Tottenville’s Brandon Barnes throws a pass. (Denis Gostev)
Malique Belfort is a traditional No. 1 receiver in all the stereotypical ways.
At 6-foot-4 and 180 pounds, the Tottenville senior is tall, lean and speedy. He likes to talk — Belfort reminded reporters he caused a fumble during the Pirates 32-0 rout of Brooklyn power Fort Hamilton in the two teams’ PSAL City Championship division opener yesterday — and has battled maturity issues.
Belfort, in fact, comes straight out of the Randy Moss handbook. He also has a world of potential, which he displayed against Fort Hamilton. Belfort caught touchdown passes of 71 and 51 yards from quarterback Brandon Barnes and hauled In four catches for 142 yards altogether.
“This is what Malique can do,” Tottenville coach Jim Munson said. “He can be a helluva player.”
Tottenvile had a lot of players Munson raved about on Saturday.
Though star running back Augustus Edwards, a Syracuse commit, only ran for just 18 yards as Fort Hamilton stacked the box, he did score once on the ground and was a monster on defense, racking up two sacks.
“What he can do at outside linebacker and defensive end is just great,” Munson said.
Senior receiver Kevin Coughlin made an impact, hauling in three catches for 51 yards. Barnes, in his first game back after tearing his ACL last October, completed 3-of-13 passes for 179 yards and looked to be in fine form.
“I felt great, my knee is great, I felt comfortable out there, just like I did last year and the year before that,” he said. “That first touchdown pass was the best feeling I’ve had in months.”
While the defense did give up 151 rushing yards, it notched a shutout, never an easy thing to do, especially against Fort Hamilton even though two-way star Travon Reid Segure (knee) was out.
Before the contest Munson chided reporters for ranking his team No. 1 in the city, saying he was “tired” of having a bull’s eye on his team’s back. They seemed to handle it well.
“We’re OK with that, we’ll respond to the challenge,” Munson said. “As a team we grew up a little bit today.”
Munson said Belfort has matured. He is talking less and listening more, has emerged as a leader for Tottenville as one of its hardest workers. The transformation began in the summer, when he took classes and met with tutors to ensure his eligibility. There is still a good chance, Munson said, Belfort could qualify to play Division I football.
“This year, I think, can be my breakout year,” he said.
Belfort has plenty of interest, from schools like Pittsburgh, Temple, West Virginia, Boston College, Rutgers and UConn, which will likely become offers if he makes the grade.
“This season I’m just trying to focus on two things: football and school, and everything else will fall into place,” he said
How far has Belfort come? After by far the finest performance of his career, he credited his teammates before himself, faulted himself for missed blocks, lauded last year’s star Alvin Cornelius for showing him how to go about his business and refused to say he’s the top receiver in the PSAL when prompted.
That likely wouldn’t have been the case last fall.
“He really grew up,” Barnes said. “He’s actually emerging as one of the leaders on the team.”