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| Injury-riddled Spartans lose to Generals reprinted from 8/23/2010 MIDDLETOWN PRESS LYNN, Mass. — The Middletown Spartans have had to endure a tough two-week stretch.
Two starters have been hurt playing in pickup basketball games. Another was lost indefinitely after suffering an injury playing ultimate frisby. Three others have suffered injuries in minor automobile accidents.
By the time the Spartans reached Lynn on Saturday to take on the always-tough, once-beaten North Shore Generals, they did so with nine starters out of the lineup and several others playing through an assortment of bumps and bruises.
Those injuries were a factor in a flurry of fumbles and mistakes that resulted in three relatively easy North Shore touchdowns in a 26-12 Generals win that improved their record to 4-1 and left the Spartans at 3-3.
When asked about the injuries his team was battling against, Spartan head coach Jim Greco refused to establish a link between the injury list and the final score.
“Injuries are just a part of the game; they happen to everyone,” he said. “You deal with them, and then you go forward. We just didn’t play a good enough football game today against a very strong and talented football team.
“Injuries are something you can’t control, the only thing we can control is how hard we play every game, week after week,” he added. “And as far as that’s concerned, I’m very proud of how hard this team plays.”
Two Spartan mistakes, a fumble on a snap exchange midway through the first quarter that gave the Generals the ball at the Spartan 3 yard line, and a blocked punt which the Generals recovered in the Spartan end zone with 59 seconds left in the half, directly contributed to the home team’s 14-0 lead after the first half of play.
The Spartans sliced the deficit to 14-6 on the opening series of the second half, when safety Lenroy Neysmith intercepted North Shore quarterback Kyle Moon’s pass at the Generals 37 and raced to the end zone untouched down the right sideline.
A blitzing Akwan Shabazz then recovered a Moon fumble at the North Shore 43 on the General’s next possession, but the Spartan offense was unable to cash in on the opportunity.
Moon and the Generals then responded by launching an eight-play, 66-yard drive that culminated in a seven-yard run by Brandon Guy that extended North Shore’s lead to 20-6 with 1:40 to play in the third quarter.
Dwayne Cunningham then fumbled the ensuing kickoff, giving the Generals the ball at the Spartan 13. Two plays later, with 15 second left in the third quarter, Jeff Watson all but settled the issue by scoring his second touchdown of the game from three yards out to build the Generals lead to 26-6 after three quarters of play.
A 31-yard strike from Spartan quarterback Jashone Cunningham to Shabazz late in the fourth quarter completed a nine-play, 64-yard drive and provided the final points of the game.
Greco said he was particularly proud of the effort he received from Shabazz, who played the game with a leg injury and a deep gash on his forehead that would eventually require six stitches to close. Shabazz not only stripped Moon early in the third quarter and recovered the resulting fumble, but he also recorded a sack and caught five passes for 131 yards and a touchdown,
Referring to the injured New York Giants’ quarterback who missed Saturday’s exhibition game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Greco said: “If Eli Manning were Akwan Shabazz, he would have suited up and played against Pittsburgh tonight.”
Cunningham completed nine of 17 passes for 120 yards and a touchdown. Tailback Josh Mullen ran for 43 yards and hit Shabazz on a 54-yard halfback option pass, while Mike Baklik caught three passes for 34 yards.
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