By Michael James LeClair

On Saturday afternoon the Lunenburg football team ran into a buzz saw. The host Blue Knights welcomed powerful Gardner for Homecoming weekend and the visiting Wildcats showed little compassion as they cruised to a 35-0 win.

    With the win the Wildcats improved to 7-0, their best start since 1996 and 3-0 in Mid-Wach C. Lunenburg falls to 2-6 on the year and 2-2 in Mid-Wach C.

    Prior to the start of the game “Irish” Micky Ward, former welterweight boxing champion and the athlete portrayed by Mark Wahlberg in the recent motion picture “The Fighter,” was on hand during a ceremony to make a presentation to the family of Kevin Szocik.

    Szocik, a 1992 Lunenburg graduate and three-sport athlete was killed during the attack of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. The gate that leads to the football field is named in Kevin’s honor.

    For Gardner head coach Walt Dubzinski, the game was a sort of homecoming as well. Dubzinski was head coach of the Blue Devils from 1976-1985. The following season he took over the reins at Gardner and has been there ever since.

    The Wildcats squad dominated from start to finish, controlling the contest with a strong rushing attack. Gardner claimed a 14-0 lead after the first quarter and never looked back. Running back Jamison Craft ran wild finishing with 191 yards on 19 carries and two touchdowns.

    “We got off to a good start, and Craft ran well for us,” said Dubzinski, whose squad registered its second straight shutout Saturday. “We were able to control things up front under not very good conditions, so we'll take it.”

    Rushing touchdowns by Mark Guercio and Erik Haney gave Gardner an early double-digit lead. Guercio’s was a one-yard touchdown run while Haney scored on a run from 19-yards out. Peter Gallant was successful on both extra points to make it 14-0. Gallant was a perfect five-for-five kicking extra points on the afternoon.

    Midway through the second quarter the snowflakes started to fall and become heavier as the game went along. Both teams also had to contend with a strong wind that made playing conditions less than ideal.

    “They're a good team, there is no doubt about that,” said Lunenburg head coach Steve Boone. “We're supposed to be a running football team, but when you're down by 14 points right away, it just takes you out of your game. We just need to get better because the kids come to practice every day and are working extremely hard.”

    That Gardner lead ballooned to 28-0 heading into halftime. During the intermission the Lunenburg band honored its senior members along with their parents.

    The Blue Knights offense struggled to generate any offense all afternoon. Senior quarterback Tyler Mathews along with classmate and running back Josh Trainque were swallowed up several times in the backfield by a talented Gardner defensive line. The Wildcats kept the Lunenburg offense in check by holding the team to just 50 yards of offense in the game with Trainque picking up 35 of them.

    “We’re just going to keep working to get better; it’s all we can do. We still have a lot of football let to be played,” said Boone, whose squad travels to Oakmont on Friday night. “Oakmont has some good backs and they’re a turf team who’s well coached so it will be another tough game Friday night.”

    In the second half the Lunenburg defense limited Gardner to just one touchdown and played well. Players like Cody Lanzilotti, Bobby Colgate, Cody Jacobs and Shaun Beers did their best to limit the opportunities for the visiting Wildcats.

    The lone Gardner score of the second half came courtesy of a 20-yard touchdown run from Garrett Robinson early in the third quarter.

    “We had a lot of contributors today,” Dubzinski said. “Our offensive line did a very good job today for our running backs. We did a real good job defensively.”