Garden City football's winning streak reaches 50 as Michael Berkery scores five touchdowns in victory over Elmont
Blake Cascadden (21) of Garden City celebrates Michael Berkery's (16) touchdown during a Nassau Conference III football game in Elmont on Saturday, October 26, 2024. Credit: Peter Frutkoff
Guided by five total touchdowns from senior Michael Berkery, Garden City football’s historic winning streak has reached the half-century mark.
On Saturday afternoon, Garden City visited Elmont and ruined its Senior Day with a 34-14 win to secure an undefeated regular season and the top seed in the Nassau III playoffs. The Trojans’ record of consecutive victories is at 50, with the last loss coming on Nov. 30, 2019.
Even Garden City coach Dave Ettinger was surprised upon hearing the streak had reached 50.
“Wow,” Ettinger said. “There’s a lot that goes into this streak. A lot of kids, lot of preparation. It’s something we haven’t talked about much since we got the record, it’s just been business as usual, one week at a time.”
Berkery was the beacon that lit the way for Garden City (8-0) on Saturday, as he totaled 20 touches, 176 scrimmage yards and five scores — four rushing, one receiving. On defense, Berkery lined up against star wide receiver Nassir Edwards of Elmont (5-2) and held his own, recording an interception.
The Villanova lacrosse commit took great pride in leading his team to its benchmark achievement.
“That’s a huge deal for me because of the guys in the past who started this streak and all of the hard work they put in to get us an undefeated season year after year,” Berkery said. “Being able to top it off with number 50 for them is almost surreal. Hopefully we can keep it going, but it feels awesome that I was able to contribute like that.”
There was no waiting period for Berkery — who rushed 18 times for 164 yards — to take over the game. He rushed for 10 yards and a first down up the gut on the first play from scrimmage, and later capped off the opening drive by running off left tackle and turning the corner for a 31-yard touchdown.
Two possessions later, with the score tied at 7 in the second quarter and the ball on Elmont’s 5-yard line, Berkery took a handoff to the left, stutter-stepped behind his line and waited for an opening. After using his patience and finding a hole, he cut it back upfield and waltzed into the end zone to give Garden City the lead.
On the ensuing defensive possession, Berkery picked off a pass and ran it back for a 38-yard touchdown, but the TD was called back because of a penalty on the return. However, Berkery still managed to get the ball into the end zone. Quarterback Braydon Robertiello dumped off a pass in the flat to Berkery, who ran it in for an 8-yard score to make it 19-7.
With fewer than two minutes left in the second quarter and the ball back in the Trojans’ hands, Berkery went up the middle and took it all the way for a 21-yard TD to make it a three-score game, effectively putting things out of reach. About halfway through the third quarter, Berkery finished his day with a 22-yard scoring run.
