The Garden City football team shouted “Will Farrell” while smiling to take a team photo. After, team members were seen strumming the Long Island Division II championship plaque like a guitar while delightedly delivering the lyrics to Starland Vocal Band’s “Afternoon Delight.” That’s because that’s exactly what Nov. 23 was for the Trojans. A 19-0 shutout of Lindenhurst at Stony Brook University brought home Garden City’s third straight title, making the Trojans the second Nassau team to win back-to-back-to-back championships. It was also the team’s 36th straight win, which puts Garden City in the record books as the first on Long Island to go 12-0 three straight seasons.
The “anchorman” for the Trojans was quarterback Colin Hart. On Garden City’s opening drive, he helped orchestrate an 11-play, 63-yard drive that ate five minutes off the clock. The senior capped it with a 3-yard rush that was ultimately the game-winning play.
“It doesn’t get better than this,” said Hart, who’s never lost a game, and is one of four seniors to have earned three straight crowns. He finished the win with 70 rushing yards and was 3-for-5 passing, bringing his totals to 1,200 yards passing and 400 rushing this season. “Getting one in early got the crowd pumped up, the whole team pumped up. It felt great.”
The Garden City defense, which recorded its fourth shutout of the season, held Lindenhurst to 64 first-half yards. The first Lindenhurst drive was stopped when senior defensive back Justin Coppola blitzed off right tackle and buried quarterback Michael Varela for a loss of 12, forcing a punt. It was be the first of five sacks for the defense.
Coppola dazzled minutes later when he leaped over a defender at the 5-yard line, broke a tackle at the 3 and found the end zone for a 13-0 lead. The run was set up by Hart and senior Trevor Yeboah-Kodie in a 10-play, 59-yard drive.
“I have to give a shoutout to our linemen — they did a fantastic job, especially Matt McGovern and Connor Gunn, everything was just clicking for us,” said Yeboah-Kodie, who finished with 135 rushing yards on 22 carries, and eclipsed 1,500 this season alone. “I’m so happy to be able to do this with all of my brothers.”
Junior linebacker Billy Kephart intercepted a Lindenhurst pass at the 46 to give the Trojans possession once more with 2:42 remaining in the first half.
Varela was sacked by senior nose guard Steven Moscatiello, who led the defense with 14 tackles, to open the second half and halt one of few Lindenhurst chain-moving attempts. Christian Sullivan (11 tackles, sack) also highlighted the Garden City defense along with Kephart, who added seven solo tackles.
“They’re a big team and we didn’t want to get slapped around by them,” Moscatiello said. “We knew they had some tricks up their sleeve, and we came out and executed our plan perfectly to keep them at bay. We put in so much work off the field — it’s all about technique and getting the details down — and when the family comes together great things happen.”
Yeboah-Kodie raced for a first down on a fourth-down attempt to bring the ball to Lindenhurst’s 31-yard line, and put the final nail in the coffin with a 25-yard touchdown run with 2:53 left in the game.
“He did great, but when doesn’t he do great?” Hart said smiling, talking about his teammate’s ground-and-pound style. “He’s one of my best friends, just an unbelievable player and an unbelievable guy.”
“Being a part of history — I couldn’t imagine doing this when I was young,” Yeboah-Kodie said. “I’m speechless right now.”
