the third.
But Stallworth's most highlight-worthy play came with 2:50 remaining in the third quarter. He got the ball on a pitch to the right and after at least one defender got a hand on him in the backfield, Stallworth reversed field and burst up the left side of the field for a 53-yard touchdown.
Stallworth said he recognized the importance of Sunday's game, but he also knew a win would just be one step in the right direction.
"We know we have to win out," Stallworth said. "Every game is going to be a tough one. Everyone's going to try to come at us. We just have to take one game at a time and hopefully win out."
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Contact Andrew Meola at ameola@thedailypelham.com.
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