Leading off today: Entering the new season, no one on the Garden City football roster had ever lost a varsity game. The streak remains intact following a 42-0 triumph on Friday at Bethpage.
Quarterback Brayden Robertiello delivered second-quarter touchdown passes of 13 yards to reigning Thorp Award winner Michael Berkery and 59 yards to Owen Wuchte to help build a 35-0 lead at the half.
The victory was the 43rd in a row for the Trojans, setting the Long Island record. The mark of 42 was established by William Floyd from 2005-08 and matched previously by the Garden City teams of 2016-19. Garden City last lost in the 2019 Long Island Class II championship game against Lindenhurst. The new streak began in March 2021 after the COVID-19 pandemic shifted football to the spring.
"It's pretty special," coach Dave Ettinger told Newsday after the team's 89th win in 91 games. "We never spoke about the streak or anything about that for 42 straight games, but I did speak about it in camp this year and the importance of making history in a historic program, which is always difficult to do.
"Garden City has a very rich history of football, and to be able to do something that no other team in Long Island has done is pretty special."
Ettinger's record is a staggering 98-3 in his 10th season at Garden City, which has dropped down to Nassau County Division III this fall based upon enrollment.
Respect for Lancaster's overtime decision
When it comes to Week 1 drama, it's hard to believe many -- if any -- football games on Friday were a match for McQuaid's 27-26 victory over Lancaster in intersectional action. The game went to double overtime, and each possession had its own drama, concluding with a gutsy call by Legends coach Eric Rupp.
Lancaster broke to a two-score lead by midway through the second quarter, but McQuaid recovered, and the teams ended regulation tied at 14.
Justin Teubner scored from the 2-yard-line to open OT, but the Legends missed the extra-point kick. McQuaid responded with a score on Will DiMarco's 10-yard throw to Allen Nesmith, only to have its own extra-point kick for the potential victory fail. The Knights then took their first lead on an Xavier Cox 20-yard run and a successful kick.
Lancaster QB Alex Krupa then responded with a 20-yard TD throw to John Gang. Rather than attempt the kick, Rupp kept his offense back onto the field to play for two points and the win. The conversion try failed, and McQuaid secured the victory.
Lancaster fans understandably might be disappointed with the outcome, but there was a lot to like about Rupp's decision.
Firstly, he took the burden off his special-teams unit, which had missed on an extra-point attempt minutes earlier. More significantly, he delivered a vote of confidence for his offense by putting the ball in those players' hands. It's part of a team's growth toward the goals when the Section 6 portion of the schedule starts next week vs. Lockport.
"I'm proud of my kids, they battled to the very end," Rupp told WNYAthletics.com. "There was a lot of adversity and a lot of challenging situations. But that's why you schedule such a quality opponent. You want to be prepared for the Bennetts, the Orchard Parks, the Jamestowns and everybody else in Class AA that's coming up in our schedule."
More football: Friday's scoreboard
Calling all helpers regarding history
The McQuaid-Lancaster drama reminded me of a task I've been meaning to take on -- the addition of a new category in the New York State Sportswriters Association football book.
Specifically, I'd like to build a list of games that have gone to five or more overtimes.
Off the top of my head, I know there has been at least one six-overtime game, but I haven't been able to dig it out online thus far. If you can recall a football game with five or more OTs, dial me up at jmoriello@yahoo.com.
Franklin star continues torrid scoring pace
Shannon Kingsbury broke a long-standing school record and has nearly three full seasons remaining to add to her total after netting five goals on Friday in Section 4 soccer action.
Kingsbury, already a three-time all-state selection in Class D, became Franklin's career leader with her fourth goal during the 9-0 victory against Gilbertsville-Mount Upton. The sophomore stands at 116 goals, two more than Patty Uzenski netted from 1984-88.
Earlier in the week, Kingsbury eclipsed Uzenski's mark of 246 career points.
Stylistically speaking
Stormy weather across portions of the state did a number on the first busy Friday of the 2024-25 high school sports season. Rain, lightning, and even cautions about potential tornado activity in some areas affected numerous contests in a variety of sports.
Some games were scuttled before teams even boarded the bus, others got underway only to be stopped prematurely. The way some developments were reported on social media by news outlets or school accounts missed the mark by not appreciating the distinction between suspended games, postponements, and cancellations.
• Games that get underway but are halted due to weather or other considerations but are expected to resume at a later date are "suspended."
• If the contest never got started and is being rescheduled for a later date, then it is "postponed."
• And if the game doesn't get played and the teams determine it will not be rescheduled, then it's "canceled."
Props to the folks at Fairport, who clearly are already atop their vocabulary game less than a week after the start of classes:
