Garden City’s 54-Game Win Streak, Titles on Line as Trojans Open at Long Beach

Garden City High School’s football program will begin its season Saturday at Long Beach with a 54-game winning streak and a decade of county dominance squarely on the line.

The Trojans, who enter Week 1 having compiled 10 consecutive Nassau County titles and five straight Long Island championships, are led by coach Dave Ettinger, whose record at Garden City stands at 109-3. Ettinger said the team is concentrating on the opener and not on the streak itself.

"Winning never gets boring," Ettinger said as the Trojans practiced earlier this week. "It’s a lot of pressure on the players to see what the teams before them have done… but they give us every ounce of effort that they have throughout the entire season." The coach added that preparation and attention to detail are the foundations of the program’s sustained success.

Players described a daily grind that includes voluntary summer sleepaway camp in Connecticut and regular team dinners during the season to build chemistry and manage expectations. Senior left guard Zach Olson, who plans to attend Harvard, said the program’s emphasis is energy and consistency.

"Nobody expects to win," Olson said. "We just try to drill down… and keep the energy up, our energy is the biggest thing." Olson was part of the past three varsity titles since ninth grade and spoke of wanting another ring as an ideal Ivy League sendoff.

All-state kicker Christopher Desiderio said his personal benchmark is perfection after missing two kicks last season. "Last year, I missed two kicks, so my goal is to not miss a kick this year," he said. Desiderio, a senior who also lines up as a wide receiver, said he has success from repetition and the program’s championship tradition.

Ettinger, now in his 11th season, credits a system and a culture that demand excellence, often enforced with frank, direct feedback. Merit Ruckh, a senior who plays running back, wide receiver and defensive back and is headed to the University of Tampa for lacrosse, described Ettinger’s approach as one that leaves no room for shortcuts.

"He definitely demands excellence … he tells us face-to-face if we’re doing what we’re not supposed to be doing," Ruckh said. "Sometimes he yells, sometimes not, but either way, we know what’s expected of us."

The Trojans’ near-decade mastery has not been unbroken. Ettinger pointed to three losses over the past 10 years — to Wantagh in 2015, MacArthur in 2019 and Lindenhurst in the Long Island championship that same season — as instructive moments that tightened fundamentals and focus.

Garden City was moved from Conference III to Conference II this season, a realignment that Ettinger acknowledged will introduce unfamiliar opponents and different challenges. He said the team will take the schedule one week at a time rather than projecting postseason outcomes.

With a roster approaching 50 players, the Trojans emphasize two-night-a-week gatherings during the season for meals and recovery, and veteran players say much of the program’s work happens off the field where habits are reinforced. Ettinger said the continuity of personnel who buy into the system is a crucial factor in the sustained run of success.

Long Beach, which Ettinger called "a tough opponent," will be the first test of whether Garden City can maintain the streak and its string of titles. The coach said his singular focus this week is preparing the seniors and the team for the immediate challenge.

"Our only focus right now is Long Beach on Saturday," Ettinger said. "We’re just trying to prepare as hard as we can to send the seniors off as winners."