Long Beach drops hard-fought homecoming game

In its homecoming game last Friday night, the Long Beach football team had everything prepared, from a pregame carnival to a halftime show.

What the Marines didn’t anticipate, though, was New Hyde Park quarterback Aidan Garvey running up and down Veterans Field, handing them a 33-14 Nassau Conference II loss at the Middle School.

“You're hoping he slows down, and he didn't,” Long Beach head coach Scott Martin said of Garvey. “You’re hoping their line slows down, and they didn’t. That's the way it is when you play a team like that. He definitely had our number.”

Garvey evaded Long Beach tacklers, picking up 183 yards and five touchdowns on 26 carries for the Gladiators.

“He gets out, and he's hard to tackle in the open field,” Martin said. “He’s a great player, he’s an All-County player, and he’s their top player.”

However, Garvey’s night didn’t have the best of starts.

He fumbled the snap on the game’s first play from scrimmage, which Wyatt Katzen recovered to give Long Beach excellent field position for its opening drive.

Quarterback Luke Hartman then led the Marines deeper into opponent territory, scoring a touchdown on a 6-yard run. On the ensuing possession, Cody McLean gashed the Long Beach defense with a run up the sideline, setting up Garvey to run in for his first score of the night with a 12-yard run.

Long Beach then took the edge when Hartman found Timothy Monzon open over the middle for a score to close the first quarter. Monzon finished as the game’s leading receiver, catching four passes for 52 yards. However, that was the last of Long Beach’s offense.

Garvey scored twice more in the second quarter to put New Hyde Park ahead for good. The Marines attempted to cut the deficit before halftime, but an inadvertent penalty flag stalled their drive in the final seconds.

The second half featured more of the same as New Hyde Park’s defense clamped down, disrupting Hartman’s timing within the pocket.

“Our passing game didn't go as well as it should’ve, but Luke still played really well,” Martin said. "We had opportunities."

Hartman had two total touchdowns with 115 yards on the ground plus another 105 through the air, completing 16 of 24 attempts to Monzon, Katzen, Shaquille Johnson, Nico Kagnasis and Ryan Gallagher. Garvey secured an interception in the fourth quarter.

Long Beach, which has victories over Jericho, Sewanhaka and Herricks, honored 17 seniors, who likely played their last home game.

“We got to play football,” Martin said. “You're upset, but at least take a deep breath and say, ‘I got to play the game that I love tonight.’ So try to keep a perspective that it’s not all bad.”

Hartman had three touchdown passes a week earlier to lead the Marines to a 40-7 victory over Herricks. Monzon had two interceptions to highlight a 34-6 win over Sewanhaka, while six Marines scored in a 48-13 win over Jericho.

Long Beach (3-3) will play at Roslyn this Saturday at 2 p.m. then concludes the regular season Oct. 28 at Elmont.