It may be a different team this year, but the Garfield G-Men football team wanted to get off on the right foot when beginning play in the Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference Grey Tier this season. The G-Men left their mark when they defeated MVAC Grey Tier rival LaBrae 28-14 last Friday evening at JAG Field in Garrettsville.
“The kids played well,” said Coach Mike Moser. “It was a big game for us. LaBrae was undefeated coming in and we were pretty banged up, but our guys got in there and did a nice job. Every game is big, but you definitely want to get off on the right foot in league play.”
Since joining the MVAC Grey Tier in 2021, the G-Men (3-1, 1-0) have been undefeated against the Vikings, with last Friday’s victory marking their fourth straight win against LaBrae.
“It’s been a good rivalry,” the 12-year coach said. “Coach Jon Elliot is doing a nice job. He has a nice team, has a good scheme and it is always a challenge.”
The win against the Vikings marked the ninth straight MVAC Grey Tier victory for Garfield, which has not lost a conference game since the 2022 season. Moser acknowledged it was a special league victory for this year’s G-Men squad, consisting of several players who were not members of the Garfield teams that started the winning streak.
“Every year is different and we are really just in that one game at a time mentality but it definitely felt good and it is definitely a nice win,” he said.
The G-Men held a 21-7 advantage at halftime but slowed down in the third quarter. Although their defense had stifled LaBrae throughout the game, the Vikings cut into the lead with a touchdown drive, making it a one-possession game at 21-14.
For the second straight week, Garfield responded in the fourth quarter when sophomore tailback/defensive back Devin Bates scored his third touchdown of the game, this time on a 14-yard run, stretching the lead to 28-14. The 6-foot-0 sophomore fueled Garfield’s offense by collecting 81 yards and three touchdowns on 13 carries.
“Devin played well on both of sides of the ball,” said Moser. “Devin was all over the field on defense and he had some real nice and physical carries for us.”
On the ensuing possession, LaBrae advanced the ball past midfield but junior wide receiver/tailback/defensive back Brandyn Boguck made another game-changing play for the third straight week by intercepting the Vikings in the end zone.
Garfield then took over with approximately five minutes remaining and bled the clock out until the final buzzer, preventing LaBrae from having the chance to engineer another drive.
“When the clock is running down at the end of the game like that and you get down to that five-minute offense, if nothing else you are going to be able to run some time off of the clock even if you have to punt it back,” he said.
Despite being a young team this year, the G-Men are gaining valuable experience playing in wire-to-wire contests and have successfully executed in the later stages in consecutive weeks.
According to Moser, winning those types of games goes a long way with a young team.
“That is what it is all about,” he said. “It is about growing up. Teams are going to make runs on you and once again last night when LaBrae cut it to one score, we put a drive together and went down and scored.”
The G-Men’s rushing attack dominated LaBrae’s defense by recording 311 rushing yards. Garfield’s depth at tailback was displayed with five different players tallying 40 or more rushing yards to pace the offense.
According to Moser, while the running game is still not where it needs to be, it has steadily improved each week and Friday’s victory evidenced that the team was continuing to make strides in the right direction.
The G-Men have ruled the MVAC Grey Tier since joining the league, having won two two conference titles in their first three seasons. Moser acknowledged that while there are still many games yet to be played, winning the first game sets up Garfield nicely for the remainder of their conference schedule.
“It sets you up and gives you a chance, now you just have to go out and capitalize every week,” he added.
Garfield will hit the road next week to take on MVAC Grey Tier rival Champion at Community Stadium in Warren this Friday at 7 p.m.
