A team couldn’t have had a worse situation then Horace Greeley experienced last week as it lost at rival John Jay 42-14 and saw its star senior quarterback/safety and co-captain Justin Ciero leave the game in the third quarter because of a foot injury.
“I did hurt my foot in the game and left to get X-rays,” Ciero said on Monday night. “As of now, I am day to day.”
Fortunately for Ciero, the X-rays showed that there was no break in the foot but with his day to day status, it’s unknown at this time whether or not he will be available for the Quakers next game at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 14 at Ossining.
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The good news for the Quakers is that they have moved on from their loss at John Jay, according to Greeley co-captain and senior running back/linebacker Hiro Asaga.
“The coaches and captains have done a good job of getting the team back on its feet,” Asaga said. “We still have a chance for the playoffs and we have to earn it. Our attitude is that we can’t be crying about what happened against John Jay, that game is over with. We have to now concentrate on Ossining and do our assignments at full speed.”
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Asaga said that having a long-time veteran coach in Bill Tribou has helped the Quakers refocus quickly for its game at Ossining.
“He definitely gives us an edge on taking it game by game and not losing focus,” Asaga said. “It would have been a lot harder to do that if we didn’t have a coach like him.”
Besides having a top-notch coach, what also helps Greeley focus is that the game at Ossining is a big one since it has playoff implications.
“It’s a huge game for both teams,” Asaga said. “We are 2-2 in the playoff seeding, not counting our win against Nyack, which doesn’t count for the playoffs. They are basically in the same boat that we are. If we win this game, it will go a long way in keeping us alive for the playoffs.”
If they want to stay alive in the playoff chase, the Quakers will have to overcome an Ossining squad that is very athletic.
“They have a bunch of good athletes,” Asaga said. “They have always been a very quick team. But we just have to stay disciplined. We can’t turn the ball over and take penalties. We can’t have a big play only for it to be called back because of a penalty. We have to avoid those.”
