It was a long wait for the Garfield G-Men football team to get back to the top. But Garfield were crowned the Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference Grey Tier champions, beating conference rival Crestview 56-7 last Friday evening at JAG Field in Garrettsville.
Since joining the MVAC Grey Tier in 2021, The G-Men (9-0, 6-0) have now won the league title twice in that span, with their first league title coming in 2021 and delivering the second one this season.
“It means a lot,” said Coach Mike Moser. “That was a goal from the beginning of the year and it is nice to accomplish that. I am happy for the kids and am real proud of them.”
For the senior class, they will finish their varsity careers having won the league banner three times in the last four seasons because the G-Men won the Portage Trail Conference in 2020 before departing for the MVAC.
“I would say that is a pretty impressive run for these guys,” said the 10th year coach. “I would say that it just cements their legacy that they have been building for the last four years and hopefully there is more.”
Although the G-Men and Crestview have only been conference rivals for three seasons, the rivalry started before the 2021 season when the Rebels ousted Garfield in the 2020 Ohio High School Athletic Association Division V Region 17 postseason.
According to Moser, since then the two sides have engaged in physical and competitive battles and acknowledged the Rebels mirror a lot of Garfield’s strengths.
“It is a good team,” he said. “It is a well-coached team and they have some tough kids so they are very similar to us and very physical so it has been some good battles.”
On Friday night, the G-Men struck first when senior tailback/defensive back Leo Grandizio caught a 67-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback/running back/defensive back Eric Geddes, pushing Garfield ahead 7-0.
Crestview responded when junior tailback/defensive back Max Hawkins ran the ball from 8 yards out, evening the score at 7-7.
“Crestview hit a big pass and our feet got tangled up and their kid put the ball right on the numbers and ran them down,” said Moser. “I credit those kids and they don’t panic. There are going to be a lot of ups-and-downs on a Friday night and you have to stay steady and I think our kids did a good job of that.”
Garfield promptly returned the favor, outscoring the Rebels by a 21-0 margin in the first quarter fueled by its rushing attack with Geddes scoring on a 50-yard touchdown run, followed by a 24-yard rushing touchdown by senior tailback/linebacker Keegan Sell and another touchdown run by Geddes, this time from 18 yards out.
“That is the game,” said Moser. “Punch, counter punch and it is fun when your team is the one throwing the punches but sometimes the other guy is going to get you too, so that is what it is all about, you have to respond.”
The 6-foot-3 Geddes and 6-foot Sell each returned to the offensive side of the ball, having nursed injuries over the past few weeks and they instantly left their mark on the offense.
“When you are talking about getting some of those guys back, you are not only getting players back but getting players of that quality back,” Moser said. “They both had a big impact on the game last night on both sides of the ball.”
The G-Men remained in control, adding 14 more points to their lead in the second quarter on a pair of rushing touchdowns by Geddes and Sell to trigger the running clock in the second half.
Garfield’s ground game produced 349 yards and six rushing touchdowns and its defense shut down the Rebels, allowing only 102 yards on offense and six first downs in the game.
Moser credited his defense for recovering from a challenging first defensive series to shut out their conference foes in the final three quarters en route to clinching the MVAC Grey Tier championship.
The G-Men only completed three passes, but those three plays totaled 139 yards and two touchdowns.
“At the end of the day it does not matter how many you throw but it is the result that you get from them,” Moser said. “We can throw the ball, but some game plans dictate other things and some nights you stick with what is working but we were pretty efficient.”
Garfield will attempt to finish the season undefeated when they host conference foe Brookfield at JAG Field on Friday night at 7 p.m.
