Thunder White 7's Win Again

Thunder Smiles: Kevin Tierney, Aidan Byrnes, John McDonald

The GC Thunder White 7's secured their second consecutive victory on Saturday against the Floral Park Titans. Although the Titans brought a tough and experienced team to the field, they proved no match for the Thunder squad, who came well-prepared and well-conditioned following a double dose of Coach Curtin's 2-hour practices during the week. Thunder took the game 19-7, putting them at 2-1 for the season.

The Thunder offense got to work right away as Quarterback Tyler Wuchte executed a successful sweep left on the second play of the game for a quick score. The Thunder Defense operated with similar efficiency, with Aidan Byrnes knocking a fumble out of the Titans' running back on their first drive, and Byrnes recovering the ball for Garden City.

During the Thunder's second offensive drive, running back Michael Handal pushed the team ahead with several suc-cessful runs. After a few setbacks for the Thunder at the hands of the referee, running back Liam Muldoon forever changed the tone of the game with a crowd-raising, tackle-breaking, 40-yard run that left 5 blue shirts pushed aside and the entire field on its feet, particularly the Thunder parents!

Thunder sandwhich!: The white curtain smothers a Titan runner

As the first half came to a close, the Thunder offense once again parted the Floral Park defensive line, creating a path for Tyler Wuchte to bust open a 60-yard TD run down the middle of the field. Offensive linemen Sean Rode, Liam Ferris, Chris Michel, Thomas Rice, and Casey Noonan all provided solid protection for the runners while Center John McDonald took care of getting the ball safely to Wuchte. After the third touchdown, the team ran a perfect reverse-handoff to Aidan Byrnes for the extra point, giving the Thunder a 19-0 lead at the half.

The Thunder defensive did a tremendous job holding the Floral Park offense at bay throughout the game. Defensive coordinators Jeremy Walsh and Ed Joyce commented, "while our offense put up some great numbers today, we could not have secured our first road victory without such a strong and coordinated effort from the defense". Ryan Walsh and his "gang of 6" (Tommy Poole, Liam Glynn, Liam Joyce, Matt Flanagan, Alex Sutherland, and Kevin Tierney) engineered several group tackles that left the Titan offense feeling weathered. Meanwhile Liam Curtin, Aidan Byrnes and Luke Connelly blanketed the perimeter and secured several key stops, with Curtin blocking a Titan pass attempt toward the end of the game.

Aidan Byrnes scores the extra point, as Liam Ferris keeps the aisles clear

Head Coach Matt Curtin congratulated the boys on their hard work, intensity, and teamwork. "We are very proud of the progress that the boys have made, as well as their level of determination and ongoing commitment to getting 'better together'." The Thunder White 7's head to Franklin Square for a 2pm game on Sunday, October 7th.

Offensive line makes room as QB Tyler Wuchte goes to work Coach Curtin keeps the boys focused during the halftime break