The Garfield G-Men football team’s offense has been as efficient as ever, and the team continues to grow stronger as a defensive unit. The G-Men recorded their second consecutive shutout victory, beating Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference Grey Tier rival Champion 53-0 last Friday evening at Community Stadium in Warren.
“Champion is a little down, but our guys played well,” noted Coach Mike Moser. “We were focused on ourselves, but we came out firing and played well.”
In the first five games of the season, Garfield (5-0, 2-0) has recorded two consecutive shutout victories.
On Friday, the G-Men raced out to an early lead when senior wide receiver/defensive end Max Bultrowicz intercepted freshman quarterback Jordyn DeAndrea and scored on a 29-yard touchdown return, giving Garfield a 6-0 advantage.
“Those are huge plays,” said the 13-year coach. “Not only is it a turnover but the defense put points on the board. When you talk about starting out fast, starting out fast on defense is about the fastest way you can start on defense, with a turnover, so that was good.”
From then, the G-Men maintained firm control of the game, building a comfortable 46-0 lead against Champion at the half.
After the 5-foot-9 senior Bultrowicz’s interception return touchdown, junior tailback/linebacker Ryder Cain scored on a three-yard touchdown run on the G-Men’s first offensive drive of the game, pushing the lead to 13-0.
Senior kicker Hannah Timmons’ first made extra point of the game marked the 100th career extra point she has kicked in her high school career.
According to Moser, it is not an easy feat for any high school kicker to tally over 100 extra point. He lauded the 5’8” Timmons for reaching the 100 point milestone in only two-and-a-half seasons.
“We are proud of her; she has put a ton of work into our kicking and she has earned it. She has done a fabulous job for us,” he added.
Moser added that since Timmons joined Garfield as a sophomore, she has truly been part of the team since the first day she arrived.
“She has gone to camp with us in the summer, she is a multi-sport athlete, but when she is not playing soccer, she goes to team dinners with us, she practices with us, she is as much of a member of the team as anybody,” he said. “She is well-respected, the kids all love her and we love having her.”
Garfield dominated the second quarter, scoring 33 points, and recorded two more turnovers on defense.
Senior quarterback/defensive back Collin McGranahan scored on a 60-yard touchdown run and added a 15-yard interception return touchdown, senior wide receiver/tailback/defensive back Nate Baczkowski scored on a three-yard run, senior running back/linebacker Sam Strahan scored on a one-yard touchdown run and the 5-foot-11 Cain added a 30-yard touchdown run.
The G-Men’s offensive eruption in the second quarter triggered the running clock at the start of the second half
Having engineered two consecutive shutout victories, Garfield’s defense has not surrendered a touchdown in its last nine quarters of play, spanning back to the final quarter of the G-Men’s week three victory against Springfield.
“We are getting better,” said Moser. “The kids are working hard every day, and they are getting better at their assignments. We tackled well and we started turning some people over a little bit, that is the progression, but we are still not where we need to be and we all know that.”
Moser added that Garfield’s defense has been strong the last several weeks, but the results had yet to translate into turnovers, but that changed against the Golden Flashes, as the G-Men recorded a pair of interception return touchdowns and a fumble recovery at the goal line.
Since the G-Men’s opening week victory against Warren John F. Kennedy, they have only surrendered 27 points over the next 16 quarters of regulation, which is less than the 28 points they allowed in their week one victory.
“We will that put that streak back on the line,” he said. “You are only as good as your next possession, so those things are all nice when you look back at them. We are playing well; we have made strides every week defensively since week one.”
The G-Men flexed its offensive prowess with a dominant rushing attack, as nine players combined to rush for 375 yards and six touchdowns.
“A bunch of different guys touched the ball. That is our M.O., being led by Ryder, Collin and Nate and those guys backing them up. That is what we are, so it is nice to see a bunch of guys get in there and have some success running the ball,” noted Moser.
Garfield will return to the field when it stays on the road to take MVAC Grey Tier and Portage County foe Southeast at Freedom Field in Palmyra Township on Friday at 7 p.m.
