By Tom Nader

Publisher and Editor

All championships are exciting.

Some, though, come in thrilling fashion.

The Garfield G-Men felt it on Friday night.

Trailing 16-0 in the first half of their Week 9 league showdown with Crestview, the G-Men rallied all the way back to capture a 23-22 victory over the Rebels.

The win clinches at least a share of the Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference Grey Division championship for Garfield, which improved to 8-1 overall and 6-0 in league play with the triumph.

Two costly first-half turnovers set up Crestview’s double-digit lead, with the second score for the Rebels coming on a 26-yard pass from quarterback Jake Noling to receiver Ethan Kane with 10:28 still remaining in the first half.

From there, the G-Men offense found its spark and the team’s defense held tighter, including an interception by Brandyn Bogucki that thwarted another Rebels drive that could have potentially extended the 16-0 lead for Crestview.

The turnover set up Garfield’s first score of the game — a 14-yard touchdown run by Harper Troyer, which was followed up by a successful 2-point conversion pass from Jack Neikirk to Bogucki.

The touchdown and 2-point conversion cut Garfield’s deficit to 16-8 with 2:43 to play.

The G-Men knotted the score on the first possession of the third quarter, when Bogucki raced 57 yards for a score, then added the conversion run to deadlock the score at 16-16.

Crestview answered back, but could not get the conversion to give the Rebels a 22-16 lead.

Moments later, the G-Men took the lead on a 22-yard touchdown run by Devin Bates. The extra point by Hannah Timmons gave Garfield a 23-22 with 4:25 left in the third quarter.

From that point forward, neither team could score again, with Garfield’s defense coming up with the necessary plays to always find a way to disrupt and end Crestview drives.

Crestview is now 7-2 overall and 5-1 in the MVAC Grey Division.

The G-Men will close their season on Oct. 25 at Brookfield (3-6), with a chance to win the championship outright.