Championship Picture The clear and crisp morning of Sunday, November 22nd was the date for the 2009 Nassau County Youth Football League (NCYFL) championship. The venue was the stadium field at Mitchell Field and the opponent was the perennial powerhouse Massapequa Mustangs. The league graciously moved the 8 year old championship to the stadium field and it was clearly needed as the hoards of fans and friends that turned out in droves could not have been accommodated on the “outer fields.” The seating capacity or the insurance would not have been enough.

The players and coaches arrived at the field at 7:45am to begin their ritual game day preparations. Aerosmith blared over the sound system as the players ran simulated plays. Rest assured none of our “dudes looked like ladies” on this morning! After both teams weighed in the coaches gave their last minute instructions and we were set for our 9:00am kick-off. Massapequa won the toss and elected to start on offense. The first series saw Massapequa showing success in moving the ball between the tackles. It was clearly evident that they realized they could not compete with our speed so they were going to play smash mouth football. The first half was punctuated by a struggle of possessions with Massapequa eventually able to score the first touchdown of the game. Some unfortunate and if you ask our fans, “suspect” calls hampered the Garden City offense in the first half. I counted at least a half dozen Massapequa ankle tackles that could have led to big gains that also kept our offense out of the end zone. The halftime score was Massapequa 6 Garden City 0. This was the first time this 9-0 team had been down at halftime all year.

Hold Your Blocks At halftime the coaches impressed upon the team that a few calls and a few plays and we would have been up by two touchdowns. The boys knew they were getting the ball to start the second half and the coaches challenged the offense to score on the first drive. The boys heard what the coaches were saying and not only scored on the first drive but scored on the first play. A 34 blast to Sean Tariche covered 60 yards and knotted the score at six. Great line play from Bobby Lehan, Angelo Demiris, Brian Boland, Patrick Ilardi, and Aidan McDonagh paved the way to the promised land! At this stage of the contest the crowd began to get involved in the game. Massapequa took the ball and began a long sustained drive. The drive ended in a touchdown making the score 12-6 in favor of Massapequa. Undaunted, the GC offense began a sustained drive themselves. Key blocks by Jack Ryan, Matthew McGovern, Liam Griffith and Aidan O’Connor paved the way for a Colin Hart touchdown. The successful extra point gave the Thunder a 13-12 advantage midway through the second half. Now it was time for the defense to flex their muscles. Massapequa had been running inside the ends all morning. The Thunder defensive front began to shoot the gaps led by Liam Griffith, James Affronti, Christian Genussa, Donald Byrne, Nate Fridrich, Dylan McDonald and Lucas Feingold. On fourth down the Thunder defense was able to make a pivotal stop giving them the ball with 6 minutes remaining in the contest. The Thunder offense called a tight end reverse to Trevor Yeboah-Kodie. Trevor took the ball around end and made a few cuts back to the middle and was gone. There was pandemonium in the Thunder stands as Garden City had taken a 19-12 lead with four minutes remaining. Now it was time for the defense to make a stand. Knowing that Massapequa was sticking to the inside game the Thunder secondary of Jack Cobb, Harry Murphy and Justin Hessler came in closer to get a whiff of the ball. Missing from that lockdown secondary on the field was Brendan McEvoy. He had an off the field injury that prevented him from suiting up. His sideline support and enthusiasm was infectious and motivating. All game long Justin Coppola was making touchdown saving tackles from his linebacker position. Photos of the game would make it appear that Justin had grown a set of wings for the game as he was flying all over the field! A key fourth and three play in Thunder territory was stopped at the point of attack giving the Thunder offense the ball with less than a minute left. With no timeouts left for Massapequa, quarterback and field general Jack Muldoon took a knee to end the game. The gun sounded and the GC Thunder 8s had won the NCYFL championship by a score of 19-12. A well played game by both teams had secured the GC Thunder a perfect 10-0 season. Players streamed out on the field and the handpicked NCYFL security had to keep the fans from pouring on to the turf field. The celebration later spilled over to Grove Park where the players and their parents enjoyed some celebratory refreshments and food. Entertainment for the boys was, you guessed it, a football game!

Thunder Offense rolling Thunder Defense The Thunder 8s would like to thank the coaches( Douglas O’Connor, John Coppola, Tom Ryan, Vinny Muldoon, and Bobby Hart) for guiding these special players through the season that started back in August. We also want to thank the parents for their unwavering support and commitment they displayed throughout the last 15 weeks. Appreciation goes out to the Thunder league including the directors and all the volunteers who make this such a rewarding and enjoyable experience for 225 players. Finally, the players on this team deserve the recognition. At 8 years of age they made a decision to show up at practice, compete to the best of their ability, and perform in situations that no ordinary 8 year old could do. This is a gifted group of players. Here we come GCHS Class of 2018! Special shout out and congratulations to the Thunder Moscatiello 8s who finished with a perfect 8-0 season. Combined the eight year old Thunder teams were 18-0!

With the season now at a close it is time for all the coaches, directors, and volunteers to go back to their day jobs. We look forward to seeing everyone back again for the 2010 season. Stay close to the program by visiting the website: http://www.gcthunder.com/

GO THUNDER!!!!