By Jake White

The never ending rain didn't stop these fans from cheering on the Trojans. see this photo at www.Newsphoto.com There is a sports cliche that says football is a game of inches. Never was that more true than last Saturday night at Hofstra when Garden City's hopes for a championship were ended by Hewlett, 17-16, in the Conference II semifinals.

A last minute game-tying field goal attempt by Conor Dwyer hit the left goal post and caromed away. It must be noted that college goal posts like the ones at Shuart Stadium are about two feet narrower than those at high school fields.

To add to the frustration, in the closing moments of the first half two consecutive passes from quarterback Matt Montgomery to wide receiver Pierce Bradley were caught for apparent touchdowns at the right corner of the end zone, but each time Bradley's toes were out of bounds.

The Trojans trailed 17-0 after three quarters before storming back. Injured Hewlett QB Andrew Cohen, returning to play after a four game absence, was the difference for the Bulldogs (8-2). He completed passes of 29 and 50 yards for touchdowns after scrambling away from pursuers. Hewlett had little success running or passing except when Cohen displayed his magic, forcing unsettled situations until a receiver would come open.

Mike Wood is airborne as he flies through the Hewlett defense. See this photo at www.Newsphoto.com Meanwhile, Garden City's offense couldn't get untracked. Down 10-0 in the second quarter, the Trojans got a break when Hewlett fumbled a punt at their own 23. But that drive produced nothing when the two passes to Bradley were ruled incomplete. Then, when the Bulldogs scored in the third quarter to go up by 17, many in the very wet crowd thought the game might be out of reach.

However, Montgomery finally got the GC attack going when he began to keep the ball on the veer option. He carried for gains of 6, 31, 7 and 8 yards and Stephen Jahelka did the rest, finally putting the Trojans on the board with a one-yard blast on the first play of the fourth quarter

Pierce Bradley, Stephen Jahelka and Brian Fischer combine for the tackle on Hewlett's Matt Rizzo. See this photo at www.Newsphoto.com On the first play after the kickoff, the Bulldogs fumbled and Christian Klupka recovered at the Hewlett 41. Montgomery then completed a 36 yard pass down the middle to Bradley who was tackled at the two. After a penalty, Montgomery sprinted five yards to the end zone, then connected with Dan Niebler for the two point conversion to make the score 17-14.

Everyone could feel the momentum shift. The Garden City defense stopped Hewlett on three-and-out and began what would be a game deciding drive on their own 37 yard line. In a methodical march, the Trojans used 13 plays to get to the Bulldog six with a third-and-goal. Stephen Jahelka was called upon to run the same halfback option pass that succeeded against Calhoun two weeks ago. This time, however, Hewlett wasn't fooled and his pass to Bradley was caught well out of bounds. On fourth down GC went for the tying field goal but Dwyer's kick from 30 yards hit the goal post -his first miss of the season after four successful field goals.

Matt Montgomery tumbles in for a Garden City touchdown. See this photo at www.Newsphoto.com It wasn't over quite yet. With 49 seconds on the clock, Coach Tom Flatley used his two remaining timeouts to force the Bulldogs into a fourth-and-12 at their own 18. Hewlett coach Jay Iaquinta then ordered his quarterback to take a safety and the game ended with the bizarre scene of Cohen racing backward toward his own end zone with defenders in hot pursuit.

It was a frustrating end to an exciting 7-3 season for a Trojan team which had hoped to go further. With 23 sophomores and freshman on the playoff roster, the best days clearly lie ahead. More on that next week when we summarize 2008 and look ahead.

EXTRA POINTS: GC had 200 yards rushing to Hewlett's 82 and outgained the Bulldogs, 265-172, but the two big pass plays by Cohen were the difference.....Stephen Jahelka finished with 922 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns. Both were GC sophomore records... Hewlett will face Elmont for the Conference II Championship Saturday at Hofstra at 12:30 p.m. Elmont crushed Carey, 53-21, in the other semifinal.

Sal Cassar and Christian Klupka (56) celebrate after Klupka recovered a Hewlett fumble. See this photo at www.Newsphoto.com