Thunder on Touchdown Drive The old saying that "the best offense is a good defense" could not have been any more applicable last Sunday when the Thunder O'Connor 7s took on Bellmore. The boys were glad to be back in the friendly confines of Stewart field. Bellmore won the opening toss and elected to receive. Garden City set the tone early on defense with key tackles by Jack Cobb and a forced fumble by Sean Tariche. After a three and out it was time for the Thunder Machine to run a few plays. Bellmore showed they could pull a three and out themselves.

It now became clearly evident that this game was going to be an all out dog fight with grit, determination, and sheer will deciding the outcome. GC held Bellmore for another three and out. The GC offense began to click. First down runs by Colin Hart, Justin Coppola, and Aidan O'Connor were topped off by a scamper into the end zone by Colin Hart. The offensive line of Connor Gunn, Brendan Campbell, Sean Tariche, Matthew McGovern, Liam Griffith, Riley Couglin-Roberti, and Teddy "The Anchor" Ferzola were the reason Garden City was able to put six on the board.

Defense Forces Bellmore Fumble Connor "Tommy" Gunn fired out of his defensive end position and forced a Bellmore fumble as the first half came to an end.

The second half was all about the Thunder "D". With seven minutes left in regulation the Bellmore Braves found themselves first and goal at the GC nine yard line. The chants of DEE-FENSE rocked the stadium and fans implored our boys to come up with one more effort. Boy did they ever! The famed Steel Curtain of the '70s would have envied the way Liam "Don't Run on Me" Griffith, Alex "Ander the Great" Erickson, Dylan "The Enforcer" McDonald, Brendan "Hacksaw" McEvoy, Matthew "Too Tall" Conelli, and Matthew "The Goose" McGovern" pounded the Bellmore offense into submission. The defensive secondary of Paul "The Blanket" Varano, Richard "The Cannon" Petrone, and Jack "Cover 3" Cobb, held a clinic in run support, and form tackling all game long. After nearly 6 minutes inside the 10 yard line the vaunted GC defense held Bellmore with a goal line stand that will be talked about at water coolers for years to come. QB and field general Jack Muldoon led an error free offense all day long and sealed the win with a quick scamper around the end as time ran out.

Offense Starts Downfield March The boys travel to cross town rivals Franklin Square next Sunday for a Sunday brunch kick-off at 10:00am. Come out and support your Garden City Thunder teams.

Bellmore Stopped at 4th and Goal