Tim McLaughlin on a big run. On Saturday, October 30th, GC’s JV football team faced the South Side Cyclones. The Trojans were riding a wave of euphoria after they had routed the high-caliber Hewlett Bulldogs 34-7 the previous week, ending Hewlett’s undefeated season. GC had to focus next on The Cyclones South possesses a heavy passing game, throwing the ball nearly as much as they run it, so Garden City had spent the week working on their pass rush and coverage.

After the deciding coin toss, South Side elected to receive, putting GC’s defense out there first to establish the pace of the game, soon forcing a South Side punt. When the offense took the field they had good field position, at about mid-field. On the opening drive, GC was working very well. Dan Savage ran the ball for a good 20 yards on an off tackle play. On the succeeding play, QB Dean Gibbons ran the ball to the 3 yard line. The next play was a simple half-back give to the left, and Will Manning waltzed into the end zone. The kick was good and GC led 7-0 with half of the first quarter left.

Will Manning hits the hole. The Cyclones regained the ball, but already seemed to be mentally out of the game. Their offense got lazy, and was missing blocking assignments. Garden City took advantage of this situation, sending freshman starter Francis McDonough up the middle to sack their quarter back. This forced another South Side punt.

Garden City offense again established domination on the line. When Gibbons couldn’t find an open receiver, he took off up the middle untouched. He was finally pushed out of bounds, but only after a 35 yard gain. A few plays later, Gibbons ran the ball in the end zone for the second score of the day. The score was 14-0 with GC ahead.

After a deep return by South Side, GC’s defense had to prove themselves once again. South Side had the ball on GC’s 35 yard line, dangerously close to that area where not too many teams have been able to reach versus GC, the end zone. The defense stood tall, switching its type of defense to suit the situation, and stopped The Cyclones’ attempt for a first down on a fake punt. The Trojans opened up the passing part of their offense when Gibbons connected to running back Tim McLaughlin for a 25 yard gain. That play marked the end of the first quarter. But when GC offense’s got down to inside the 5 yard line, South Side’s defense toughened up, and forced GC to give up the ball on downs. Now, South Side had horrendous field position, and the GC defense was hungry. On a desperate attempt to gain yards, the SS quarter back dropped back to pass, but defensive end Ryan Sweeney unloaded a big hit on him making him drop the ball. Defensive tackle Nigel Carpenter lived every lineman’s dream when he saw the loose ball. He picked it up, took a few steps, and then dove into the end zone, scoring the team’s second defensive touchdown of the season, and third score of the day. GC was ahead by 21.

South Side’s offense was struggling and couldn’t produce a progressive drive. They had to punt yet again. The play calling was very simple in the next drive; go right at the defense. Will Manning, Tim McLaughlin and Dean Gibbons all had nice runs for more than 10 yards. McLaughlin broke his for over 40. The drive ended on a tricky reverse to Will Manning. The defense was so fooled by the play that he wasn’t even touched when he had the ball. After the kick GC was up by a cushion of 28 points. The half ended and little adjustments had to be made.

Flash forward to South Side’s 5 yard line: GC had the ball. Attempt after attempt failed against SS’s tough goal line defense. So South Side got the ball back on their own 3 yard line. On the next play Spencer DeSena and James Roth tackled the SS running back in their end zone, incurring a safety. The score was 30-0 GC and the third quarter expired after that play.

When SS had to kick to the Trojans, they attempted an onside kick, but Tom Mahoney grabbed the ball and returned it to the 35 yard line. Behind the offensive line’s good blocks, Ryan Lynch darted into the end zone, and added to GC lead: the score was 37-0 GC. There was 10 minutes left in the 4th quarter. South Side tried to take advantage of GC’s second line being in, but they were horribly mistaken. The second line proved that they were just as good as anyone else. On one play, as if almost taken from the scenes of Rudy, Billy Durand picked off a pass and ran it back a good 15 yards. The offense took over and kept the game rolling. Tim Martin took the ball on a counter trap and hit a giant hole where, 20 yards downfield, he punished a safety who stepped up to tackle him. The offense ran the same play again, and with the same success. Those two long gains set up an off tackle play that brought Ryan Lynch to pay dirt again, the second time of the game. The score was 43-0, and ended that way too, as the game closed up soon after.

This game was an important one on the roster, because it proved that the Trojans take no team lightly, and can beat the teams they have to. It was also the team’s 4th shut out of the season. So far, The Trojans have outscored their opponents by an amazing 229-20. This is quite an achievement, and no one deserves it more than the Trojans. The JV season ends next week when they take on the MacArthur Generals. Let’s see if they can finish their season undefeated for the third year in a row.