As stressful as it has been seeing his team play in some closely contested games this year, Garfield G-Men football Coach Mike Moser acknowledged that his squad is becoming adept at finishing those types of games. The G-Men remained undefeated in Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference Grey Tier play when they triumphed 20-13 against Liberty last Friday evening at JAG Stadium.
“It was nip and tuck,” said the 12th-year coach. “It was a tight one to pull this game off and our kids did a nice job down the stretch and made some big plays. It goes a long way for a young team to play some games like that and to come out on the positive side.”
Since joining the MVAC Grey Tier in 2021, the G-Men (6-1, 4-0) have been successful against Liberty but the Leopards have always schemed well against Garfield, having averaged 28.0 points per game in their first three meetings.
“Coach Joe Simon does a nice job. They have good schemes and nice players and like I said that is a brutal schedule right out of the gate,” Moser said.” They play Warren John F. Kennedy, Girard, and Lakeview and that is a higher level of ball. They do a good job and their kids are ready to go against us and that is a credit to them and their coaches.”
Last Friday, the G-Men relied on their defense until the final whistle to prevail for the fourth straight season. Holding a 20-13 advantage and having possession in the final minutes, Garfield appeared to have sealed the victory when they converted a fourth-and-two at midfield but the play was negated due to a holding penalty.
That forced the G-Men to punt the ball back to Liberty, giving them a chance to engineer a game-tying drive with about two minutes remaining. The Leopards’ game-tying rally evaporated quickly when G-Men junior wide receiver/tailback/defensive back Brandyn Bogucki intercepted a pass on the second play of the drive, sending the Garfield to its fifth straight victory.
“Brandyn was good all night,” said Moser. “He had a rushing touchdown in the first quarter, he had a touchdown in the second quarter on a 40-yard pass and he made good plays for us all night.”
It was a stressful game but Garfield’s defense stiffened when it mattered most to preserve the lead and ultimately win the game.
“That is a credit to the defense and credit to Coach Lewis,” Moser noted. “He had a good scheme and our kids flew around on defense and made some plays against some really skilled kids and some really dangerous athletes.”
What had the potential to become a lopsided game turned into a defensive battle after the first quarter. The G-Men raced out to a 14-0 lead thanks to a 12-yard rushing touchdown by the 5-foot-9 Bogucki and a 10-yard rushing touchdown by freshman tailback/defensive back Ryder Cain.
The G-Men and Liberty traded touchdowns in the second quarter, with a 41-yard touchdown reception by Bogucki extending Garfield’s advantage to 20-6 at the half.
After stopping the Leopards on their opening drive in the second half, Moser said that is when Garfield had the chance to put the game out of reach but the offense stopped clicking.
“We started off hot and started off just how we wanted to start and then we hit a little bit of a wall where we could have kept the pressure on them a little better,” Moser said.
The Leopards were fueled by a 99-yard touchdown drive in the third quarter, trimming Garfield’s lead to 20-13. Moser acknowledged that surrendering a long touchdown drive flipped momentum in Liberty’s favor.
“That is disappointing but when you punt and pin down somebody that tight, when you play teams that have a lot of skilled guys like that, it will happen from time to time,” he said.
The G-Men responded with a touchdown drive that took them inside Liberty’s 20 but it stalled out when junior quarterback Jack Neikirk threw an interception.
Despite their offensive miscues, the G-Men’s defense did not wilt and secured the victory.
“It just really was not clicking on all 11 cylinders,” Moser said of his team’s offensive struggles. “A lot of times we were clicking on eight, nine or 10 cylinders but when we make one mistake in one spot against a team with a lot of good players and one guy does not get his job done, that is what happens.”
Garfield will stay home and welcome MVAC Grey Tier foe Newton Falls to Jag Stadium in Garrettsville this Friday at 7 p.m.
