Mepham halted by Garden City

Garden City showed its still the team to beat in Nassau Conference II football with a 35-18 victory over visiting Mepham last Saturday, but the Pirates took some positives away from their first loss of 2022.
The Trojans scored a minute into the game and needed just 14 minutes to build a 21-point lead on the way to their 23rd consecutive win overall and 39th in 40 tries against Mepham dating back to 1981. Stevie Finnell had three touchdowns, including a 46-yard scoring run on the second snap of the game to spark the hosts.
“It wasn’t a good representation of who we are, but we wanted to win the second half and show we’re not a team that’s going to hang our heads,” Mepham head coach Matt Moody said. “I’m pleased we were able to fight back and we’re hoping to see them again in the playoffs. Even small mistakes you can’t make against a team of Garden City’s caliber.”
Finnell added a leaping 57-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Cole Webber on the Trojans’ second possession and a 5-yard scoring run late in the second quarter to help build a 28-6 halftime lead. The advantage would have been greater if not for an interception in the end zone by Mepham junior Steven Mulqueen in the waning seconds of the half.
The Pirates fed off Mulqueen’s pick and went into intermission with some hope. “I think we were trying to do too much and wipe away all of Mepham’s losses to Garden City in one day,” Moody said. “I like how we played in the second half. We were chasing points all day.”

Mepham (4-1) opened the second half with a five-play, 70-yard touchdown drive. Senior quarterback Dominick Novello, who a week earlier had 4 touchdown runs to lead a victory over New Hyde Park, hit senior receiver Christopher Norris on a post pattern for a 64-yard touchdown to cut the deficit to 28-12. Norris had a 48-yard catch in the second quarter to set up Novello’s 1-yard touchdown run to get the visitors on the board.
The Pirates then took advantage of a botched Garden City punt, recovered by senior Nick Walker, at the Trojans 30. Five plays later, Novello (901 yards passing, 16 total touchdowns in five games) scored again from a yard out to make it a 10-point game, 28-18, with 1:22 remaining in the third quarter.
Mepham had a chance to make it a one-possession game in the fourth but committed a turnover. Leo Votruba’s 56-yard touchdown run sealed Garden City’s victory.
Next up for the Pirates is Homecoming this Saturday at 2 p.m. against Long Beach. The Marines are also 4-1.
“I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished so far,” said Moody, whose squad swept through the first half of the schedule with wins over Elmont, MacArthur, Calhoun and New Hyde Park.
“The MacArthur game was important to our guys because they knocked us out of the playoffs last season,” Moody noted.