LIC Bulldogs Secure Revenge Against August Martin in PSAL Showdown

After losing to August Martin in the PSAL A Conference playoffs last season, Long Island City (LIC) High School football head coach Joseph Giardina said his players circled the date on the calendar when the two teams would meet again in 2024

The Bulldogs (4-0) vowed to exact revenge, and junior quarterback Timothy Hernandez made sure of that, as he threw four touchdowns, while senior Elias Morales had three interceptions in their 34-0 shutout victory over the Falcons (0-3) Sunday at Long Island City High School Field.

Giardina and his counterpart, August Martin head coach Kyle Allen, have played each several times of the last few years. Giardina said he was able to finally get his players to carry out its game plan to a tee against a typically tough opponent.

“Our game plan, honestly, was just to execute,” Giardina said. “Coach Allen and I know each other pretty well, battled against each other the last few years. It took me about four years to figure him out, finally. We just had to execute, and we did a little better job of that today”

Hernandez opened up the game’s scoring on a 25-yard touchdown pass to senior Joshua Canela early in the tilt for a 6-0 Bulldog lead.

After the Falcons threw an interception in the end zone, LIC marched down field. Hernandez finished the offensive drive by completing a 17-yard touchdown strike to senior standout Billy Fuiaxis, followed by a two-point run for a 14-0 advantage with around three minutes left in the first half.

Morales picked off another pass and ran it back to August Martin’s 36-yard line. Hernandez proceeded to fling a 36-yard TD pass to Fuiaxis, to increase the Bulldogs’ lead to 20-0 late in the second quarter.

“You practice it (picking off the ball), and you do what you have to do. You know your spot, know your zone,” Morales said of defending his position in the secondary to the best of his ability. “You don’t let anyone get in it.”

Next for LIC, senior Carter Dumas scampered for a 79-yard rushing score that gave the team a 26-0 advantaged midway through the third period.

In what you do not see often, 215-pound Bulldog defensive lineman Erkinjon Meliboyev intercepted an ill-advised Henry Lancaster pass and ran the pigskin to inside the red zone.

After a few plays, Dumas caught a Fernandez pass in the flats and proceeded to elude defenders en route to a 15-yard TD, followed by a successful two-point Fuiaxis reception for a 34-point LIC lead late in the contest.

It was Hernandez’s third passing score of the day and completed a perfect five-for-five passing performance with 97 yards to boot. He feels his squad is hitting its stride now.

“This was one of my best games today,” Hernandez said with an ear-to-ear grin. “It feels really good to be 4-0, really good. We have a very good group of guys, working hard in practice every day. And we’ve been dominating.”

While Giardina was pleased with his team’s performance, Allen was obviously disappointed in the Falcons’ overall effort.

“I got a group of kids that some of them want it and some of them don’t,” he explained. “Some of them don’t come to practice, some of them do. I don’t have the numbers to bench them. What can you do?”

Furthermore, Allen said, “I told the PSAL that my program is too new to move us up yet; we weren’t ready to move up yet. Not that I’m making excuses, but we should be in the 1A. We’re a 1A football team, we’re not a 2A football team yet.”

Allen went on to say that Hunter Garden, a fifth-year talented high school student-athlete, whom he is waiting to hear from the PSAL regarding his hardship case, would help the adolescent’s confidence as well as the program’s success.

“Our best player is still not cleared to play yet because of PSAL bureaucracy nonsense,” he lamented. “We’ll see what happens.”

The Bulldogs will travel to Far Rockaway Sunday at 11:00 a.m., while August Martin faces host Campus Magnet Friday at 4:00 p.m.

— Jerry Del Priore