By Phil Keren

Correspondent

A dominant running game anchored by junior running back Ryder Cain propelled Garfield to a commanding 48-14 win over Conneaut in its Division V, Region 17 quarterfinal playoff game in Garrettsville on Friday.

Cain rushed for 225 yards on 21 carries and scored six of the G-Men’s seven touchdowns. Garfield (11-0) head coach Mike Moser praised Cain and the offensive line for a dominant performance.

“Ryder Cain had a great game all night long,” Moser said. “The offensive line made some nice holes for him but Ryder’s a special kid. You put those two things together, you got something special.”

Moser noted Cain has multiple qualities that make him tough for defenses to slow down.

“He’s got good vision,” Moser said. “He’s got good balance. He’s strong. It’s a little bit of everything.”

The G-Men opened the contest with a seven-play, 56-yard drive that culminated with a 5-yard scoring run by Cain. The big plays of the scoring march were a 22-yard run by Cain on the first play from scrimmage and a 14-yard gallop by senior running back Collin McGranahan.

Conneaut quickly answered with a touchdown on their first offensive possession. Junior quarterback Wyant Dobran threw deep down the middle of the field and connected with sophomore Grayson Ballard for a 53-yard gain to the Garfield 5-yard line. Two plays later, Dobran scored on a one-yard keeper to tie the game at 7 at 6:16 of the first quarter.

The tie game was short-lived, however. On the G-Men’s next offensive play, senior running back Nate Baczkowski started a run in the middle of the field, broke to the outside and raced down the sideline for a 55-yard touchdown and a 13-7 lead for his team.

When Garfield had the ball again, a pass by McGranahn was intercepted by Conneaut senior defensive back Alden Goudge. The G-Men recorded a three-and-out, got the ball back and strung together a five-play, 61-yard scoring drive that ended with Cain hitting paydirt on a 26- yard scamper. McGranahan then fired a spiral that was caught in the end zone by Baczkowski to record a two-point conversion that gave the G-Men a 21-7 lead with 25 seconds remaining in the first quarter.

Conneaut opened the second quarter with a 10-play, 67-yard scoring drive that reduced Garfield’s lead to seven. The biggest play of the Spartans’ march was a 17-yard pass from Dobran to freshman wide receiver Blake French. Garfield was whistled for two penalties that also kept the drive moving. Conneaut scored in an unorthodox fashion: Following a completed pass, the receiver fumbled and the ball was picked up by sophomore running back Jonah Tenney, who ran it across the goal line at 8:11 of the second quarter.

As they did following the Spartans’ first touchdown, Garfield countered with a score of their own. Cain, McGranahan, Baczkowski and senior running back Logan Sell took turns carrying the ball on a seven-play, 57-yard drive that was capped off by Cain’s 5-yard touchdown run through the middle of the Conneaut defense. The highlight of the scoring march was a 29-yard run by Sell after he took the ball on a direct snap. While the G-Men had a couple of holding penalties (including one that nullified a touchdown) on the drive, a pass interference penalty against Conneaut on a fourth down play kept the drive alive. With the touchdown, Garfield led, 28-14, with four minutes remaining in the first half.

While Cain was the night’s star, Moser noted that the G-Men’s entire fleet of running backs had a chance to shine during the playoff victory.

“For a little while all of them had some stuff going tonight,” Moser said. “When we’re at our best, that’s kind of what we’re doing. Everybody’s got the ball.”

Garfield closed out the first half with another score on a drive that included an unusual sequence of plays. The G-Men lost 16 yards after a player in the backfield fumbled a snap but recovered the loose ball. On the next play, Cain took the handoff, cut to the outside and sprinted down the sideline on a 58-yard run to the Conneaut 3-yard line. Two plays later,

Cain notched his fourth touchdown of the game on a two-yard run. Following a mishandled snap on the extra point try, Garfield went to the locker room with a 34-14 lead.

Conneaut opened the second half with a crisp, well-paced drive that traveled from their own 32-yard line to the Garfield 22 in six plays. It appeared the Spartans were on their way to cutting Garfield’s advantage to 13 but the G-Men defense had other ideas. As he was running a keeper, Dobran was hit and fumbled, and the loose ball was recovered by Garfield freshman defensive back Cam Kleinhen at the Garfield 2-yard line. Cain, Baczkowski, McGranahan and Kleinhen shared running duties as the G-Men covered 98 yards in 11 plays in a march that ended with – guess who – Cain scoring on a 6-yard run to put his squad ahead, 41-14.

Cain scored his sixth touchdown of the game on a second 6-yard run with about six minutes left to play

Moser praised the offensive line for the outstanding job it did controlling the line of scrimmage.

“They played great,” Moser said. “We got a little banged up. Throwing the ball was going to be a little bit difficult and we just rely on the offensive line to do their thing.”

Garfield earned a first-round bye in the playoffs and Moser noted the staff and the players took advantage of the time away to recharge a bit.

“We needed (the week off),” Moser said. “We were a little beat up after Brookfield. Our kids did a good job of staying focused (during the week off) but we probably needed a couple days where it was a little bit easier…We backed off a little bit during the week. We got in the weight room a little bit more but we stayed pretty similar.”

Garfield will play at Perry on Nov. 13 in a regional semifinal game in Division V, Region 17.