Thunder D Smells The Football This past Sunday on the hallowed fields of Stewart School the Thunder O’Connor 8s took on the perennial powerhouse Massapequa Mustangs. Billed as a test of our teams talents since the schedule came out in early September the Thunder 8 coaches had this game circled on the schedule. The mystique and aura around the Massapequa Mustangs was clearly present as older siblings of our players detailed the gruesome details they had faced in years passed when confronting the Massapequa program. Our boys put in a great week of practice and preparation in advance of their scheduled 12:00pm kick-off.

Garden City captains Colin Hart, Matthew McGovern, and Jack Muldoon entered midfield for the opening coin toss. Massapequa won the toss and elected to receive. Garden City would have the opportunity to showcase their famed all out attack defense.

The Final Gun Sounds! The first series proved to set the tone for the entire game. A quick three and out was highlighted by a fourth and one stuff on a QB sneak. The offense quickly rushed on the field and began to make positive yardage on three consecutive plays. The culmination of the drive was on a counter Play to Colin “I’ve Got “ Hart who steamrolled 40 yards to the end zone making the score 6-0. The defense again took over and did not allow Massapequa a first down. Tremendous line penetration was highlighted by interior lineman including Lucas “I Struck” Feingold, Liam “The Grinch Who Stole the Football” Griffith, Matthew “Who’s McLovin’” McGovern, and Dylan “Don’t Call Me Old” McDonald.” The offense again gain controlled the line of scrimmage eating up chunks of yardage at will. The line was anchored by Bobby “Leaping” Lehan, Jack “Crack Back” Ryan, Angelo “Not George” Demiris, Brian “Rollin’ And” Boland, Aidan “I’m Gonna Hit” McDonagh, and Patrick “Let’s Have a Party” Ilardi. As the gun ended the first half Garden City maintained a 6-0 halftime lead.

Let The Party Begin! After a few minor halftime adjustments the Thunder Offense was ready to show the capacity crowd what it had in store. The backfield began to get their wings and Justin “Not Francis Ford “Coppola scampered 25 yards to extend the lead to 12-0. The defense continued to smother Massapequa and make tackles in the backfield. The physicality of the Thunder defense was beginning to wear on the Mustangs. Aidan “Have You Seen Sarah” O’Connor, Colin Hart, and Justin Coppola had many a meeting in the Massapequa backfield. Gang tackling was evident all over the field by Donald “Ouch That” Byrne, Nate “Not Mark” Fridrich, James “I Keep The Runner In”Affronti, and Christian “Let Me Loose” Genussa. The hard hitting and fearless secondary was anchored by Jack “The Sack Swooner” Muldoon, Harry “Meet My Sally” Murphy, Jack “Corner On The” Cobb, Justin “I Will Mess U” Hessler and Brendan “I Will Hit You Boy” McEvoy. Midway through the second half Trevor “I Am Clever” Yeboah-Kodie ran an end around that resulted in a 50 yard run down to the four yard line. Sean “When I Score It’s Peachy” Tariche proceeded to run the ball in the end zone to make the score 18-0. At this point the Stewart Field crowd has swelled onto the streets and onto the roof tops of Stewart School- Just kiddng Dr Feirsen! They were witnessing a complete game of football played on both sides of the ball. In the end Massapequa added a touchdown of their own to make the final score respectable. The final gun sounded and the Thunder 8s had come out on the left side of an 18-7 score.

Offense Ready To Roll! The Thunder O’Connor 8s coaches of Douglas O’Connor, John Coppola, Vinny Muldoon, Tom Ryan, and Bobby Hart would like to thank all the parents and supporters who came out Sunday to cheer us on. Without your support and your commitment our jobs would be much more difficult. Your Thunder 8s travel to Inwood for a Saturday Night Lights game at Inwood Park. Game time is September 26th at 7:30pm. We hope to see everyone there!

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