Late last November, after a tough defeat to Amityville in the Long Island Championship Game, the Garden City linemen made a commitment to the football program and to each other that they were going to report for this season quicker, bigger, and stronger in pursuing their goal of returning to the playoffs at Hofstra in 2000. They have accomplished these goals, in more ways than one, as they face Mepham again Saturday night at 5 p.m. at Hofstra Stadium coming into this playoff game with an undefeated record of 8-0.

The journey down "the road to Hofstra" began with off-season weight training and aerobic conditioning, which included a speed camp, under the direction of line coach Tom Casey. This hard work paid off for the Trojan's offensive interior line which consists of senior center Bill Breuer, guards Pat "Boomer" O'Brien and Mark "Potch" Oppedisano, and junior tackles Scott "Bus" Owen and Mark "Sloth" Gallucci. These five players are known for their leadership, sportsmanship, camaraderie, and teamwork. Their average size is 6'2 and 250 lbs. They have an average 40-yard dash speed of 4.82 seconds, an average bench press of 301 lbs., and an average squat lift of 438 lbs. for 6 repetitions. These statistics have translated to equally impressive statistics on the football field. Garden City has accumulated 2,308 yards on offense with 1,728 of those yards rushing the ball on 3ll carries for an average of nearly 6 yards per carry. The Trojans have also accumulated 111 first downs compared to their opponents 73, while outscoring those opponents 190 points to 73 points.

This group of five quickly became the nucleus of an outstanding team, with four of them (Gallucci, O'Brien, Owen, & Oppedisano) starting on last year's County Championship Team, including Oppedisano who was an All-Conference selection. On defense you can count on these players coming through on short yardage situations. Expect Owen to stop the run while Oppedisano and O'Brien continue to pressure opposing quarterbacks.

This is a group you want to cheer to victory however, you would not want to encounter them breaking out of their huddle.