By Phil Keren

Correspondent

When your team loses by 22 points, it’s sometimes to hard to find the silver lining.

But Garfield head coach Mike Moser found some bright spots in his squad’s 42-20 loss to undefeated Crestview on Friday night. Trailing 35-6 late in the third quarter, the G-Men mounted a resilient comeback that re-energized the fans and likely induced some anxiety on the Crestview (9-0, 6-0) sideline.

The team’s effort showed “great character,” Moser said.

“Our kids fight. They stay in it all the way until the end. I’m super proud of them.”

First, junior running back Devin Bates sprinted through the Rebels’ defense, broke some tackles and flew into the end zone for a 19-yard touchdown on the final play of the third quarter.

Following a failed 2-point try, Garfield (7-2, 5-1) trailed 35-12.

On Crestview’s next possession, G-Men junior linebacker Logan Sell recovered a fumble at the Rebels’ 43-yard line. Garfield drove 43 yards in six plays and scored on a double pass play.

Senior quarterback Jack Neikirk dropped back and threw a lateral to junior running back Collin McGranahan, who caught the ball and then fired a fastball that was corralled by senior tight end Colton Miller as he crossed the goal line. Bates then tallied the 2-point conversion on an outside run to make the score 35-20 with 9:12 to play.

“We’ve been working on (the double pass) the last couple of weeks and busted it out, and Collin threw a great ball,” Moser said.

After the Garfield defense recorded a three-and-out on Crestview’s next possession, the G-Men mixed running and passing plays to move the ball from their own 8-yard line to the Crestview 43-yard line. The march included Neikirk connecting with McGranahan on a 19-yard pass. On fourth-and-2 from the Crestview 43, the Rebels’ defense stopped G-Men sophomore Ryder Cain for no gain.

Two plays later, Crestview senior running back Mikey Proctor broke away from the G-Men for a 50-yard touchdown run to put his team ahead, 42-20, with 2:38 left.

It was Proctor’s fourth touchdown of the game.

“We came close,” Moser said. “There was an opportunity there. The hole we dug, we didn’t leave a lot of wiggle room.”

In the first half, Crestview struck first when Proctor hit paydirt on a 16-yard scamper with 4-and-a-half minutes left in the first quarter. The G-Men answered when Cain scored on a 1-yard run on a fourth-and-goal at the beginning of the second period.

On Garfield’s next possession, Rebels’ senior defensive back Caidyn McElhaney intercepted a G-Men pass. Six plays later, Proctor ran to his left and powered his way into the end zone from five yards out. Crestview (9-0, 6-0 MVAC) led 14-6 at halftime.

Crestview opened the second half with a 10-play, 72-yard drive that culminated with Proctor scoring on a 4-yard run where he spun out of a couple defenders’ grasps and crossed the goal line.

The Rebels’ D then got the ball back on a strip sack, and this time it was senior quarterback Jake Noling who scored on an 8-yard run at 5:32 of the third quarter. The next time Crestview had the ball, Noling connected on a 43-yard deep ball to sophomore running back Hayden Davis at the Garfield 15-yard line. Noling then tossed a laser to senior flanker Ethan Kane for an 11-yard touchdown on a crisp slant play.

The onslaught of scores proved to be too much for the G-Men (7-2, 5-1 MVAC) to overcome, but the comeback included two unanswered scores by the offense, and a fumble recovery and a three-and-out from the defense.

“We fought hard,” Moser said. “We ran into a really good football team tonight, and we made a couple of mistakes and they capitalized on them. They didn’t make many.”

Moser added he felt his team was well prepared to play the Rebels.

“There really wasn’t anything that they did that surprised us and there probably wasn’t a whole lot that we did that surprised them,” he said. “They just executed a little bit better.”

With the win, Crestview captured at least a share of the Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference Grey Division championship.