By Jerry Burke
But even though the Elmont Memorial Spartans lost to defending champs Garden City 35 - 6, the young men in green had nothing to be ashamed of. They left it all on the field in completing their wonderful 6-3-1 season.
The Trojans were taking care of business early, scoring three unanswered touchdowns in the first half before Spartan quarterback George Santiago (9 for 25) found his game with less than three minutes left in the second quarter.
The senior marched his team 75 yards to score against one of the Island's toughest defenses. Receiver Casey Mack, with another gutsy performance, caught a three yard pass from Santiago to record Elmont first score of the game with only seconds left on the game clock.
The momentum of the pre-halftime score carried over for the Spartans defense, which held the Trojans scoreless in the third. But GC quarterback Steve Carroll and running back Terence Hartigan eventually broke through for two more scores.
The soggy crowd of 500 stayed with the game until the end, giving the Spartans a well-derserved hand for their strong play-off push. More on the Spartan's great season will be available in next week's Herald.
