ONLINE EDITION THURSDAY NOVEMBER 13, 1997
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Sports Trojans Gear Up for RematchBy Ted KeithIt was 1980. Disco had died, that other Southern Democrat was in the White House, Taxi was TV's top comedy, and most of these Trojans had not even been born when Garden City last failed to qualify for the Nassau County Conference II playoffs. In what has become as much a reminder of fall as the World Series or Thanksgiving, the undefeated, second-seeded Trojans will start the playoffs Thursday night against third-seed Hewlett in a rematch of a game from Oct. 25 won by Garden City 17-6. The common denominator connecting that game with those that have followed has been the rain. Lots of it. The Trojans capitalized on Hewlett mistakes to win through a steady drizzle that day, then had a game with Calhoun postponed before winning 14-6 on a Monday to clinch a playoff spot, and slipping and sliding their way to a 25-0 blowout win over Levittown Division at home last Saturday to close out the regular season. There is a possibility for more precipitation Thursday night. The one positive thing is that there will be no mud puddles for players to hydroplane through. Hofstra's astroturf field will keep the uniforms clean, rather than the dirt-infested jerseys from the last few weeks that would have made for a good laundry detergent commercial. That's just one of a number of keys Garden City will need to knock off Hewlett again. 1. Stay Awake Thursday night will be the Trojans' third game in 11 days, a very un-footballesque number. "That hurts us because we can't go hard in practice on Tuesday and Wednesday like we normally do," said Head Coach Tom Flatley, Sunday. That means more walk-throughs and light contact drills so the players won't be dragging their proverbial tails on the field with them. "I think they're a little tired," says Assistant Coach Bob Defliese. "They need to get their timing down, that's the most important thing." But the players don't think it will be a problem. "We're definitely not tired because most of the starters got to rest in the second half against Division. It's more fun to practice than to play games anyway," said senior tri-captain Chris Waters. Senior tackle Pat Welch agrees. "We'll be ready," he says. 2. Corey who? Perhaps the biggest reason Garden City beat Hewlett was its domination of the Bulldogs' top running back, senior Corey Ziskind. The Thorpe Award candidate as Nassau's top player was Public Enemy #1 and the Trojans limited him to eight rushes and 83 yards, but 64 of them came on a single carry. "You can't shut down great players all the time," warns Flatley. "Our kids did a great job of reading formations." "I think we'll do just as well against him," says Welch. "We were very prepared and focused. We were ready for what he was going to do." Defliese is sure of one thing: he'll get the ball more. "They went away from their game plan by not giving him the ball more. That will probably change." 3. Mix it up offensively In last year's 22-9 playoff loss to Division, the Trojans got desperate in the second half and went with some trick plays, like the halfback option, to jump-start an offense that was on life support. Flatley, a conservative coach, is hesitant to use plays like the hook-and-lateral the Trojans broke out for the South Side game. But Defliese says they just might. "You want to put them in, but they take a long time to work on, and that might be hard with the short practice week," he says. "We'll put a few wrinkles in to catch them off-guard," he promises. The Trojans' bread and butter is the uncomplicated plays that got them there. Junior quarterback Matt Casey has the highest completion percentage in school history at 63.7 percent (72-113) and his 991 yards are the most ever by a GC junior. He also has thrown a touchdown pass in all but one game this year, and has thrown two in four of the Trojans' last five games. Seven of his 12 touchdown passes (against only two interceptions), have gone to senior wideout Chris Acheson. "Scratch" is closing in on the school record for the most receptions in a season, getting two last Saturday against Hewlett on slant-ins for scores. The running game, a question mark before the season, is deep and talented. Senior Mike Dunn has solidified the job, rushing for 104 yards last Saturday. More impressively, they all came on the Trojans' first two possessions. Pat McCaffrey is a capable backup and Bill Flannery opens up mammoth holes for Dunn to scamper through. Against Hewlett this Thursday, Defliese expects more blitzing, so the Trojans will use the inside running game to open up the pass. Increased blitzing will require an extra blocking back, but it will also create isolations for Garden City's quintuplet of receivers Waters, Acheson, tight end Matt McFarland, and junior Kevin Waters. 4. Capitalize The last time these two teams met, Hewlett's 4 major penalties led the way to both of Garden City's touchdowns. "We got lucky," said Flately. "They made a lot of mistakes and we were able to take advantage." Defliese said, "We moved the ball when we had to after the penalties. We were able to capitalize. That's what good teams do." 5. Trench warfare In football, the front lines are known as the Trenches, or the Pit. It's where the big boys toss their weight around to help your offense and thwart the other team's attack. Traditionally, it's been done without much fanfare, but to Flatley, the game will be decided in the trenches. "That's the big key. Who can do the best job up front," he said. "We've got to be able to pick up on their blitzes better." Hewlett was the most successful team this year at penetrating GC's front of Welch, Matt Hesterberg, and company. The defensive line, led by Joe Carnes, camped out in Calhoun's backfield and shut down its running game. Eric Wenzel forced and recovered two fumbles, including one with Calhoun at the one-yard line, and the deciding play was junior Jordan Fay's game-saving fourth-and-five stop at the Garden City six with 30 seconds left. The 12 yard loss clinched the game for the Trojans and ultimately ended the Colts' season. 6. Been there; done that Seventeen straight winning season. Seventeen straight years in the playoffs. The Trojans are pressure-tested, big-game experienced, and altogether unaffected by the playoff pressure, as they should be according to their coach. "You're not going to screw up just because it's the playoffs. If you do, you shouldn't be playing football. Our players don't mind making the necessary sacrifices. They're used to this stuff. It's a big game no matter where it is. They won't drop a pass just because they're playing at Hofstra, or fall down just because they're playing at Hofstra." No, but they might miss a kick because they're playing at Hofstra. The university's goalposts are NCAA regulation size, narrower than high school versions. 7. Have we met before? These teams will be playing for the second time in three weeks. Any problems with that? Flatley doesn't think it matters because they've seen all of each other's games on film. Defliese disagrees. "It's good to play this close. Playing back-to-back would be tough, but this way you have a chance to think about what you did right and wrong. It's still fresh." Perhaps most impressively for the 7-0-1 Trojans, their coach does not think they have played their best game yet. "Hopefully, we haven't played our most mistake-free game," said Flatley. "We have to put it together offensively and defensively." Notes:
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