Football team ends first half
with worst home loss in 33 years
After four games the Garden City Trojans are sitting in second place with a 3-1 record and Coach Tom Flatley is looking to get the most out of his re-tooled roster after last year’s Long Island Championship. The Trojans have had their ups and downs this season with two dominating performances, an overtime thriller and a stinker.
The Trojans opened the season with a crushing 58-7 beating of Calhoun. The game featured a record breaking kick-off return of 99 yards by Brian Haeffner. In a game that Garden City dominated on the ground with 368 yards, they were led by Tim Schmelzinger’s 103 yards and a TD, Danny Miller’s 93 yards and three touchdowns to go along with 84 yards and a touchdown by Haeffner.
The home opener against MacArthur was a real battle for the Trojans as they had difficulty getting their offense going until late in the fourth quarter. Trailing 7-0 entering the fourth quarter Coach Flatley implored his team to mount a comeback. Mixing in a strong ground game with a couple of timely passes Brett Stewart guided the Trojans down the field. And with 58 seconds remaining in regulation Stewart dove into the end zone for the tying score. Then in OT it was Matt Borges, Tom Wright and Ryan Blair with big plays and the defensive unit giving Garden City a shot at victory. And it was Gerard Smith drilling a 31-yard field goal for the hard fought victory.
Going back on the road for game three against Mepham was a chance for the Garden City offense to get back in gear and provide the impetus for another dominating performance. Quarterback Brett Stewart had by far his best game of the season accounting for 318 yards and two touchdowns, a one-yard dive and a 50-yard pass to Matt Borges. Brian Haeffner also had a 19-yard run for a touchdown. The Trojans continued their winning ways with a 27-6 dominating win over Mepham that looked closer on the scoreboard.
With a 3-0 record going into what arguably would be their toughest matchup, the Trojans ran into a dominating Carey defense and put up a goose egg. In a game where they couldn’t get either the passing or running game going the Trojans were shut out and took their worst home beating since 1980 as per historian Jake White. Facing one of the best quarterbacks on Long Island in Carey’s Ray Catapano, Garden City’s secondary was burned for four touchdown passes in the 28-0 loss.
Looking ahead to the next four games the Trojans take on Long Beach at home, travel to Wantagh, return for homecoming for a game against South Side and finish off the regular season at Elmont.
