Wantagh falls at Garden City

The 20th all-time meeting on the gridiron between Garden City and Wantagh brought a result far too familiar for the Warriors, who couldn’t stop the Trojans’ signature ground attack in a 35-13 road loss on Oct. 2.

 Brian Haeffner rushed for 201 yards and three touchdowns to lead Garden City (4-0) to its 18th win in a series dating back to 1974. He became the first player in program history to rush for 200 yards in consecutive games. Quarterback Tim Schmelzinger and Jamie Atkinson added rushing scores for the hosts, who found the end zone in every quarter and took a shutout into the fourth.

Wantagh (2-2) got touchdowns from junior Bruno Surace, on a 15-yard screen pass from junior signal-caller Rob Tucker, and junior Andrew Eget, on a 1-yard run on the game’s final play. “Our job is to get better by the end of the season,” Warriors head coach Keith Sachs said. “We’re starting a lot of younger guys, especially up front, and we haven’t come close to our potential yet.”

The Trojans set the tone on the game-opening possession, marching 71 yards on 10 plays in 6:12 and taking the lead on Haeffner’s 10-yard touchdown run. Haeffner, who had 24 carries on the afternoon, accounted for all but six yards on the drive. The first possession for the Warriors was promising but failed to produce points after a 7-yard catch by Surace on fourth-and-4 brought them inside the red zone. However, a sack by Garden City’s Brian Goepfert forced a fourth-and-16 from the 22, and an incomplete pass gave the Trojans the ball back on downs.

With the hosts knocking on the door again early in the second quarter, Wantagh junior Corey Sachs picked off Schmelzinger at the 8. But the Warriors went three-and-out, punted, and soon trailed 14-0 after Schmelzinger’s 11-yard touchdown run. An interception by junior Bobby Casey stopped Garden City from increasing its lead in the closing seconds of the half.

“We forced some turnovers, but we didn’t tackle well,” coach Sachs said.

Haeffner had touchdown runs of 13 and 31 yards in the third and fourth quarters, respectively, before Wantagh drove 75 yards for its first score. A 40-yard catch by junior Dylan Beckwith, followed by a 23-yard grab by senior Jimmy Murphy, set up Surace’s score. A 53-yard catch by senior Vinny Vasheo set up Eget’s touchdown.

“I felt like we solved some things as the game went on,” Sachs said. “We have to cut down on the little mistakes.”

Wantagh was coming off a 23-13 victory over Long Beach. This Saturday, the Warriors host Mepham at 3 p.m. “It’s a game we need to win,” Sachs said. “If we’re not going to beat Carey or Garden City right now, we have to prove we belong in the top three or four.”