By JOHN LIKANJE
GREECE, N.Y. – It had been a frustrating past four weeks for the Greece Olympia/Odyssey varsity football program. After opening the campaign with back-to-back wins, Eddie Long’s squad fell into a slump and dropped four straight.
“We’re still up and coming,” Long explained. “We’re trying to turn it around and we’re learning how to win. We’ve been in some very close games and we seem to always do something to hurt us towards the end.”
Senior Night was just what the doctor ordered as Greece Olympia/Odyssey dismantled Gates-Chili, 44-0, on Thursday at Olympia High School.
After being held to negative yardage in the opening period, Greece Olympia/Odyssey exploded for 22 points in the second quarter behind Xavier Hurell’s three touchdown passes. The junior quarterback only needed one play and 51 seconds to break the ice, throwing a spiral to Darnell Williams for a 69-yard score and an 8-0 lead.
“We felt good,” Hurell said. “It’s the last game of the season. We wanted to get another W. Our mindset changed. We really wanted to play for each other today.”
“Tonight, being Senior Night, our guys came out with a little more poise, passion, and they played hard,” Long explained. “They wanted to get it for the seniors.”
Hurell found senior wide receiver Luke Schneider for a touchdown and slung a ball over the line of scrimmage to Luke Strong, who broke multiple tackles for a 24-yard score.
.@SecVFootball – @GatesChiliFB vs. Greece Olympia/Odyssey: Xavier Hurell 7-yard TD pass to Luke Schneider. Darnell Williams 2-point conversion successful. 3:13 2Q: Greece Olympia/Odyssey 16 Gates-Chili 0. @PickinSplinters pic.twitter.com/8ErDqjZr7Q
— John Mitchell Likanje Junior (@jml5798) October 17, 2019
For the game, Hurell completed 5-of-10 passes for 141 yards and three touchdowns. The junior quarterback finished the regular season with 1,546 passing yards in seven games played.
“I’m going to give it to my teammates and my coach for pushing me and teaching me and showing me how to be great,” Hurell said. “I worked hard for everything I did, but I can’t be here without them today. It felt good.”
“Believe it or not, the kid is still learning,” Long said about Hurell. “I ask a lot of him, but what makes him good is he’s coachable. He’s humble and he works hard. All his teammates like him.”
“He’s been big for us, reading the defense, making good throws and he can do a little bit of damage with his legs as well.”
Jabril Green scored a pair of touchdowns in the second half, including an 89-yard run near the end of the third quarter for a commanding 36-0 advantage. The junior running back had four carries for 102 yards.
.@SecVFootball – Gates-Chili vs. Greece Olympia/Odyssey: Jabril Green 6-yard TD run. 1:21 4Q: Greece Olympia/Odyssey 44 Gates-Chili 0. @PickinSplinters pic.twitter.com/GZJP6tQ4UT
— John Mitchell Likanje Junior (@jml5798) October 17, 2019
Schneider caught two balls for 37 yards and Strong had a pair of catches for 35 more. Senior running back Makyle Murdock scrambled three times and compiled 25 rushing yards and a touchdown.
.@SecVFootball – Gates-Chili vs. Greece Olympia/Odyssey: Makyle Murdock 19-yard TD run. 6:29 3Q: Greece Olympia/Odyssey 30 Gates-Chili 0. @PickinSplinters pic.twitter.com/xF8K4jC4eH
— John Mitchell Likanje Junior (@jml5798) October 17, 2019
Senior Corey Bright led the shutout effort with 15 tackles, including one for a loss. Murdock compiled 14 along with a fumble recovery. Senior linebacker Michael Matteson added seven tackles and Jaki Junious had three sacks.
“Everybody wanted to eat today,” Hurell said about the defense. “Everybody wanted to do their job. They wanted to kill. A lot of seniors started on defense. It’s their last game, so they want to go out with a W.”
“We needed that,” Long said about his squad pitching a shutout. “With the conditions today, we knew we had to rely a little bit more on the ground and they knew they (Gates-Chili) were going to try and run, but I think guys were up to the challenge. They flew around a little bit today.”
For Gates-Chili, senior running back Blake Palozzi led the offense with 14 carries and 44 yards.
Greece Olympia/Odyssey ends the regular season with a 3-4 record. Gates-Chili finishes the campaign with a 1-6 record.
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