The streak lives! Garden City football earns fifth straight LI title, 66th win in a row

Senior Zach Olson  raised his arms over his head and screamed toward the Garden City fans. His performance on the defensive side of the football was his last — and his best.

Olson had 11 tackles, including four for a loss, and two sacks as Garden City edged East Islip, 10-7, to capture the Long Island Class II championship Saturday afternoon at Stony Brook University.

FINAL: Garden City 10, East Islip 7
Trojans win their 5th straight LI title and extend the nation’s longest active winning streak to 66 games. https://t.co/dF52KDG5Yo pic.twitter.com/gBrioThPip

— Matt Lindsay (@MattLinds19) November 29, 2025

It was the Trojans’ fifth straight Long Island title and 13th overall. Garden City is the first school to win five straight L.I. football championships.

The Trojans (12-0) extended the longest active winning streak in the country to 66 games over the past six years. Garden City hasn’t lost since falling to Lindenhurst, 14-13, in the Long Island Class II championship game on Nov. 30, 2019.

The Trojans weathered East Islip’s physical style of play with some grit of their own.

“It was my last game playing defense and I believe it was my best,” said Olson, who will play offensive line for Harvard University next year. “What a great way to end my career.”

Olson became the first player in Long Island high school football history to win four L.I. championships. The 6-5, 285-pound two-way lineman was a key cog on a defense that yielded 185 total yards of offense.

“We watched so much film this week,” Olson said. “We were getting penetration and making some big plays.”

Trailing 7-3, Garden City punter Chris Desiderio pinned East Islip at its own 17 with 5:23 remaining in the third quarter. East Islip moved the ball to the 26, and on fourth down with less than a yard to go, coach Sal J. Ciampi opted to go for the first down and maintain possession. Quarterback AJ Ierardi was stuffed at the line by Will Mattice and Jake Brown for no gain.

“We had to get six inches and I felt we could get it with our offensive line playing so well,” Ciampi said. “We get that six inches and we control the ball from there.”

Garden City fullback Owen Andersen (144 yards, eight carries) then bolted over the left side for the go-ahead 26-yard touchdown run. Desiderio’s kick gave the Trojans a 10-7 lead with 4:01 left in the third quarter.

“If we had a chance to win, based on the state of our health, we had to play lights out on defense,” Garden City coach Dave Ettinger said. “And our defensive coordinator Steve Finnell and his staff did a fantastic job having our guys prepared. And we had a few key guys unable to play on the offense and Owen Anderson stepped in and did a great job.”

“Our defense came up with so many huge stops,” said Garden City junior halfback/ linebacker Anthony Asaro, who dressed and was used as a decoy for one play in the first quarter.

Asaro, who led the Trojans in rushing and touchdowns, had not fully recovered from a high ankle sprain. “I begged the coaches to let me play,’’ he said, “but there was no way. I’m super-proud of the guys the way they came together.”

After working with Garden City trainer Anthony Navaro all week and not practicing, junior quarterback Brayden Robertiello managed to play through the pain of a lower-leg injury

“He worked endlessly to play,” Navaro said. “His resolve was a huge boost for the team. He’s a leader through and through.”

“East Islip’s got some tough dudes, and our guys went toe-to-toe with them,” said Robertiello, who was a game-time decision. “We’re not soft in Garden City; we’re as tough as anyone. I wasn’t letting my team down.”

Garden City opened the scoring on the first possession. The Trojans moved the ball 59 yards in six plays to set up a 22-yard field goal by Desiderio for a 3-0 lead.

Late in the second quarter, Jake Simmons (154 yards, 31 carries) went into the Wildcat formation, took the snap, faked left and ran behind a wall of blockers untouched for a 3-yard touchdown. Chris Coreas’ kick gave East Islip (10-2) a 7-3 lead with 1:29 left in the half.

East Islip 7, Garden City 3
Jake Simmons walks in the end zone behind Dylan Bayer for a 4-yard TD run with 1:29 left in Q2. pic.twitter.com/UDwEWFNdbk

— Matt Lindsay (@MattLinds19) November 29, 2025

It was only the second time Garden City trailed all season and the first time since the opener against Long Beach.

“They stayed composed,” Ettinger said. “We knew East Islip would be a tough opponent and it would be a low-scoring game.”

East Islip had one last shot to tie the score in the fourth quarter. Simmons carried 10 times in a row to the Garden City 20 with 3:52 left. On fourth-and-11, Coreas’ 37-yard field goal came up short.

Said Ciampi, “We made too many mistakes on first downs to beat a team like Garden City.”