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ONLINE EDITION
THURSDAY DECEMBER 4, 1997
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Sports Trojans Come Up Short Against LawrenceBy Ted KeithTo quote that great keeper of wisdom, Yogi Berra, it was a deja vu all over again.Garden City vs. Lawerence. Trojans driving late in the fourth quarter, apparently for the game-winning points. But, as in Garden City's 7-7 tie with Lawrence in the season's third game, a funny thing happened on the way to the goal line: it never got there. "I thought we'd score for sure," said head coach Tom Flatley. "It was very unfortunate." A Mike Dunn fumble, stripped by Frank Zangari of Lawrence, kept GC from scoring the six points that would have tied last Thursday's Nassau Conference II title game at 20, just as Dunn's fumble had more or less cost the Trojans victory in their previous encounter. Dunn, a senior and the team's most trusted and talented running back, was never able to get a good grip on quarterback Matt Casey' pitch at the five-yard line and the ball squirted loose. It seemed that the Lawrence defender who fell on the ball, Kevin Gilbride, was not just recovering a fumble, he was smothering any Trojans hopes for victory. But, miraculously, Garden City gave one final, great effort to tie the score or take the lead, just as they had seven weeks ago at Lawerence. Starting from its own 48, Casey led the Trojans down to the Golden Tornado 28-yard line with just over a minute to play. A face mask on fourth down averted a sack of Casey. Still alive. Destiny seemed to be on GC's side as the junior quarterback dropped back for his school record 33rd pass of the game, hoping for his school record 18th completion. But Lady Destiny laughed in the Trojans' face, Casey's pass sailing just out of the reach of sophomore running back John Maloney. When it hit the Hofstra stadium turf, Garden City's season came to a sudden, disappointing end. Make no mistake about it. This Trojan team was good, even by their own lofty standards. How often does a school go 8-1-1 and have that record only qualify for its 5th best this decade? That's even more remarkable considering Flatley was "hoping " they would go 6-2. The line that set Garden City and 9-0-1 Lawrence apart this year was about the width of a pencil. Indeed, Flatley said his team played better against Lawrence than it had against Hewlett in its earlier playoff game, a 7-3 win. But things seemed to be awry form the start. On the game's very first play, senior wideout Chris Acheson was all alone in Lawrence territory. Had he caught it, it would have been a quick six points. But he lost his footing as he raced for it, and it landed just beyond his outstretched fingertips. That was just the first indication that this might not be Garden City's night. It netted just 36 yards rushing, was outgained by over 40 yards, and had its defense finally show some cracks in its splendid armor. The defense had yielded just 23 points all year, including those seven Lawrence got on a fumble recovery on Oct. 4. They had not allowed a drive of longer than 65 yards (and that one, versus Hewlett, got 64 yards on one play), and had not yielded a point in any quarter but the third all year. Last Thursday, Lawrence scored 20 points, including scoring drives of 83, 66 and 54 yards as well as getting 14 first half points. The main culprit was Lawrence's immense offensive line, which manhandled the Trojans' front seven all night. Because of the early deficit, the Trojans were forced to pass early and often. Flatley was hoping the play-action play would catch the Golden Tornado off-guard, but Casey was having trouble at the start, frequently over-throwing or missing open receivers, and the Trojans fell behind for just the second time all year, 20-6. Lawrence had built their lead primarily through a punishing ground game led by Alec Diamond and Terrence Lloyd. The two combined for 155 yards on 26 carries, and Diamond had three touchdown runs, of one, one, and 13 yards. Lawerence's second TD came with just one second left before half-time and increased its lead from one to eight heading to the locker room. In what Flatley would later cite as the game's biggest play, Garden City had a sack that would have given Lawerence a second and 20 negated by a face mask penalty. an ensuing offsides play by GC moved the ball inside the five. Twenty free yards had put Lawerence on the doorstep and they soon scored for a 14-6 lead. For the first time all year, Garden City was in serious trouble. It responded just as it would have to, going downfield to make it a one possession game entering the fourth. Senior tight end Matt McFarland's 19-yard touchdown catch, his second in two playoff games, brought GC within 20-12, and the Trojans made good on a two-point conversion to further cut into the lead. On that play, Casey threw to Maloney out of the backfield, just as he would with the game on the line in the fourth quarter. In the fourth, the Trojans went almost exclusively with the pass, fulfilling the prophesy of offensive coordinator Bob Defliese's preseason prediction of increased passing as the season neared its conclusion. In fact, Casey, who set a school record for completion percentage this year, was in the process of setting school records for attempts and completions last Thursday ("I wish he set one for yardage," moaned Flatley afterwards) brought the Trojans downfield twice in the second half. Their last ditch series commenced after the Trojans defense failed to stop Lawrence on two successive third down plays, eating valuable minutes off the clock. The Trojans finally got the ball back with a little over three minutes remaining. They also got a gift, courtesy of an overzealous Lawrence special teams player who knocked senior Chris Waters flat after Waters had signaled for a fair catch. The penalty gave GC a first down at their 48. Casey hit Acheson for ten, senior Bill Flannery ran for two, and Matt McFarland had a four-yard reception to move the ball to the Lawrence 36. It was then that Casey turned to the fourth of his four receivers, junior Kevin Waters. Chants of "Dirty Waters!" (his brother, Chris, is known as "Muddy,") rained down from the GC student section as Kevin caught two passes to move the ball to the 20. But it was his quick-thinking on the next play that kept Garden City alive. Casey threw over the middle, and a Lawrence defender jumped in front of the junior Waters for an apparent game-sealing interception. But Waters, a reserve defensive back, reacted, knocking the ball down to prevent the turnover and keep the drive going. But Casey was sacked on third down and, as he was being brought down again on fourth down, he was poked in the eye. The face mask penalty gave Garden City still another chance, but Casey, perhaps unable to focus correctly, overthrew Maloney on the fateful fourth down from the Lawrence 28. The loss may have ended the season, but Flatley was not disappointed by GC's failure to reclaim the Conference II title. "I don't get upset when the kids play up to their potential," he said three days after the defeat. His voice indicated that he had not yet gotten over the loss, but he already had any eye cast towards next year. "I always think about next year," he said. He then outlined a few areas where GC will need to improve to keep their mind-boggling success (13 playoff appearances in his 13 years, 111 wins, four undefeated seasons, eight conference titles, and a Long Island championship and Rutgers Cup) intact. Some extra weight on the offensive line here, a few more defensive backs there. After all, football season is only nine months away. Notes:
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