LI Lutheran football can't keep up with Eagle Academy II (Brooklyn)

The skill players at Eagle Academy II (Brooklyn) are known as “The Sliders” and that group stole the show against Long Island Lutheran.

Zy’eare Schulters totaled 119 yards of offense and three touchdowns to lead Eagle Academy II past Long Island Lutheran, 55-25, on Saturday.

Tyler Grayson, Josiah Brown, Juvens Lindor and Schulters all caught touchdown passes from quarterbacks Aaron Smith and Martin Koppelman, as Long Island Lutheran couldn’t slow down the receiving corps.

“Oh man, the Sliders — we’re just playmakers,” Schulters said. “It doesn’t matter if we have the ball or if we’re blocking, it’s about having the mentality to make a play and we believe in our coaches.”

It didn’t take long for Eagle Academy to strike for a big play. Koppelman found Brown for a 48-yard score to go up 6-0 with 9:09 left in the first quarter.

LuHi responded as Peyton Robinson connected with Kaiere Griffin for a 14-yard touchdown pass to tie it at 6.

Eagle Academy’s offense took over the rest of the first quarter. Smith connected with Grayson on a 53-yard bomb, then found Lindor for a 28-yard touchdown pass on the next drive to go up 21-6 after the opening quarter.

“After last week, we just didn’t get down on ourselves,” Eagle Academy coach Kyron Jones said. “We continued to fight through adversity, and it showed.”

Eagle Academy’s defense stepped up in the second quarter. Beyty Diouf recorded three sacks, and Shiloh Burgess had the first of his two interceptions as Eagle took a 27-6 lead into halftime.

“This game, we had to show everybody something,” Burgess said. “I was happy to do my part, but without our defensive line, we can’t do anything. They did their part and made our lives easier.”

Griffin returned the second-half kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown as LuHi continued to battle. Kameron Roy and Jacob Butler each caught touchdown passes as LuHi trailed 41-25 after three quarters.

“They showed heart today,” LuHi coach Tiquan Garner said. “We were down early, but they kept fighting to get back in it. I was proud of them for that, and now we just have to go back to the drawing board.”

Roy had six receptions for 109 yards and a touchdown. Jacob Butler had eight catches for 85 yards and a touchdown. Robinson helped them stay in it and finished with 276 passing yards and three touchdowns.

To start the fourth quarter, Eagle faced a fourth-and-3, and Schulters broke free for a 30-yard rushing touchdown to seal the game and make it 48-25 with 11:51 left.

It marked the third time this season Eagle Academy has scored more than 50 points, and Jones said it’s only the beginning for this group.

“We’re young,” Jones said. “Every single week, we’re just getting better.”