Thunder Halaby 11's Manhandle Mineola

Tough Thunder "D" - Jack Connors, Scott Irwin, David Gage, Danny Dolan & Michael Cassano combine for the tackle.

Question: What do you get when you have a group of 11 year old football players who combine athleticism, ability, confidence, coaching, desire, intelligence and conditioning? Answer: A convincing 20 - 0 victory over their Mineola counterparts.

Sunday saw the return of the "Born to Run - Thunder Road" offense and the "No Surrender" defense. The Thunder set the tone for the rest of the afternoon on the opening kickoff when they successfully pulled off an onside kick with Timmy Halaby recovering the football at the Mineola 40. The offense began a steady march towards the goal line with a first down scamper by Matt Greene on a QB keeper, runs by Danny Simmons and Jack Connors and a scoring 7 yard run by Timmy Halaby. Matt Greene converted the extra point for an early 7 - 0 Thunder lead.

It was déjà vu all over again when, on the ensuing kickoff, the Thunder pulled off another successful onside kick with Timmy Halaby once again recovering the football this time at the Mineola 46. On this drive, Mineola was bombarded from both the ground and the air. Following a Greene run for a first down and a Greene to Brett Stewart pass completion, the Thunder pulled of the "Hook and Ladder" Greene to Halaby to Stewart for a TD from 28 yards out. Matt Greene once again ran in the extra point to make the score 14 - 0. The offensive line of Brian Irwin, Scott Irwin, Zach Stamoulis, Danny Dolan, Jack Reina, Danny Miller and Mike Cassano, complemented by the punishing blocks of Jack Connors and Danny Simmons proved to be too much for the Mineola eleven.

Richie Mattone breaks through for a Thunder 1st down.

The Thunder offense was so dominating that Mineola did not get the football until the second quarter. The "No Surrender" defense immediately threw up an iron curtain and, following an incomplete pass, a Danny Miller sack and a Thunder "blockade" gang tackle, the offense took over on another time consuming drive. Mineola took over on downs but could not move the ball with any consistency. Although the defense was hardly on the field it seemed as though each player got to stand in the spotlight. Timmy Barbaro broke into the backfield from his Nose Guard position to make tackles. Kyle Wein came up with a sack. David Gage took his man out to open lanes for blitzing linebackers. Albert Soussis shoeshined his opponents and stacked up plays at the line of scrimmage, Matt Greene grabbed a backward lateral. Brett Stewart picked off a pass. Mike Cassano controlled the line of scrimmage. Danny Miller had some big hits. Connor Riedel made the highlight reel with a blitzing tackle in the backfield. Danny Dolan called out defensive signals and seemed to be in on everything. Anthony Kritis and Timmy Halaby took away the outside lanes and made several tackles. The quadruplets of the gridiron Jack Reina, Tommy Reina, Scott Irwin and Brian Irwin roamed all over the field from their linebacker positions to bring down ball carriers at the line of scrimmage. Danny Simmons and Richie Mattone came up to make tackles and dropped back to defend passes. Jack Connors and Zach Stamoulis took away half of the field with their ferocious play.

Brett Stewart with another TD reception.

Matt Greene and Brett Stewart hooked up in the second half for a 23 yard TD to close out the scoring. Jack Connors, Danny Simmons, Danny Miller, Mike "Csonka" Cassano, Richie Mattone, Connor Riedel and Kyle Wein also carried the football for sizable gains.

Matt Greene outruns the entire Mineola "D"

This team continues to improve and impress. As Coach Dolan said, "Fasten your seat belts. We are in for a wild ride!" GO THUNDER!