The Garfield G-Men’s final season in the Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference Grey Tier will have them rely on their defensive depth as they seek to leave the conference as the reigning champions.
“I don’t know if the last year in the MVAC Grey Tier makes it any more important than it will be next year when it is the first year in the new Greater Portage Athletic Conference but they are all important and certainly we would like to go out on a high note, if possible,” noted Coach Mike Moser.
The G-Men’s two-year run as league champions ended last season when Crestview topped them to win the banner, but Moser said that his squad is ready to challenge the Rebels and reclaim the championship.
After the 2026 season, Garfield will join the Greater Portage Athletic Conference, reuniting it with most of the Portage County schools the G-Men faced when they were all members of the Portage Trail Conference.
In the G-Men’s final year as a member MVAC Grey Tier, senior Collin McGranahan will assume the role of starting quarterback to lead the offense.
It will be his first season as a full-time quarterback, as he received snaps sparingly at the position last year, completing three passes out of four attempts for 31 yards and one touchdown, but recorded 349 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 34 carries.
“Collin is a player, he is athletic,” added the 14-year coach of the 5-foot-11 senior. “Colin is one of those guys. If you are playing a backyard game, he would be one of your first picks. He can run, throw, catch, block and play defense. He is just an all-around football player.”
The G-Men also return an experienced room of tailbacks, led by junior Ryder Cain, who rushed for 1523 yards and 23 touchdowns on 173 carries last season.
“Ryder was a first team all-state kid as a sophomore last year,” Moser said of the 5-foot-11 junior. “It is certainly exciting to get him back and a little bigger version of him this year, so we are excited to see what he can do.”
Joining Cain in the backfield will be senior Devin Bates, who tallied 708 rushing yards and nine touchdowns on 91 carries, senior Logan Sell, who posted 78 rushing yards and one touchdown on seven carries, and senior Sam Strahan, who rushed for 128 yards and one touchdown on 17 carries.
Seniors Oliver Walker, Nate Baczkowski and Griffin Kline will be the starting wide receivers.
On the offensive line, Moser acknowledged it is a newer unit with only junior Jared Cardinal returning as the starting center and senior Mason Kurtzman coming back as a starting guard.
Moser expressed what a luxury it was to have the 5-foot-10 Cardinal returning to man the center
“It is comfortable to have that spot back knowing that the snaps are in good hands. A lot of our calls and things that he makes happen up front,” he said. “That is a good place to have experience.”
Moser listed senior Caden Roman, juniors Jordan Portman and Landon Joy, and sophomore Jack Timmons as key players that will anchor the rest of Garfield’s offensive line.
On defense, the G-Men will be an experienced unit with eight of the starting 11 returning from last year, with the 5-foot-10 Cain, the 6-foot Bates, and the 5-foot-10 Sell returning as starting linebackers after combining for 140 tackles last year.
“The thing I have been most pleased with is that the next group of guys really at all three levels has been coming on and having a good camp, so we can go into the season and say that we have eight guys that we feel comfortable playing on the defensive line; we are rounding into that,” Moser noted.
The 6-foot-1 Timmons will return as a starting defensive end; seniors Henry Veccia and Gavin Barnard will once again begin the season as the starting defensive tackles.
The returning trio combined to post 77 tackles last year.
Moser said that McGranahan and the 5-foot-11 Baczkowski will patrol the secondary as starting safeties and the 6-foot-2 Walker will be as one of the starting cornerbacks.
McGranahan recorded 36 tackles and one interception, Baczkowski made 20 tackles and snagged two interceptions while Walker recorded six tackles and one interception in 2025.
The G-Men will begin their season when they host John F. Kennedy at JAG Stadium in Garrettsville on Aug. 20 at 7 p.m.
