Joe Tursi takes in a Matt Montgomery pass. See this photo at www.Newsphoto.com Eight opponents up, eight down. The best defense in the county with no touchdowns allowed. The second highest scoring offense in Nassau. That’s where the Garden City High football team stands after the regular season which concluded with a very impressive 34-0 win over Levittown Division. Yet, in many ways all of that is past history because now it is playoff time. It is a four game season with the final prize, the Long Island Championship, up for grabs.

The Trojans begin their quest this afternoon, November 6th, at Warren King Field at 2:45 p.m. when they face the Mepham Pirates (5-3) in the Conference II quarterfinals. Mepham is the 8th seed following a 34-0 loss to Bellmore Kennedy last week. The Pirates have shown the ability to score with a 25 point per game average. They feature an exceptionally fast halfback, 5-7, 180 pound Kaalen Jackson.

Billy Sweeney gets in the face of Division QB Sean Abbate. See this photo at www.Newsphoto.com Playing under the lights at Division last Friday, the Trojans put on a clinic in the first half, rolling to five touchdowns on their first five possessions and shutting down a Blue Dragon offense that featured a fine running back and a very strong-armed quarterback. By halftime, Garden City had a 34-0 lead and that became the final score when both coaches cleared their benches after the intermission and the officials basically played running time with the clock.

There wasn’t much the Trojans could have improved on. The offensive line blew out their opponents with the all-county tackles, Conor Horl and Billy Sweeney, particularly opening huge holes for Brian Fischer and Steve Jahelka. GC drove 50 yards on seven plays on its first possession after Joe Tursi’s diving interception. Jahelka’s one yard blast gave the Trojans a 7-0 lead.

Joe Visentin with the tackle on Sean Anglim. See this photo at www.Newsphoto.com After the defense held Division on the GC 41, Brian Fischer went to work. He gained five yards on a run up the middle, then broke loose with a 54 yard TD run off left tackle.

Joe Tursi’s second interception gave his team the ball at its own 48. Quarterback Matt Montgomery then fired a long pass which Tursi caught with a dive at the Division 10. Jahelka then raced into the end zone on the next play to put the Trojans ahead, 20-0 with 1:09 still remaining in the first quarter.

Montgomery struck again early in the second period when he hit Scott McElroy on the right sideline and the big receiver raced to the Blue Dragons’ 25 for a 38 yard gain. After 11 yard runs by Chris Stapleford and Steve Jahelka, Montgomery scored on a 3-yard option keeper.

Division’s Sean Anglim has nowhere to go as Tom Gordon makes the tackle for GC. See this photo at www.Newsphoto.com On the ensuing kickoff, sophomore Ryan Norton perfectly placed a pooch kickoff into an open area near the left sideline where Jimmy Kenny recovered for Garden City. Brian Fischer then ran for 15 yards and Andrew D’Antonio matched his effort with a 15 yard touchdown romp straight up the middle behind great blocks by Billy Allen, Joe Gentile and John Bock. Topher DiBona’s fourth extra point put the Trojans ahead, 34-0.

Division QB Sean Abbate, who would finish with 91 yards on 5 for 19 passing, provided a test for the nearly perfect GC defense when he completed back-to-back 28 yard passes to Fred Mase, giving the Blue Dragons a first and goal at the Trojans’ 8. But that was as close as they would get when the defense forced four straight incomplete passes.

Mike Borges makes the tackle on Division’s Fred Mase. See this photo at www.Newsphoto.com In the second half, reserve backs Mark Ellis (44 yards on 5 carries), Kyle Minerva (24 yards on 4 carries), Mike Borges (22 yards on 2 carries) and Patric Berkery (20 yards on 3 carries) were all impressive.

Now, the incredible 8-0 season serves as a backdrop to the goal of winning County and Long Island Championships. But as the coaches would say, we play one game at a time and that time comes Friday when the Trojans host Mepham.

Chris Stapleford carries the ball for GC. See this photo at www.Newsphoto.com EXTRA POINTS: Only seven teams in a century of Nassau football allowed as few as 3 points in a regular season....All of the Conference II playoffs are scheduled for Fridays through November 27....Brian Fischer rushed for 133 yards on just 8 carries....Steve Jahelka gained 70 yards on 7 carries and scored two TD’s for a season leading total of 11.....GC gained 421 yards against Division, 309 of them in the first half....Di Bona is now 34 for 38 on PAT’s. The school record is 45 by Dillon Dwyer in 2005. Topher had a good weekend. He scored the tying goal for the varsity soccer team in their playoff win over Division...The JV finished an 8-0 season with a 41-8 win over Mepham. The entire district’s football program remains undefeated as the 7th and 8th grade teams won.

Ryan Norton kicks off against Division. See this photo at www.Newsphoto.com
Mark Ellis prepares to stiff arm the defender as he carries the ball for GC. See this photo at www.Newsphoto.com
Eugene Berkery (30) and Jack Hughes (62) make the tackle on Division’s Sean Anglim. See this photo at www.Newsphoto.com
Kyle Minerva finds space up the middle as he carries the ball for GC. See this photo at www.Newsphoto.com