Garden City Bucks Calhoun in Playoff Opener, Wins 29-7

While the Garden City defensive line has continued to do the little things to help the Trojans win, they exploded for five sacks on Saturday to lead the Trojans to a decisive 29-7 victory over Calhoun.

Led by senior Scott Conetta, who had two sacks, the defensive front of him, senior Mike Borges, Scott McElroy and junior Mike Gilbert, made life for Calhoun quarterback Matt Brennan extremely unpleasant.

After the game, coach Tom Flatley said "in man-to-man coverage, you have to get pressure on the quarterback. Today, we did."

McElroy, Conetta, sophomore Scott D'Antonio, registered the other three sacks.

The defense also forced Calhoun to lose two fumbles on the first two series of the second half. Conetta recovered one, while senior Stephen Jahelka recovered the other.

The stifling defense held the Colts to just 75 yards rushing, and forced a good quarterback in Brennan to go 6-for-12 for 125 yards  and only one touchdown. The touchdown came off of a 28-yard pass in the third quarter.

And while the defense did all of the dirty work on the day, the Trojans' offense cruised into the record books.

Jahelka became the school's all-time leading point scorer and touchdown getter after taking a 3-yard scamper into the end zone on the Trojans' first possession. Jahelka now has 218 on 36 points for his career.

Jahelka passed John Maloney, who scored 212 points and had 35 touchdowns for the Trojans from 1997-1999.

The Trojans also saw their kicker, junior Ryan Norton, boot his way into the record books by completing three field goal attempts on the day.

Mixed in with the record setters, senior Brian Fischer also scored a touchdown in his first game back from injury. With his right hand put in a protective splint, Fischer took a five-yard handoff in for the score.

Afterwards, Fischer said he felt good, but was "just trying to get the feel back."

"It's still tough to handle the ball," he said.

The third score for the Trojans came from an amazing catch-and-run from junior Patric Berkery, who continues to make his mark in the Trojans' offense. Catching a pass from senior Tom Gordon, Berkery was able to split two defenders on his 18-yard reception.

Fischer, the man Berkery was asked to account for after the injury, said that Berkery is "unbelievable."

On the day, Jahelka ran the ball 17 times for 101 yards, Fischer took seven carries for 33 yards and Berkery had five receptions for 88 yards. Gordon completed five passes, all to Berkery, on 14 attempts.

With the victory, the Trojans now move on to the semi-finals of the Conference II tournament. The boys will take on Wantagh, a side the Trojans beat 31-14 two weeks ago.

Flatley said the Trojans have to "get ready for their multiple sets."

Flatley also stressed that "we have to be sharper."

For Fischer, the preparation is just "business as usual."

The Trojans now travel to Hofstra for the rest of their games, marking the final time the seniors will play at Warren King Field.

It is also the last time fans will watch a game from the old wooden bleachers, which are set to be destroyed on Monday in favor of new aluminum seating.  

The game versus Wantagh kicks off at 10 a.m. next Saturday.