The Garden City Trojans have shown that they can win in a number of different ways. Against Levittown Division, the Trojans forced six turnovers. Versus Calhoun, GC compiled three 80-yard drives of more than eight plays. A last-second Hail Mary defeated New Hyde Park. Senior Day at Warren King Field, Garden City (7-0) showed it can win with big plays in very big plays.

Mepham jumped out early, capitalizing on a John Maloney fumble and tallying the game's first touchdown when Pirates fullback Brian Karp scored on a 1-yard plunge. Maloney was quick to redeem himself. On the next play from scrimmage, the junior ran 77 yards for a touchdown. "The fumble got me mad," said Maloney. "The line did their job, and I just ran to daylight." It was Maloney's 11th touchdown of the season.

Four minutes later, following a poor Mepham punt, quarterback Matt Casey hit Dan Doherty on a 9-yard scoring strike, which gave Garden City a 14-6 lead after one quarter.

Doherty produced the next key play for Garden City. With the Pirates driving inside the Trojans' 10-yard line, Doherty picked off a halfback-option pass at the goal line which took the life out of Mepham (3-4).

With time running out in the first half, the Trojans took over on the Mepham 41-yard line following another pick by Doherty. Nine plays later, Casey ran it in from 11-yards out on a bootleg and Garden City had a 21-6 halftime lead.

The Trojans would put the game away in the 3rd quarter. Once again, the Mepham defense was victimized by long touchdowns. Casey connected with senior tight end Jordan Fay on a 54-yard touchdown pass midway through the quarter. "I caught it only about five yards beyond the line [of scrimmage]," said Fay. "There was no free safety and it was just a foot-race." It was a race that Fay would win. The senior now has three receptions on the season, all of them resulting in scores. The touchdown pass was the 30th of Casey's career, tying him with Mike Gluck for first place on Garden City's all-time list.

A few minutes later, after yet another interception by Doherty. tailback Jim Wills ran 41 yards untouched for a score, giving the Trojans a commanding 33-6 lead after three quarters. The scoring was capped off by a backup quarterback Dave Kang, who turned a broken play into a 10-yard touchdown run.

"It was a good win," said head coach Tom Flatley. "And I'm happy for our seniors. They put in a lot of work in the weight room and on the practice field, and it's nice that they can win like this in their last home game."

As both teams exited the field, senior tackle Dan Smith walked off with a patch of grass in his hand. "I've been playing on this field for four years," said Smith. "It's kind of sad that this is the last time I'll be playing here. It has meant a lot to me."

* Sean Murphy (WR/DE) - In his first year of football he was a special teams demon against the Pirates. He recorded three tackles on the kickoff coverage team, but they were not ordinary tackles. Murphy was the first man down the field on every kick, and knocked the ball carrier off his feet with bone-crushing hits on two separate occasions.

* Dan Doherty (WR/FS) - "Mr. Excitement" tied a 25-year-old single game record with his three interceptions. He tied Brian McGoldrick, who had three picks vs. Hicksville in 1973.

* John Maloney (RB) - "Beano" as he is commonly known, ran for 112 yards on 10 carries. He also had a key decleator block during a 1st quarter punt return.

* Tom Flatley (Head Coach) - The head coach redefined what commitment is. After undergoing gall bladder surgery on Monday, Flatley was back at practice on Tuesday.

* Eric Wenzel (C/MLB) - The senior recorded 14 tackles, and also blocked an extra point. He also played his second consecutive game at center, as Ryan Capilupi remained sidelined due to an injury.

* Ryan Gillin (WR/FS) - Gillin has made a name for himself by opening eyes on the final plays of games. Last week, he unloaded an exceptional hit as time expired. This week, he intercepted a tipped pass at the final gun.

* Bobby Reeves (LT/DT) - Reeves once again dominated on the offensive line. However, it was even more impressive this week, as he played with two dislocated fingers.

* This week, Garden City travels to Hewlett to take on the Bulldogs. Garden City eliminated Hewlett last year in the payoffs.

The last time that Garden City lost a home game was 1994, to the Mepham Pirates.

Capilupi is expected to start next week, which will move Wenzel back to guard.

Maloney was the first Trojan to rush for 100 yards this season.

Kevin Waters had three catches, giving him a team-high 24 on the season.

The Garden City girls soccer team started the Nassau County Class B playoffs on the right note as they pummeled Bellmore JFK, 7-0. Senior Alex Fiore tallied a hat trick, while Bethany LeSueur, Ai Yasukawa, Basia Dabrowski and Kerry McCaffrey also had goals in the blowout. Goalie Katie Houston only needed to make two saves in the win.

Following a tough week which included a gutsy win over Island Trees and a hard-fought tie vs. South Side, the Trojans squared off against Great Neck South in the first round of the playoffs last Saturday. Manny Fajardo played like a star, scoring two goals. Senior Matt Monte added a rare goal for GC (9-2-5, ranked #2). For the second time this season, Kevin Becker (four saves) and Garrett Gleeson (one save) combined for the shutout.

"We were a little disappointed after the South Side game," said Monte. "We would like to have had the #1 seed, but I still think that we're in good shape to win the County Title."