Carey ousted by Garden City

Two-time defending champion Garden City got offensive and defensive touchdowns from senior Mark Ellis and another stellar performance from its defense en route to beating Carey, 27-0, in a Nassau Conference II semifinal playoff game at Hofstra Shuart’s Stadium last Friday afternoon.

The top-seeded Trojans scored on the game’s opening possession, driving 70 yards on 11 plays, and never looked back on the way to improving to 10-0. The fourth-seeded Seahawks (6-4), who beat Long Beach in the opening round, got 92 yards on 24 carries from senior Rob Zorn, eight tackles from junior Matthew Lucito, and 1.5 sacks from senior Rob Blanc.

"We were resilient all year long" Carey head coach Mike Stanley said. "We had some disappointments, some setbacks and an overall bumpy road. We twice bounced back from a loss to win two straight, and I'm proud of the kids' efforts."

Ellis (112 yards) and senior Patric Berkery (61) came out running and combined for 63 yards on the opening drive, capped by Ellis’ 6-yard touchdown run. Senior kicker Ryan Norton, who booted all but one kickoff out of the end zone to hand Carey tough starting field position, split the uprights for a 7-0 lead.

The Seahawks’ defense held Garden City on its next two drives, including one that began on the Carey 20 when the wind pushed Norton’s 42-yard field goal try wide-left early in the second quarter. But after the Seahawks went three-and-out, Berkery busted up the gut for a 29-yard touchdown run and it was 14-0 with 6:29 left in the half.

The hole got deeper for Carey on the ensuing possession. Zorn ran three times for 12 yards to move the chains to the 32, but Ellis picked off a pass and raced down the sideline for a 43-yard touchdown return and a 20-0 advantage.

The Seahawks followed with a productive drive that stalled on downs at the Trojans 40, and twice in the second half they were inside the 40 but Garden City’s defense was up for the challenge. A third-quarter touchdown pass from 31 yards from senior Mike Comiskey to junior Ed Blatz capped the scoring.

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