The Garfield G-Men football team’s final stand in the Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference Grey Tier started on a high note. The G-Men dispatched league rival Labrae 49-0 in its conference opener last Friday evening at JAG Stadium in Garrettsville.
“We played well on both sides of the ball,” said Coach Mike Moser. “We were good in special teams, so it was a good effort. There are always things to improve upon, but I am pleased with our effort this last week.”
As the G-Men (4-0, 1-0) begin their final lap around the MVAC Grey Tier before they move to the Greater Portage Athletic Conference next year, they are operating at a high level offensively, with the victory against LaBrae marking the third consecutive game that Garfield has eclipsed the 40-point threshold.
“We are playing well. It starts up front, we are blocking well and then Collin McGranahan, Ryder Cain and Nate Baczkowski are all running well and Collin is throwing the ball well so we are getting better every week so that is the goal,” added the 13-year coach.
On Friday, the G-Men seized control by scoring their first touchdown on their opening drive, capped off by a 34-yard rushing touchdown by the 5-foot-11 senior quarterback/defensive back McGranahan.
Garfield’s defense was stout, and the offense continued increasing the lead, scoring on each of its next three possessions in the second period, highlighted by a five-yard touchdown run by McGranahan, a 43-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Oliver Walker and a one-yard touchdown run by the junior tailback/linebacker Cain, stretching the G-Men’s lead to 28-0 at the half.
According to Moser, Garfield engineered quicker drives in the second period as they generated several more explosive plays from the line of scrimmage.
The G-Men’s momentum continued in the second half, as senior tailback/wide receiver/defensive back Baczkowski broke free on the kickoff return, scoring his first touchdown of the game on a 99-yard return, pushing Garfield’s lead to 35-0, triggering the running clock.
Moser called the 5-foot-11 Baczkowski’s kickoff return touchdown the backbreaker for LaBrae.
“You go in at halftime, you talk about adjustments and you get all ready and then Nate takes that one 99 yards and puts it away. Then you have the continuous clock so you are not going to get very many snaps the rest of the game but that is just the way that it goes,” he noted.
The 5-foot-11 Cain paced Garfield’s rushing attack, tallying 110 yards and one touchdown on 12 carries.
With the G-Men’s stable of running backs down a player in the wake of an injury to senior tailback/defensive back Devin Bates, Moser said that Cain will be tasked with more responsibility in the running game.
“Ryder’s carries are going to go up, and Collin’s carries are going to go up and some other guys are jumping in there and getting their work in too and that is us though,” he added. “We run the ball by committee so we will have to keep doing that.”
The G-Men scored on all seven of their possessions, but Moser was more pleased with his defense recording its first shutout of the season, limiting LaBrae to only three first downs in the game.
“They had some penalties too to put them behind the sticks, but we stopped the run and got after them when they tried to throw the ball, so it was a good plan, the kids executed well and hats off to the defense,” said Moser.
Since Garfield’s opening week victory against Warren John F. Kennedy, the G-Men have surrendered only 27 points in the last three weeks.
As dominant as the G-Men were, Moser emphasized that the eight penalties committed by Garfield for 80 yards was where the team needed to improve.
“We have some work to do in practice to clean those things up,” he said. “Honestly it was a lot of nickel and dime stuff, we were offsides on three straight kick-offs so those are three of your penalties, it was a couple of holds that brought back a few plays and jumping offsides. It is not one thing; it is just about being locked in and focused.”
The G-Men will seek another conference victory when they hit the road to face MVAC Grey Tier rival Champion at Community Stadium in Warren on Friday night at 7 p.m.
