Page 35 - 2018 July Newsletter

CPD Enforcers play for the championship
Defeated but not daunted
Enforcers emerge with heads high despite title game loss
n BY DAN CAMPANA
n PHOTOS BY NICK SWEDBERG
Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York” echoing through Mor- ton West High School after the National Public Safety Football League National Championship game on June 23 could have sounded disappointment for the CPD Enforcers and their fans. Sure, NYPD Finest earned its 10th NPSFL title with a 16-0 win over the Enforcers. But nobody wearing CPD blue hung their heads after the team’s first national title game appearance.
“Hell of a contest,” Enforcers Head Coach John Curry said postgame. “The outcome is disappointing, but the effort is not disappointing. The effort our guys put forward was everything we could have asked for. The fight. The fierceness. They kept go- ing until the end of the game.”
The best season in the Enforcers 13-year history didn’t end the way Curry and his players wanted. But the team posted a 5-0 record to get to the brink of a championship, and, in the process, these officers who love football almost as much as po- licing, showed the rest of the league just how far the program has come.
“We’re there. We’re at the next level,” Curry offered. “It’s a mat- ter of execution at this point,”
During a scoreless first quarter, the teams resembled two box- ers looking for openings to strike. Neither side gained much of-
fensive traction and each committed one turnover. With about four minutes to play in the quarter, NYPD turned a screen pass into a big gain before the Enforcers forced a fumble downfield that Brandon Brooks recovered.
A balanced run-pass attack helped the Finest move the ball deep into Enforcers territory early in the second quarter. A quick slant pass into the end zone gave New York a 6-0 lead after a
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CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ JULY 2018 35