The Garfield G-Men football team was put to the test after a sloppy first quarter against Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference – Grey Division foe Newton Falls left them trailing 14-7 last Friday night. But Garfield went to work, shutting out Newton Falls in the next three quarters in route to a 49-14 victory at Newton Falls Stadium.
“It took us a little while to get our sea legs but credit to Newton Falls,” said Coach Mike Moser. “They made a couple of plays early on in the game but our guys responded and played well as the night wore on.”
The G-Men will compete for their second MVAC-Grey Division league championship when they welcome conference foe Crestview to JAG Field in Garrettsville on Friday at 7 p.m.
“It just means we have taken care of business up to this point and we have given ourselves a chance,” said the 10-year coach. “You cannot win league titles in week one and you have to give yourself a chance and we have done that and we will see how we respond this Friday.”
Last Friday, the G-Men’s 7-0 lead in the first quarter vanished when Newton Falls’ senior quarterback Carter Rapczak scored on a 65-yard rushing touchdown, evening the score at 7-7.
Rapczak then followed up with a 58-yard touchdown strike to junior running back Gage Phares, propelling the Tigers ahead 14-7.
“We got out of our run fits on one play and gave up a long run up the sideline,” said Moser. “In the first quarter, we were behind the sticks a lot with some penalties early on, putting us in some long yardage situations and that is never good for any defense.”
Moser added the G-Men’s offense struggled to gain traction in the opening period, committing several penalties.
He said the offensive linemen’s pad levels were not high enough, allowing them to get consistently beat at the line of scrimmage, resulting in them reaching out and trying to hold back the Tiger’s defensive linemen.
After a physical battle against MVAC-Grey Division rival Liberty on Sep. 29, Moser acknowledged his team was still nursing injuries, including several ones to some of the G-Men’s experienced playmakers.
That forced other players to step into roles they were not accustomed to and according to Moser, it was baptism by fire.
“We put guys like Harper Troyer, Leo Grandizio and Brandyn Bogucki and guys like that in the backfield. They all can do it and all have done it at practice but had not done it on Friday night yet,” he added.
The G-Men responded in the second quarter when senior tailback/defensive back Deacon Sommer scored on a 25-yard rushing touchdown, tying the score at 14-14.
Although Garfield was limited in its passing game, its rushing attack continued yielding fruit with sophomore wide receiver/tailback/defensive Bogucki running the ball in from 20 yards out, pushing the G-Men in front 21-14.
Despite Garfield’s offensive depth being tested, they still had a stable of playmakers step up to assume the lead.
“I think it means a lot,” Moser said. “It speaks a lot for your team and a lot for your program. The guys were able to get in there and have the confidence to do it and put the work in for practice and be prepared and I think it speaks highly of those guys.”
The G-Men continued dominating in the second half, outscoring Newton Falls by a 21-0 margin sparked by senior tailback/defensive back Leo Grandizio who scored on a 10-yard rushing touchdown, and also caught a 36-yard touchdown pass from senior tailback/linebacker Keegan Sell.
The 5-foot-11 Grandizio paced Garfield’s offense by recording 99 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries and caught one pass for 36 yards and a touchdown.
“Leo is a player whether he is a wide receiver or running back in the return game or in the secondary ,so I was confident Leo would be able to handle it,” Moser said.
The Tigers’ offense was stifled in the final three quarters and held to only nine first downs in the game, paving the way for Garfield to finish the regular season with a perfect road record for the fifth consecutive year.
The G-Men have now won 25 consecutive road contests in that span, having not lost a road game since being defeated by Rootstown in the final road game of the 2018 season.
“We’ve been good on the road lately but we line up those goals at the beginning of the year and knock them down one at a time and what we have done is put ourselves in a position to play for a league title Friday night at our place,” said Moser.
