For the last three years, the Ohio High School Athletic Association Division V Region 17 has been the toast of the postseason with every state champion coming from that region. The Garfield G-Men hoped to be among the elite of that region but their time will have to be another year after losing to Garaway 38-20 in the regional quarterfinal last Friday evening at JAG Stadium in Garrettsville.
“That’s really a good team and our kids fought; our kids played hard,” said Coach Mike Moser. “I am proud of them, but it was just an uphill battle.”
The last time the G-Men (10-2, 7-0) saw Garaway in the postseason was during the first round of the 2019 playoffs and the result was similar, with the Pirates ousting Garfield 41-22.
In both instances, the 12-year coach acknowledged that his squad went up against a more experienced opponent.
“They replaced a lot of kids but the kids they replaced them with especially the skilled spots were a lot of older kids,” he noted.
Last Friday, the Pirates got off to a quick start, mounting a 10-0 lead in the first quarter spearheaded by a 26-yard field goal by senior kicker Colon Anderson and a 28-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Dillon Soehnlen from senior quarterback Brady Geibel.
The G-Men responded with a long touchdown drive capped off by junior quarterback Jack Neikirk delivering an 11-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver/tailback/defensive back Brandyn Bogucki in the second quarter, trimming Garaway’s advantage to 10-6 after Garfield missed the extra point.
Things went downhill from there, when the 6-foot-4 Geibel connecting with junior Micah Yoder on a 67-yard touchdown pass, extending Garaway’s lead to 17-6.
Garfield’s offense recorded turnovers on consecutive drives on its side of the field, allowing Garaway to go on a 14-0 run, with the 5-foot-8 Soehnlen scoring on a pair of touchdown runs, each from six yards out, stretching the Pirates’ lead to 31-6 at the half.
Moser acknowledged that it was bad enough giving the ball back to Garaway on back-to-back drives but also handing the Pirates a short field was a recipe for disaster.
“That is a catastrophe and a terrible spot to put them in,” he said. “We needed the field and we needed a couple of chances to stop them and when you give them the ball that deep, that is trouble.”
In addition to the G-Men’s offensive struggles, the running game was short-handed with sophomore tailback/defensive back Devin Bates not being available because of injury. Although Garfield still had depth at tailback, Moser said that the team needed to rely on senior running back/linebacker Harper Troyer for the crucial runs.
Garaway increased its lead to 38-6 in the third quarter on a one-yard run by Geibel, triggering the running clock.
When it was all said and done, it marked the end of the line for a young Garfield team that had defied a lot of expectations entering the season after graduating one of the most successful senior classes in school history and still capturing their third Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference Grey Tier championship in the last four years.
Despite having a smaller senior class this season, Moser gave credit to the five seniors consisting of the 6-foot Troyer, wide receiver/linebacker Aiden Hill, wide receiver/defensive back Cade Rock, running back/linebacker Tyler Lutz, and offense/defensive lineman Ivan Trent.
“We leaned on them all year and they did a great job of leading us and keeping us together and a lot of people thought we were going to be down this year graduating 14 kids and that class from last year,” Moser said. “Those guys did an incredible job. They won a league title and made it to week 12. We are all hurting but it is nothing to be ashamed about what those guys did.”
Although the G-Men were ousted in a resounding defeat, Moser said that he is hopeful that the final game of the 2024 season can serve as a learning tool for most of the team, which is expected to return next season.
In a season filled with several learning moments for a young Garfield squad, the G-Men answered each challenge with a passing grade apart from the regional quarterfinal against Garaway.
Moser said that Garfield hopes to have more answers next year to engineer a deeper playoff run in a loaded OHSAA Division V Region 17 bracket.
