50 Friday, October 7, 2016 The Garden City News
Thunder 8s joust with the Uniondale Knights
A battleground melee for defensive tackles James Logler (44), Angelo Cupani (40), Garvis Toler (15) and Conor Fortney (31), to allow linebacker, James Sullivan (18), to capture a Knight.
Garden City Spirit lifted the spirits of their Thunder counterparts!”
Merit Ruckh(24) and Owen Andersen (33) capture a Uniondale Knight.”
The Thunder 8s hosted their most formidable opponent, the Uniondale Knights, at Stewart Field on Sunday. Team co-captains: Chase Kraus, Kieran Walsh and Matt Uhoda won the coin toss and deferred to the second half so that they could showcase their powerful defense. James Logler and Angelo Cupani marched the defense to the field. Owen Andersen and Merit Ruckh were ready to joust and stop the Knight’s running backs. Cornerback, Troy Kakoyiannis, donned his armor as he made four tackles throughout the day, with the loyal assistance of Garvis Toler, Timothy Levelis and Matt Uhoda who all defended their domain well. Quarterback, Ryan Haniffy, discovered his transfer time was dramatically reduced with the powerful defense of the Knights. In spite of successful hand-offs, with blocks by Justin Baiker and Thomas Gamba, the running backs appeared to be running the gauntlet every time they carried the ball. The intense Thunder defense continued to play as if wearing a suit of armor. Linebacker, James Sullivan, and defensive end, Conor Fortney, held strong against the Uniondale offense. Patrick Polley filled in honorably for an injured teammate and made a great impact. However, the Knights found a chink in the Thunder armor and were able to score on a long gallop into the end zone. The extra point was denied with a valiant move by Kieran Walsh. Garden City – 0, Uniondale – 6. Alex Giuffre and James Delligatti fortified the Garden City line but even they could not hold back the gallant Uniondale defense. Chris Dell, Greg Buccella and William Lentini, bravely tried their hand in the offensive backfield but they could not penetrate the moat formed by Uniondale. The Thunder defense continued to break down the Uniondale walls as defensive linemen, Gabe Cohen, Patrick Corrigan and Kevin Brennan, forced Uniondale backwards. The Knights would not be denied and were able to escape for another long touchdown late in the game, but their extra point was elusive as Chase Kraus heroically recovered a fumble. Final score: Garden City – 0, Uniondale – 12. The lion-hearted Thunder 8s left the field with nobility, because they had competed with honor against a powerful opponent. This Sunday, the Thunder 8s look to catapult back in the win column when Mike Griffin, Mark Gemmell and Will Mattice return to the team and the Stewart Field battleground to host the Mineola Chiefs at 9:00 am. Thunder Tough!!!