MacArthur stuns Garden City

Generals shock record-tying Garden City with 27-7 rout

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MacArthur head coach Bob Fehrenbach chose not to make Garden City’s epic 42-game winning streak a topic leading up to last Saturday’s Nassau Conference II showdown, but the Generals decided to do something about it anyway.

Senior quarterback/safety Joe Manfredo rushed for a pair of touchdowns and returned a fumble 43 yards for the game-sealing score in the fourth quarter as MacArthur denied the Trojans a place in Long Island football history, winning 27-7 before a standing-room-only crowd of about 2,500 at Garden City.

It was the first defeat for the Trojans (6-1), the three-time defending L.I. Class II champions, since November 2015. They were seeking to not only surpass William Floyd’s mark of 42 consecutive wins, from 2005 to 2008, but also to continue their dominance over MacArthur. Garden City is 32-3-1 all-time against the Generals.

Senior tailback Hugh Kelleher rushed for 139 yards and a touchdown, his 14th of the year, for MacArthur, which improved to 7-0 and figures to be the No. 1 seed in the playoffs.

“I didn’t mention the streak once all week, though obviously it’s a big win for us,” Fehrenbach said. “I’m sure the kids talked about it among themselves, but as their coach and as a staff, we just wanted to get them prepared to play against a great opponent.”

Heading into the much-anticipated matchup, MacArthur and Garden City mirrored each other in many ways and had beaten most of the same opponents in convincing fashion. The Generals averaged 33.2 points per game while allowing 3.8, and the Trojans scored 36.2 per outing and yielded 4.5.

“They know what we’re trying to do, and we think we’ve got a pretty good idea of what they like to do,” Fehrenbach said. “Maybe we’ll meet again down the road, but we’re not worrying about that right now. We’ll enjoy this and get ready for the next game.”

MacArthur piled up more than 200 yards of offense in the first half, and came within one incomplete pass of scoring on each of its three possessions. Kelleher capped an 11-play, 50-yard opening drive with a 5-yard touchdown run, and the Generals led 7-0 with 6:08 gone.

Garden City responded with a seven-play, 75-yard touchdown drive with sophomore Jack Cascadden covering the final 48 with an impressive run along the home sideline. It was 7-7 after one quarter.

On the ensuing possession, however, the visitors took the lead for good. MacArthur faced a third-and-11 when Manfredo faked a handoff to Kelleher before racing 21 yards untouched for a touchdown off a bootleg. “They think you’re going to keep pounding, so you’ve got to show them something they haven’t seen before,” Fehrenbach said.

The Generals led 14-7 at the half after failing to extend their advantage just before halftime. They drove from their own 10 to inside the Garden City 10, but couldn’t convert on fourth-and-6.

Manfredo made sure the offense finished the job the next time it stepped on the field. He connected with Kelleher for 53 yards to set up his own 1-yard touchdown sneak, and it was 21-7 with 3:53 left in the third quarter.

The MacArthur defense sealed the deal early in the fourth when blitzing senior linebacker Mike Esposito sacked Garden City quarterback Holden Overbeck and forced a fumble that Manfredo scooped up and returned to the end zone. “I had a clear lane to the quarterback,” said Esposito, who also plays a major role in the offense at fullback. “Manfredo’s agile. When I saw him pick up the fumble, I knew he’d get into the end zone.”