T-E-A-M!!! The Garden City Thunder 8's played their final game of the long football season against perennial power and league leader Inwood at Stewart Field. The boys prepared hard all week to face this big, talented group. The large turnout of Thunder families was excited to see just how far their Men of Thunder had progressed since the dog days of August.

All started well with the Thunder 8's marching down the field with a hard nosed, precise running attack deep inside Inwood territory. The boys were taking chunks of yardage and moving the chains on a consistent basis. The deft running of Teddy Dolan, Josh Taylor, Liam Muldoon, and Tyler Wuchte provided the home crowd with a number of opportunities to cheer and rally their troops. Unfortunately, a fourth down conversion attempt inside the opponent's 10 yard line failed and the boys turned the ball over on downs.

The Inwood squad then demonstrated their abilities and marched for a hard earned touchdown to put the boys in a 7-0 hole at the half. The second half began with the Thunder defense attempting to limit the deficit and get the ball back to the offense for a possible tying score. The defensive line of George Cognard, Alex Campbell, Tommy Poole, Casey Noonan, Patrick Boyle, Alex Sutherland, and John Campo tried penetrating the much bigger Inwood line to disrupt their potent offense. The linebackers and corners including Liam Joyce, Michael McCauley, Joe Perrini, Michael Schwantner, Liam Curtin, and John Griffith were challenged in stopping the Inwood runners and their breakaway speed. Despite their best efforts, Inwood would provide another highlight reel run to go up 14-0.

Run Teddy Run It was now time for the Thunder offense to dig in and show they could provide their own highlights. The offensive line of Sean Rode, John McDonald, Ryan Walsh, Michael Rush, and Patrick Kavan were determined to strike back. After a couple of exciting runs and faced with a short yardage situation, it was time to take a chance and go airborne. The Thunder lulled the Inwood defense into thinking a running play was coming when Luke Connolly found the seam to catch a picture perfect pass and run for a big 30 yard gain. The boys could feel the momentum shift and took advantage of an overpersuing defense with a well timed reverse to Aidan Byrnes that resulted in a 20 yard touchdown play.

Hang on boys, help is on the way The scoring drive reduced the margin to 14-6 and put pressure on the defense to make a stand. The Thunder defense was forced to take some chances and see if they could disrupt what had been one of the better offenses they faced all season. In doing so, the Inwood runners made some incredible adjustments to avoid fast pursuing Thunder tacklers and resulted in the final score of the day. The final was 20-6, but Inwood knew they were in a dogfight all day against these never say die Thunder Boys. The coaches from Inwood made it a point to complement our boys on their competitiveness.

After the game, it was time to recap not only the game, but the season these boys enjoyed. It was the first year of football for quite a few of these boys, and they progressed well from the practice sessions in early August. They rallied around each other when several of their teammates were inactive due to injuries. They played the best their age group had to offer and were competitive in all games, many of which came down to the final possession. The coaches could not have been prouder of the effort the boys displayed this season. It was our privilege to walk amongst you.

Grate catch and run by Luke Connolly The coaches would like to thank all the Thunder 8's parents, siblings, and friends for their overwhelming support of the boys at home and away games this season. It was great to witness the huge turnouts at every game. Your enthusiasm was motivational to the boys when they needed it most.