Bulldogs barking up wrong tree

When Troy Walker left the Beach Channel field, Long Island City’s hopes evaporated with the departure of the standout junior wide receiver. After re-aggravating a high ankle sprain following a 73-yard punt return for a touchdown, he sat on the team’s bench in between team managers, his head in his hands and tears running down each cheek.
“It’s the worst feeling,” he said. “I felt like I let my team down.”
Without the dynamic Walker, the team managed just 27 yards - 27! - of total offense, leading to a disappointing 16-8 loss at Beach Channel that dropped their record to 1-3.
Junior quarterback Christian Delvento was picked off three times, fumbled once, and completed just two passes in 11 attempts. His second interception, with just 14 seconds left before halftime, was returned 50 yards by Zacharia Alston for a touchdown. The running game produced nothing noteworthy to speak of, either. The offense failed to gain a first down in the second half until the final minute, going three-and-out five times.
“It takes 11 [players]; it’s not like we were playing with 10,” LIC Coach Stephen Agresti said of Walker’s absence. “Troy is only here for another year and a half. Are we going to stop the program when he graduates?
“No,” he went on. “You have to play regardless.”
The defense was gashed for 134 yards rushing, 105 of which came from Tyrek McEachin. With 45 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, Dolphins (1-3) quarterback Benjamin Burrello hit Alston on a 24-yard crossing pattern on 4th and 18, clinching their first victory and getting the offense into the end zone after a 15-quarter drought.
If LIC’s second half collapse wasn’t bad enough, several players pointed fingers afterward. They argued with one another before the final whistle, even in the huddle between plays. Many Bulldogs angrily tossed their helmets to the turf after the final horn. Emmanuel Gonzalez bellowed “every play I bust my [butt], every game. But nobody else helps.” Many others went on as well, using expletives not appropriate for a community newspaper.
“They blame others because they don’t want to blame themselves,” Walker said.
“They feel like ‘how come the other nine guys didn’t play the way I did?’ I can understand that,” Agresti said, later adding, “They certainly didn’t play the way they’re capable of. They know they are a better team than the way they came and performed.”
With just one win in four tries, LIC is headed nowhere, this from a team that went undefeated (12-0) in winning the Cup Division, the PSAL’s lowest level, a season ago.
These Bulldogs are scant remnants of that team, though. Seventeen seniors from that group are gone, notably high character upperclassmen such as quarterback/safety Haris Lekaj and linebacker Nick Torres.
“The leadership we had last year we’re lacking right now,” Agresti said.
It won’t get any easier, either. The Bulldogs will visit Campus Magnet, 4-0 after throttling Far Rockaway, 38-0. Walker is positive the high ankle sprain will allow him to play. LIC needs a lot more than their talented playmaker. They must heal quickly.
“We have to come together as a team; we have to be a team,” Walker said. “Right now we’re not a team.”